Mold & Sick Building Alert No. 2
Mold continues to trigger controversy, lawsuits and headlines--and government action--according to news reports from Florida, Atlanta, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Nevada.
Florida: The Florida legislature passes and sends to the Governor a bill to regulate mold inspectors and mold remediation companies. Floridians are struggling to deal with the massive mold contamination resulting from last years hurricanes. Link
A school district retains a private indoor air quality consultant to create a guideline to determine whether and when testing should be done in schools in order to find mold, according to this Palm Beach Post article.
The school board is told mold growth from flooding at a Palm Beach County elementary school is so bad $2.7 million in repairs needs to be made immediately, according to this Palm Beach Post article.
See this Naples Daily News Article about a Department of Health employee whose become a "mold Buster" since the hurricanes last year.
Atlanta: Firefighters move out of a fire station for mold remediation expected to take three to four weeks, according to this Atlanta Journal Constitution article (free subscription). More than 40 firefighters are plaintiffs in a $60 million lawsuit filed in February 2004 against the company that built three fire stations for allegedly defective construction that caused the mold problem.
Pennsylvania: The link between toxic mold and health problems prompted Pennsylvania to create a new task force on mold. The task force met for the first time in April, according to this Newstech 16 bulletin.
Michigan: A Michigan jury awarded $925,000 to an apartment resident for personal injuries caused by mold exposure. The verdict is the highest ever in Michigan for personal injury damages from mold exposure. The apartment resident claimed she developed permanent, severe asthma from exposure to high levels of toxic mold after her apartment was negligently repaired following a flood from a toilet in the apartment above her. Link.
Nevada: Channel 8 News reports hundreds of subdivision homeowners are suing a major developer for water intrusion and possible mold growth caused by the developer's alleged failure to install metal strips that protect a home's foundation against water damage.