After the flood: mold. Learning from Katrina.

As Iowa’s flood waters recede
and recovery ramps up, the race begins to minimize problems with
moldy buildings. Summer weather and flooded buildings are not a
good combination. Here are some links that I found that can help
citizens of Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin and other flooded Midwestern
states prepape for dealing with mold in flooded buildings.

MOLD NEVER SLEEPS
Katrina serves as a good (bad) example of how mold can still be
present months after a flood and even after remediation efforts. In
study of post-Katrina New Orleans, a team of investigators
performed continuous airborne sampling for mold spores and
endotoxin for two months after the Katrina and Rita hurricanes in
2005. They took measures indoors and outdoors; in flooded and
non-flooded areas. Testing periods lasted five to 24 hrs.

The results were estimated
24-hr mold concentrations ranging from 21,000 to 102,000 spores/m3
in outdoor air and from 11,000 to 645,000 spores/m3 in indoor air.
The mean outdoor spore concentration in flooded areas was roughly
double the concentration in nonflooded areas (66,167 vs. 33,179
spores/m3). Stachybotrys (the infamous black mold) was among the
species of mold found.

The complete paper, “Airborne
Mold and Endotoxin Concentrations in New Orleans, Louisiana, after
Flooding, October through November 2005,” is available online
at no cost from Environmental Health Perspectives’
website.

http://www.ehponline.org/docs/2006/9198/abstract.html

REMEDIATION RESOURCES
In addition to health risks, mold poses a significant risk of
property damage. Obviously, taking action as early as possible to
spot and remediate mold is imperative. Here are some links to
credible information sites for mold remediation, some of which
stems from Katrina, and other sources that are more generic:

Here is information from the
EPA on how to deal with a flood, including tackling mold
issue:

Here’s a link for those of you
looking for information
specific to schools and commercial buildings..

Additionally, here’s
similar information from the Centers for Disease Control in
Atlanta

INSURANCE AND LITIGATION

Insurance claims for mold can be
tricky…(understatement of the year). I found a Website from
United Policy Holders that
educates insurance policy holders on how to file a mold
claim.  According to their Website, United Policy Holders
“United Policyholders was founded in 1991 as non-profit
tax-exempt organization dedicated to educating the public on
insurance issues and consumer rights.”

And, not to disappoint those of you
who knew where this was going, there’s the lawsuit angles
that have to be covered. Here’s a paper on mold
litigation and Katrina that seems to have gotten a lot of
attention: 

Hurricane
Katrina: A ‘Perfect Storm’ For Mold Litigation

And, finally, as if the housing
market isn’t bad enough… Although I haven’t had time to
read the whole thing, this 62-page white paper on mold and real
estate by the Mortgage Bankers Association is worth downloading and
reading when you get the chance. It covers everything from the
science of mold in buildings to recent research on mold toxicity to
how to deal with legal issues surrounding mold contamination. And,
it has REFERENCES, so it has to be good:
Mold: A White Paper Presented by MBA Mold Working Group