THE GALLON ENVIRONMENT LETTER

506 Victoria Ave., Montreal, Quebec H3Y 2R5

Ph. (514) 369-0230, Fax (514) 369-3282

Vol. 6, No. 4, March 1, 2002

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CALIFORNIA IS FIRST STATE TO REQUIRE MOLD DISCLOSURE

Mold is becoming a serious indoor environmental disease. It forms between the walls of buildings in moist climates, especially when the buildings are not properly constructed. California recently became the first state to require owners and landlords of commercial or residential property to disclose the presence of mold. Under the Toxic Mold Protection Act, the state Department of Health Services is required to develop new mold standards for indoor environments and report on the progress on developing those standards by July 1, 2003. Owners and landlords will have to begin disclosing the presence of excessive mold six months after the standards are adopted. Also, a California jury awarded a family more than US $2.7 million for personal injuries due to exposure to toxic mold case. The plaintiffs had moved into an apartment complex in August 1997. Shortly thereafter, they complained about mold but management did not fix the problem. One member of the family spent five days in a hospital in acute respiratory distress. They vacated the apartment and left their belongings behind. They said that they had to pay more rent in their new place. In addition, they had nearly $125,000 in medical bills. Initially, the plaintiffs just wanted the apartment complex to reimburse them for their belongings and moving expenses and filed their lawsuit after the apartment management refused. At another California apartment complex, the owner has agreed to a settlement for 85 apartments that had been infested with mold. The settlement payments ranged from $7,500 for one bedroom, $9,000 for two bedrooms, and $15,000 for three bedrooms. In addition, tenants do not have to pay back rent that has been unpaid since June 1999. The 300-apartment complex has been completely vacated and mold remediation is underway. Source, The Schnapf Environmental Report, a bi-monthly newsletter, published by Law Professor Lawrence P. Schnapf, 55 E.87th Street, #8B, New York, New York 10128. Telephone: (212) 996-5395. Fax: (503) 213-9314. E-Mail: LSchnapf@environmental-law.net. Subscription rate for the Schnapf Environmental Report is $95 for one year (six issues) or $25 per issue.

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MOLD REMOVAL AND CLEAN UP BECOMING A MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL BUSINESS

Specialty environmental companies providing the expertise and technology for mold removal are being called upon to help solve the problem. For example, during the past few months, school districts in the Chicago, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Maine area have had to shut down schools while mold was removed from the buildings. One mold cleanup at a Chicago area high school is expected to take five months to complete at a cost of $1.275 million. It is believed that mold problems in homes are caused by water leaks. The most common source of leaks are broken washing machine hose, leaky dishwasher, cracked water or sewer pipe, condensation associated with air conditioning equipment, leaking windows and roofs. Moisture problems in school buildings can be caused by a variety of conditions, including roof and plumbing leaks, condensation, and excess humidity. Some moisture problems in schools are as a result of recent building design changes that make buildings more air tight for increased energy efficiency. These new "environmentally-sound buildings" don't allow moisture to escape easily often resulting in the creation of mold and "sick building syndrome".. However, EPA has said that some of the moisture problems in schools are also associated with delayed maintenance or insufficient maintenance budgets in order to keep up these newer types of buildings. Source, The Schnapf Environmental Report, a bi-monthly newsletter, published by Law Professor Lawrence P. Schnapf, 55 E.87th Street, #8B, New York, New York.