Mould v. Asbestos

[tszczepanski]

Mr. Swift,

I apologize for my comments if they have offended anyone. I find it quite humorous to have comments made that state the "correct" spelling of mould is according to the King! With multi-culturalism in the news lately, it seems ridiculous for such a simple word that most English-speaking folk understand no matter how it is spelled, be pointed out again how the U.S. spells mold incorrectly. And my name is Szczepanski, not Szezepanski - I think?

I also have extensive training and experience with asbestos (a little longer than 5 days), however my comments regard mold. I still am curious why NACHI seems to endorse Pro-Lab when the information that they (Pro-Lab) are providing can harm NACHI inspectors in court according to Mr. Connell.

The actual truth appears to be that Mr. Connell has plenty of time to write enormously long opinions on this message board.

[Keith Swift, PhD.]

Thomas, your ability to reason is impaired, and renders your apology almost meaningless. The course that I took fifteen years ago on asbestos was five-days, but my research and field experience since that time has been quite extensive. Mr. Connell is quite clearly an authority on environmental pollutants, and graciously provided the membership with some plain truths about asbestos and mold, and yet you respond with unsubstantiated accusations and resort to such juvenile behavior as name-calling. You owe him an apology. If you want to be politically correct, my title is "Dr," not "Mr," but you may call me Keith. As for spelling, "preemminent" only has one "m" in it. His humor is self-evident; yours is not.

[tszczepanski]

You asked. I haven't denied you from expressing your opinion. I never said you had impaired reasoning or called you juvenile or placed "doubting" in front of your name.

[Keith Swift, PhD.]

Every part of your argument is flawed and has no basis in fact. You simply maligned an obvious expert and then indulged in juvenile, yes, juvenile, name-calling. Then, you're foolish enough to imply some complicity in my having complimented his post. In point of fact, I know very little about this man, other than the fact that he is an industrial hygienist. Regardless, his writing skills and command of the subject matter convinced me that he is someone worth listening to. If you cannot contribute something postive, or buttress your arguments with logical proof, I suggest you read and learn and refrain from writing.

[Nick Gromicko]

As a former REALTOR, considering that nearly all inspections we perform are associated with real estate transactions, I would think that whether or not mold or radon or asbestos or widgetts for that matter are ACTUALLY dangerous to human beings is a totally moot point and not one we need to be qualified to argue either way.

Our clients pay us to provide them with documents.... the more documents (be they pictures, lab reports, etc)... the better we serve our clients.

I knew a man who bought a home with a radon level in excess of 600 pCi/L because he thought radon was B.S. He never even asked me for a copy of the lab report (the document) and so never used it to walk from the executed contract or negotiate with the seller. Fine. But when he went to resale his home a year later he discovered that the marketplace didn't think radon was B.S. The radon may or may not have been ACTUALLY harmful to him (who knows, I'm not a health physicist), but it sure as heck was harmful to his re-selling price.

[Joseph Hagarty, CMI]

http://www.thestarpress.com/apps/pbc...612270315/1002

Home not so sweet when invaded by mold

The Hamakers had to leave their home after discovering the source of daughter Kylee's near-fatal asthma attack.
By GAIL KOCH
gkoch@muncie.gannett.com
2 Comments



MUNCIE -- Until a few weeks ago, Dawn Hamaker believed her home was her family's sanctuary.

Not anymore.

In the early-morning hours of Dec. 5, Hamaker was awakened by her 12-year-old daughter, Kylee. A severe asthmatic, Kylee was having a paralyzing asthma attack, one that deprived her of oxygen so quickly she was near death.

As she called 911, Hamaker screamed for her husband, Tom. With help from the couple's youngest daughter, Darian, 8, Tom woke in time to administer CPR to Kylee and save her life.

To his credit, Tom wasn't licensed in CPR. "He just did what he had to do," explained his mother, Nancy McKillip.

Days later, the family had the answer to what had caused Kylee's asthma to worsen: Mold in their home.

Construction at fault

The Hamakers purchased their three-bedroom ranch home on South Luick Street in 2000. Two years before they bought the property, previous owners had built on an addition. In the Hamaker household, the 19-by-20 foot addition housed a family room, a utility room and Kylee's bedroom.
In the past, Dawn said the family had experienced problems with mold in the home. When mildew surfaced, under furniture or on walls, Hamaker did as many homeowners would do. She cleaned up the spots with bleach water.
But what Tom and Dawn didn't understand was how serious their mold problem was.

After Kylee's recent hospitalization, Tom, a concrete worker, began examining the addition to their home. Horrified, he discovered the walls had been built without insulation or plywood barriers.

"You could pretty much punch right through to the siding," he said. "I just can't believe whoever built those rooms never put insulation or boards in."
Without those barriers, moisture built up within the walls of the Hamakers' home. Over time, that moisture weakened a portion of their roof in addition to creating an environment ripe for black mold to grow.

Dawn, too, was disgusted by the seriousness of the problem. "It's mold, and when you think mold, you think 'dirty,'" she said. "It's a gross thing to think about, but we know this was not our fault."

'Always been givers'

Now aware of their home's mold problem, the Hamakers have set out to fix the roof and addition.

The problem? The cost.

Even with Tom and several friends handling some of the labor, estimates to remodel are running between $10,000 and $15,000. The couple's homeowners' insurance will not cover the cost, Dawn said, because the problem was a man-made one.

To help pay for the improvements, the Hamakers are sponsoring a "Clean Air for Kylee" fund-raising event 2-6 p.m. Jan. 6 at Center Stage. The family also has arranged for donations to be made to the Kylee Hamaker Fund (Fund number 3285-11), set up at all WGE Credit Unions.

Initially, Kylee's grandmother, who also suffers from asthma, said the family was reluctant to ask for help. "We've always been givers," she said. "We've never felt the need to ask for anything."

But the Hamakers are hoping that by reaching out and sharing their family's story, the situation can educate others about unknown dangers that can exist in one's home. "It's a buyer-beware lesson, really," said Cher Fisher, Tom's sister.

One that nearly cost Kylee Hamaker her life, her mother points out. "I just feel misled," she said. "We had a home inspection, we were told the home was safe to live in. From the outside, it looked nice."

Condition improving

Since Kylee's latest asthma attack, the family of five (the couple has an older daughter, Chelsey, 16) have been living at the southside home of Cher and her husband, Adam Fisher.

Cher said her niece's condition has improved dramatically since the Hamakers temporarily moved out of their own home.
Tests indicate Kylee's breathing level, measured in "peak flow," remains near an average range of 300. In the past, those levels had dropped into the 100s, her aunt said.

The family is also piecing together how past problems with Kylee's asthma might have been triggered by the mold.

Tom and Dawn were not aware Kylee was allergic to mold (and a host of other allergens) until their daughter underwent allergy testing at Riley Children's Hospital earlier this year.

Kylee's asthma would get worse in the winter months, Dawn explained, which she used to attribute to the change in seasons. "Now I realize it's because we'd shut the house up, the heat would be on and Kylee would be inside all the time."

Chelsey also would suffer from headaches and fatigue, which Dawn suspects might have been a side effect of mold exposure.

Kylee continues to receive the highest doses of asthma medication she can take for her age. A small comfort for the Hamakers is the recent arrival of an epipen in the house, a small pen containing epinephrine that will open Kylee's airways in the event of another severe attack. As a family, they'll also soon undergo CPR training.

Dawn said she worries about moving back into the family home, even after the renovations are made. "If we rented, we'd be out of there," she said.
For now, she's hoping for the best and is thankful that her daughter was still alive this Christmas.

Contact news reporter Gail Koch at 213-5827.


'Clean Air for Kylee' event The Hamaker family will have a fund-raising event 2-6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6, at Center Stage, 306 S. Walnut St.
Donations also can be made to the Kylee Hamaker Fund (Fund number 3285-11), set up at all WGE Credit Unions in town.

Remodeling needs
The Hamakers are in need of the following items to make improvements to their home:
Plywood
Replacement windows
Roofing supplies
Paint rollers
Mud, nails
Grass seed (no Kentucky bluegrass)
Insulation
Drywall
Siding
Attic vent
Allergen-free filters and sprays
Hypoallergenic detergent
Allergen-free bedding

[Keith Swift, PhD.]

I did an inspection this year and found mold in a bathroom sink cabinet, in a guest bathroom, of an otherwise emmaculate house. Within a week, a pediatrician who owned the house called to thank me and to report that his minor daughter had been sick for months with allergy-like symptoms attributable to the mold. Knowledge is power.

[Michael Bazzo, CMI]

Originally Posted by kswift

I did an inspection this year and found mold in a bathroom sink cabinet, in a guest bathroom, of an otherwise emmaculate house. Within a week, a pediatrician who owned the house called to thank me and to report that his minor daughter had been sick for months with allergy-like symptoms attributable to the mold. Knowledge is power.

Originally Posted by kswift

What a joy to read Caohimhin P. Connell. There's nothing quite so refreshing as the plain truth..

?????????????

[Roy D. Cooke, Sr]

Originally Posted by mbazzo

?????????????

Sorry I did not get to see the rest of your message .
Roy Cooke

[Keith Swift, PhD.]

PS I should have quoted "Knowledge is power," actually "Knowledge itself is power," which was written by Francis Bacon (1561-1626).

[Keith Swift, PhD.]

The debate about mold and asbestos is complicated, and inspectors don't really need to understand it, if indeed anyone can. Asbestos struck fear in the heart of consummers and generated literally thousands of lawsuits in which innocent inspectors were victimized. Mold has the potential to do the same, and inspectors need to do everything within their power to prevent that. I intend to write an article about this, but it will take me time to marshall the facts. As usual, Nick gets right to the heart of the matter:
I would think that whether or not mold or radon or asbestos or widgetts for that matter are ACTUALLY dangerous to human beings is a totally moot point and not one we need to be qualified to argue either way.

[Michael Bazzo, CMI]

Originally Posted by rcooke

Sorry I did not get to see the rest of your message .
Roy Cooke

Just a bit confussed by Keith's opinions on this matter.

[Keith Swift, PhD.]

Michael, mold is a serious issue that has led to inspectors being victimized by clients and their attorneys, and by a court system that is easily corrupted, and in which the exchange of money features more prominantly than the quest for truth. Although I recognize that Connell is an authority on the subject, and laud his comments, it doesn't mean that I agree with everything he has to say. However, I do object to sarcastic and snide comments given in the guise of a continuing dialogue. If someone disagrees with Connell or has a beef with PRO-LAB, let's hear about it. I for one want the membership to know. Regardless, as anyone who has read my articles or Inspect and Protect, knows I have taken on attorneys and so-called experts for years, and have been attacked for doing so. Am I some sort of an authority? No I'm not. I'm just an ordinary man with an opinion, and just because I happen to be NACHI's vice-president doesn't give my opinion any special value. Nixon told the world that he wasn't a crook, and Clinton claimed that he didn't have sexual relations with Monica, and I didn't believe either of them. Let's learn everything we can from the experts, so we can serve ourselves and our clients better. One thing I can promise the membership as NACHI's vice- president is something that I learned from Mark Twain: I can lie, but I won't. Ask me a straight question, and you'll get a straight answer.

[Michael Bazzo, CMI]

Originally Posted by kswift

However, I do object to sarcastic and snide comments given in the guise of a continuing dialogue. If someone disagrees with Connell or has a beef with PRO-LAB, let's hear about it.

Keith,

Sorry if I some how came across as sarcastic, That wasnt my intent. I simple was wondering if your were swinging from the right or left or may be a switch hitter. thanks for clearing this up for me.

[Keith Swift, PhD.]

Michael, you were not in the least sarcastic. I was referring to someone who most definitely was, but with whom I've finished communicating (sharing). I thought that your post was direct and to the point, and I thank you for it.