Family Loses House, Health to Toxic Mold

by Michael Sadowski

Scranton Times Tribune - Sunday Times April 07, 2002

They lost their house.

They lost their possessions.

And they lost their health.

A toxic mold moved into the Gleason family home in Moosic and took over.

Now the family of five is trying to recover, both financially and physically, from a ferocious menace which has gone mostly unabated.

Located at 535 Gleason Drive, the two-story house Dave Gleason built in 1978 now is contaminated with a type of fungus that can cause nearly undiagnosable yet dangerous health problems.

The family has since moved to a new home in the Abingtons. Their Moosic house will be destroyed because of its contamination.

What's worse, Mr. Gleason, 43, has discovered what most in his situation have found -- his homeowners insurance does not cover toxic mold.

And their insurance company is not budging.

"We've lost everything. We're basically starting over," Mr. Gleason said. "And since we've been researching it, we've found we're not alone."

But there may be help.

State Rep. Jim Wansacz is calling for the state Depart- ment of Health to assemble a task force investigating health concerns related to toxic mold in the form of a resolution.

Mr. Wansacz, who said other states legislatures in Texas, California and New York already have taken measures against toxic mold, met in Harrisburg on March 14 with families from around Pennsylvania who have battled the peculiar mold in their homes.

"We've got to get this moving," said Mr. Wansacz, D-Scott Township. "I've been getting more and more calls on this from around the state, and it is a big problem."

The state Department of Health backs up Mr. Wansacz's mission.

Paul Marmo, an environmental health specialist at the state Department of Health's Northeast District Office in Wilkes-Barre, said his office gets about one call a day from people wondering if their home has been contaminated with toxic mold.

Mr. Marmo, who has worked for the department for 10 years, said neither the state nor federal government has any regulations concerning toxic mold.

"Right now we are in a consult and educate stage," he said. "The only action we can take is public education."

Mark Carmon of the Wilkes-Barre office of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, confirmed there is no state legislation providing protection for homeowners affected by toxic mold.

But he did acknowledge this potentially disastrous type of mold is a major problem.

"For homeowners, (toxic mold) could be almost catastrophic," Mr. Carmon said. "There really are no state regulations for indoor air pollution, which is what toxic mold is. People really can lose everything."

WHAT IS IT?

Toxic mold is tricky. The most common types of mold generally are not hazardous to healthy individuals, but people who have asthma, allergies or weakened immune systems are more likely to react to mold.

Mold grows in any damp area of the home, like basements or ventilation ducts.

Some rare types of mold -- like the ones found in the Gleason home -- can cause more serious health problems.

And the Gleasons are not alone. According to papers filed in Lehigh County Court, Seymour and Susan Traub of Allentown are suing Great American Insurance Companies for not fixing a leaky roof in a timely fashion.

They contend the leaky roof at their Allentown home led to toxic mold problems, which made them sick.

The court papers state the couple vacated the home in 1994. But Randy and Mary Sandt purchased the home at 1111 N. Broad St. in 1998.

The Sandts joined the Traubs' suit when they also became ill, something they believe is directly attributable to the lingering toxic mold in the home, according to court papers in their suit.

The trial is scheduled for May 28.

Austin, Texas, resident Melinda Ballard won $32 million in damages from a Texas court last June after battling with her insurance company for more than three years.

Her $6.5 million suburban Austin home, which now is abandoned, was ravaged by toxic mold after water leaks throughout the home were not repaired in a timely fashion, Ms. Ballard said. The case is now in appeals court.

The problem doesn't just hurt homeowners. The Evans Falls Elementary School in the Tunkhannock Area School District currently is undergoing a $3.25 million renovation project in part because of the school's bout with toxic mold in the mid-1990s.

Superintendent Carol Blundell said the school has been free from any toxic mold problems since a new roof and new heating and air conditioning system have been installed.

The improvements are designed to keep the school better protected against water seepage. The renovation project, which also includes a new library and new technology room, should be complete before the start of the 2002-03 school year.

HOW DOES IT HURT?

Dave Gleason has suffered from short-term memory loss, chronic fatigue, asthma, constant flu-like symptoms and kidney problems.

His 20-year-old son Derek has had problems with asthma, while his wife Leslie and his oldest daughter Laura, 21, often fight bloody noses and skin rashes.

Youngest daughter Lacie, 11, has constant flu symptoms and finds it hard to concentrate.

But the Gleason family's medical problems pale in comparison to those of the Ballard family. While Ms. Ballard has somewhat recovered since leaving the home, she said her husband Ron Allison has irreparable neurological damage, including a near-complete short-term memory loss, according to his wife.

A former successful investment banker, Mr. Allison was fired from his job in June 1999 because of his medical problems.

The family's 6-year-old son, Reese Allison, suffered brain damage from which he likely won't recover, according to his mother.

"Now he spends time in physical therapy when he would normally be playing with his friends," Ms. Ballard said.

Like Ms. Ballard, Mr. Gleason claims his family's medical problems stemmed from the toxic mold infesting his former home.

"It was three years of living in hell," Mr. Gleason said about the time when his family started getting sick in early 1998 until they left the home in 2001.

HOW DOES IT HAPPEN?

He believes the mold had been growing in his home since 1993, when his basement was flooded twice, possibly due to poor drainage on his newly paved road.

He claims water was accidentally diverted into his home rather than to drainage pipes.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency claims flooding is one of the main contributors to mold growth in the home.

The mold left behind from the flooding grew more toxic and spread through the house into the beginning of 1998, when Mr. Gleason said he and his family felt inexplicably sick more and more often.

He visited the hospital many times, but no one could diagnose the problem.

But while watching a television program in April 2000 about Ms. Ballard's Texas home, he learned about toxic mold. He started doing research, which led to a phone call from his lawyer, who was doing his own research.

"He said, 'Get out of your house, NOW,' " Mr. Gleason remembered. "And we found out you can never go back, because everything in the house is contaminated. If I just walk in the door, my eyes will water, I'll feel weak and I'll get sick again."

A private air quality company inspected the Gleason home shortly after the family left, and found it contaminated with aspergillus, penicillium and stachybotrys, three of the most harmful types of mold.

The mold has spread throughout the house, meaning the entire home -- and everything in it -- is contaminated and no longer fit for use.

"And the insurance company hasn't given us a dime, not even to stay in a hotel," said Mr. Gleason, who owns a custom cabinetry company.

The problem, according to P.J. Crowley, the vice-president of the Insurance Information Institute in New York City, is that mold found in the home normally results from non-accidental occurances.

Mold usually is a home maintenance issue, like termites or mildew prevention, and therefore not covered under home insurance, he said.

He said there are "thousands" of cases across the country with homeowners suing insuance companies for not covering the total loss of the homes.

"But you have to look at those policies," he said. "Unless the mold forms because of some kind of coverable incident -- like a pipe burst or a collapsed roof -- mold is excluded from the policy."

And if it did get covered, the results could be damaging to the entire insurance-paying population.

"Texas is the only state that does have language including coverage for mold," Mr. Crowley said. "And it is not a coincidence that you pay more for insurance in that state than anywhere else in the country. Another problem is that there really is no state or federal regulations for mold."

Which is where the Legislature comes in.

If Mr. Wansacz's proposed task force can prove the ailments of Mr. Gleason and others like him are caused by toxic mold, insurance companies may have to cover the cost of the home.

"So far, we've been drawing a lot of support trying to get the bill into the Senate," Mr. Wansacz said. "There are about 50 or 60 representatives co-sponsoring it right now. We have to find a solution for this."

Mr. Gleason is just hoping that solution comes in time to save any other family from being kept out of their own home.

"We want to make sure other families in our type of situation are protected from now on," he said. "No one should go through what we have been through."

Or to contact Mr. Wansacz, e-mail him at JWansacz@pahouse.net.