Alert! Congress to target "TOXIC MOLD!"

Raymond D. Mereniuk Raymond at fbntech.com
Sun Sep 30 02:10:54 PDT 2001


On 28 Sep 2001, at 19:51, Eric Cordian wrote:

> In any case, I think claims of "Attack of the Killer Mold" are vastly
> overblown.

In the past, long ago, humans lived in caves and holes in the 
ground, at least in some places.  Mole and bacteria were pretty 
common and humans survived.  If you are born into an environment 
where "mold" and "spores" are common you build-up a resistance 
early in life.  In recent years the American consumer has been 
assaulted with vendors selling anti-bacterial and anti-mold solutions 
which promise a healthy environment. 

I question the soundness of attempting to sanitize our environment 
to the point where there is limited exposure to bacteria and molds.  
I notice a lot more kids with allergies and environmental 
sensitivities than I remember as a youth and if I manage to visit the 
home of these kids I notice the home is usually very clean.  The 
point here is providing an ultra clean environment for young children 
may not be the best way to prepare them for a life in a world with 
various life forms, read mold and bacteria, attempting to use you as 
a host.
 
> Most people with mold-related health problems live in damp slums with
> clumps of it growing on their walls.

Not entirely true.  I live on the west coast of Canada in what is 
basically a temperate rain forest 6 to 8 months of the year.  Most 
modern paints have anti-fungal ingredients, or they are just poison 
to begin with, and generally resist mold for a number of years.  
When the paint gets old and there is humidity there will be mold.  
With new paint and lots of humidity there will be mold in no time.

A few years ago the Canadian federal gov't tightened building 
regulations to require new construction to have a double envelope.  
Basically the walls are sealed on the outside and sealed on the 
inside.  Great idea for most of Canada which is cold and dry but 
questionable in a temperate rain forest.

Now add to this municipal gov'ts who in an attempt to maximize 
property taxes and development charges decide to tax on the 
square footage covered by the eves rather than the interior square 
footage and the problem grows.  Developers build with no eves and 
the building walls, outside envelope, are subject to the full force of 
the weather, which is mainly liquid.

The authorities responsible for building inspections fall down badly 
and only go through the motions.  Since it is warm enough to work 
year round, even though it rains 6 to 8 months a year, the builders 
work year round.  They frame the walls in the rain and even though 
they put a roof on the structure they will seal the wet wood framing 
on both sides.

The end result are buildings with significant moisture leakage and 
mold.  The problem is not so bad with single family dwellings as the 
eves tend to keep the weather off the walls, or so it is commonly 
thought.  Multi-family dwellings are hit big time.  They call it the 
Leaky Condo Crisis and virtually every multi-family building 
constructed in the last 5 to 8 years has the problem.

It is very common to find the inside structure of walls black with 
mold.  I can see the discoloured wood as I pass by.  These are not 
low-end dwellings.  Occupants of these Leaky Condos are 
complaining of mold related health issues.  They are finding many 
condos in Seattle are suffering from similar problems.

Older low-end construction doesn't tend to have a problem as there 
is no sealed envelope, never mind double sealed envelope, and the 
walls tend to breath and any moisture dries out in the summer.



Virtually

Raymond D. Mereniuk
Raymond at fbntech.com
FBN - Offering PUP - Unbreakable Encryption Techology
http://www.fbntech.com/pup.html





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