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Contact: Frank Sobrino, Press Secretary
O: (212) 669-4193
For Immediate Release: December 14,
2006
Gotbaum Calls for Action to Protect
New Yorkers
Against Health Hazards of Household Mold
In a new report released today, Public
Advocate Betsy Gotbaum urged the City to take action to protect
New Yorkers from the health risks associated with household mold
growth, calling for updated building and housing maintenance codes,
stepped up enforcement of existing regulations and stiffer penalties
for landlords who fail to correct violations.
“Mold exposure is a serious
health concern in New York City,” Gotbaum said. “Yet
there is no established and enforceable protocol for mold assessment
and remediation. That has to change if we’re going to attack
this problem.”
The Department of Health and Mental
Hygiene has seen mold complaints increase more than 1,800 percent,
from 861 reports in 1999 to 16,452 reports in 2004. Over the past
five years, the City’s Department of Housing Preservation
and Development has seen the number of mold complaints more than
double, increasing to 21,121 cases reported in Fiscal Year 2006.
Peggy Shepard, executive director
of WE ACT for Environmental Justice, said: “Housing conditions
are key environmental concerns affecting indoor air quality and
exposing residents to a range of allergens and toxins. Mold complaints
by residents are escalating and the city must comprehensively
address its prevention, abatement and health impact.”
Dr. Ginger Chew, ScD, a researcher
and assistant professor of environmental health sciences at the
Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, said:
“As a scientist working in the impoverished communities
of New York City, I've seen mold levels in housing that are high
enough to cause alarm for people with asthma.”
Bianca Jagger said:
“Mold is a dangerous threat, regardless of where one lives
or how much rent one pays. The havoc mold has created in my life
is ample proof of that. After twenty years of residing at my apartment
at 530 Park Avenue, I had to vacate my residence because of mold
infestation. Overnight my life was uprooted and my health compromised.
More than four years on, I have not yet obtained a satisfactory
court resolution. Although I do not inhabit my apartment, I have
continued to pay my rent
every month, despite what has been reported in the media. The
City of New York doesn’t have adequate regulations and lacks
the legislation to make culpable landlords accountable before
the law and protect the thousands of tenants who are in a similar
predicament. But I’m not here to ask for sympathy. I’m
here to highlight the case of tenants like Tongia Edwards, and
thousands of others at their wit’s end, and to call for
immediate action to protect New Yorkers from the threat of mold.”
Mold exposure is particularly hazardous
for those with weakened lungs or sinus conditions, such as fibromyalgia
and emphysema. In sufficient quantities, mold can cause or aggravate
asthma, irritate the skin or cause highly hazardous allergic reactions
in susceptible populations, such as children and the elderly.
Molds that produce by-products called
mycotoxins are harmful to all people, regardless of age or health.
Mycotoxins are fungal metabolites that, in sufficient quantities,
appear to cause headaches, serious respiratory problems, and possibly
more severe conditions, particularly in people with poor immune
systems.
Exposure to large quantities of any
kind of indoor mold during a baby’s first year of life has
been demonstrated to increase the risk of asthma. A study by Saint
Vincent’s Hospital in Manhattan determined that there is
a correlation between spore counts and the likelihood of developing
childhood asthma and that “patients with asthma had a highly
significant increase in the incidence of hypersensitivity…
to the molds.”
Molds reproduce by producing microscopic
spores that travel through the air. When the spores land on an
organic surface, mold may begin to grow, as long as there is moisture
and oxygen available. Mold grows well on moist or wet paper products,
sheetrock, plaster, grouting, wood and ceiling tiles, and can
also grow in dust and on painted surfaces, wallpaper, insulation,
drywall and carpeting. Mold destroys the surface it grows on and
can rot wood, drywall and other construction materials, eventually
causing structural damage in buildings.
According to Gotbaum’s report,
HPD inspectors conduct only visual inspections of mold growth
and not the proper and comprehensive sampling assessments prescribed
in the nationally-respected DOHMH guidelines. A visual inspection
may not adequately assess the full extent of a mold problem, as
it does not take air quality and other factors into consideration.
“Over the past
four years, my office has received more than 100 calls from tenants
who haven't been able to get HPD or their landlords to properly
treat their mold problems,” Gotbaum said. “These tenants
are at their wits’ end. The City must take action to protect
New Yorkers from the hazards of mold.”
Gotbaum makes the following recommendations
in her report:
• The DOHMH Guidelines on mold
assessment and remediation should be incorporated into the Housing
Maintenance Code.
• Mold should be classified
as a separate violation under the Housing Maintenance Code, with
additional civil penalties when a landlord fails to correct such
violation. Currently, mold is only considered a violation under
the general provision of “disrepair” and guidance
provided to HPD inspectors as to classification of mold violations
is insufficient.
• When mold conditions
are deemed immediately hazardous to the health of a tenant, the
tenant should have the option of being housed in HPD temporary
housing until the remediation has been completed, or be reimbursed
by the landlord for other temporary housing.
• HPD should create a team of
inspectors dedicated to mold assessment.
• Mold prevention measures should
be incorporated into the City’s Building Code.
• The City and
State should establish a licensing requirement for individuals
who conduct mold assessment and mold remediation and make a registry
listing such individuals available to the public. This measure
will prevent landlords, tenants and homeowners from paying large
fees to unqualified workers.
“There are thousands of New
Yorkers whose health depends on how the City responds to this
growing problem,” Gotbaum said. “These are simple
but effective steps to control the mold problem in the city. The
important thing is to act now, before more tenants’ health
is endangered.”
* * *
Unhealthy
Exposure: Mold In New York City Homes (December 2006) (PDF)
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