NATURE

Sea, land, river

First I give the local situation at Kaien and then look into context of ‘toxic mould’ in residential places in BC

PEOPLES

Community

For earlier materials see Table of Contents

Is mould a problem?	Toxic Mould ---Who cares?
	In a public place – think law suits—in residential?

There is a clash here of high profile court cases especially in US but also in Canada – but more along the ‘Leaky Condo’ stories (suits against contractors for physical faults and not for ‘harm to health’ issues

Only Alberta recognises landlord responsibility for mould remediation etc

	The situation Kaien Seniors Housing
	At a recent meeting of the non-profit society running the Kaien facility a report was given of extensive mould problem in the crawl space under the building --- faulty drainage was root cause but much of the vapor barrier etc will have to be replaced at estimated cost 30T$

The Situation – as I understand it

Apartment 11 or 12

In one apartment extensive black mould ws found under the carpet when it was lifted. The report saw this as not related to mold in crawl space.

Shouldn’t we get a professional in to see if any mold in other living areas?

No the highest priority is to ‘solve the drainage problem etc --- tenants were not to be told as might needlessly alarm them

The government sites

EPA in US has best introduction and links

And CDC site Center for Disease Control) has good neutral material

Here is a site listing private ‘certified’ inspectors in BC – with links – which amy not be as ‘dependable’ as EPA

New York City Department of Health Bureau of Environmental & Mental Hygiene guidelines on the assessment and remediation

Context from Newspapers

G&M 2005 story: 2.5B$ paid out in claims in 2002 alone ‘toxic mould is a nightmare’ –

Here is review ‘toxic mould’ legal situation in Canada

Note this part --

g) Property Managers, Landlords and Owners

Property managers, landlords and owners may be sued by tenants for negligence as a result of a failure to maintain leased premises so as to provide a safe living and working environment.

Mould Scientific Descriptions – links to Prof. D. Malloch, Dept. of Botany, U. of Toronto -- -from - ON Tenants site
Alternaria	Aspergillus	Cladosporium	Fusarium	Penicillium	Stachybotrys	Streptomyces

In BC public servants and workers will have clout – tenants have to rely upon civil court cases --- thus in BC there are strict rules for removing mold from the crawl space to protect the workers (protective clothing, masks etc—and how todispose of hazardous waste) – but nothing to protect the tenants in same building --- they don’t even have to be notified

Sick Building complex

In Canada it has been public buildings like court houses and schools that have brought on the lawsuits

Here are the Alberta links: Public Health Act and the Housing Regulation, Alberta Regulation 173/99, and Minimum Housing and Health Standards both as PDFs

Created by LG on March 21, 2007

Last updated on Wednesday, March 21, 2007

NATURE

PEOPLES

For earlier materials see Table of Contents

Toxic Mould ---Who cares?

Sick Building complex