Black Mold is Not Toxic to Most Humans

Carl Brahe Inspection Perfection Inc

As real estate agents and home inspectors, we have been taught to run away screaming at the sight of black mold. We’ve been taught that coming in contact with black mold might have health consequences as severe as death. I asked Caoimhin (pronounced Qwee-Ving) Connell, Industrial Hygienist and mold expert, what the truth is. He said that there has not been a single, peer-reviewed, scientific study done that shows Stachybotrys (one of many thousands of varieties of black mold) is toxic to human beings at concentrations seen in homes. There is a potential for allergic reaction that can have severe health consequences.

Overall, Stachybotrys is not particularly toxic as mold goes. Some molds produce mycotoxins under certain circumstances, probably to poison any other microbes who might compete for the food. Some mycotoxins are deadly, but coming into contact with sufficient amounts of these toxins to harm you is unlikely. People with autoimmune diseases and others who are immune compromised, and the very old and very young, may have abnormal sensitivities to fungi. People with AIDS are particularly susceptible to a kind of Aspergillus that causes Aspergillosis. There are around 185 known species of Aspergillus. Some are deadly, others are used in food production.

Industrial Hygienist, Caoimhin P. Connell, on current attitudes about mold:

“In general, scientists and those in the medical field are not mystified about the health effects of molds so much as mystified about the public’s continued irrational fear of indoor molds; in spite of the vast, overwhelming, knowledge that has placed those risks into perspective and concluded that those fears are unfounded.”

“More recently, we have seen the US gripped by an irrational and unfounded fear of indoor molds, and in particular a mold called Stachybotrys atra. In spite of the fact that seven years ago, that report too was debunked and retracted by the Centers for Disease Control. There is no legitimate evidence to show that general indoor exposures to this mold (or any other for that matter) poses any significant threat to human health over and above that which we would see from the outdoor air.”

Mr. Connell says that a report from the Centers for Disease Control that relied on unscientific and flawed study methods started the entire hysteria over black mold. There have been high profile stories about people getting sick from toxic mold, but Caoimhin says that in most cases, health problems attributed to mold are caused allergic reaction to other airborne agents common in most homes.

Mr. Connell calls testing methods used by home inspectors, “junk-science”. The normal testing done by home inspectors proves nothing except that mold is present. Mold is present everywhere. The average cubic foot of air on earth contains over 100,000 mold spores. The normally used technique of comparing indoor and outdoor samples is so flawed that it proves nothing and is a waste of money, according to Caoimhin. Testing is sometimes ordered when people in a house are having unexplained health problems. If mold is found, may be assumed to be the cause. The real cause is probably something else, especially in a climate as dry as Colorado.

The normal reasons for mold testing usually don’t make a lot of sense. Mold is everywhere. If it has a source of moisture and food (mold eats cellulose and complex sugars), it will grow and prosper until the moisture dries up. Then it goes into dormancy and can wait centuries to revive when the moisture is great enough for it to grow again. It takes around 19% water content in a food source and forty-eight hours for most molds to begin to grow. If moisture is controlled mold can’t grow.

Some people request a mold test to know what kind of mold is present in their homes with the thought that if Stachybotrys is present, something must be done. Normal testing procedures will find Stachybotrys present along with all other mold species that occur naturally in the environment. The concentrations, inside and out, will be higher or lower during different times of the year and periods of weather

An industrial hygienist approach would include working with the medical team to determine relevant testing. First a thorough visual inspection is done. He/she will be looking for a source of the allergen that has hopefully been identified by medical testing. Sampling for toxins (mycotoxins) is almost never performed since the testing is extremely expensive and there is no scientific evidence to suggest that such toxins are responsible for symptoms.

If a source is found, such as mold growth in walls, or off gassing of building materials, or pet danders or other allergen/toxin found in the environment, the next step is to identify a migratory pathway. This is a way that the offending source enters the person’s immediate environment. If mold in the wall is contained in the wall and has no way to escape into the building, it is not a danger to the occupants. If mold, or mold spores, have access to a person’s immediate environment, he/she may have an adverse physical reaction if he/she has a sensitivity to that specific mold.If there is no access, there is no danger.

Only after all these aspects have been discovered will an industrial hygienist do lab testing, if necessary. Meaningful lab testing that will stand up in court is expensive. If the source, migration pathway and susceptibility pathways have been discovered, the problem can be corrected and lab testing may not be needed.

A great deal of money is spent on mold testing that benefits only the testing labs and testers. People run from buying real estate that has slight mold growth that can easily and safely be washed away with soap and water (after correcting the problem that provides moisture for growth). Our basic fears for the safety of our children can cloud our judgment when flawed information, arrogant ignorance and media hype are what we are presented with to make life altering decisions. There are always those who will try to promote and exploit ignorance for their own profit.

For some people, black mold, and other common molds, present a health problem. Most people are in no danger, in most circumstances, from common household mold growth. However, if you live in an environment that has enough uncontrolled moisture to grow mold there are many other possible health threats present. All pests and forces of decay that are present, such as  bugs, rodents mold and wood rot, will thrive in the same environmental conditions necessary for mold growth. If you live in a home with mold, repair all sources of water penetration, leakage condensation before spending money to find and eliminate black mold.

Carl Brahe, Inspection Perfection Inc copyright 2006 & 2011 all rights reserved

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