Latest news with #CIRS
The Age
an hour ago
- Health
- The Age
Aimee's rental is making her sick. One in three homes have the same issue
Aimee Morton first noticed mould in her Brisbane rental about a year ago. It started with a few black patches on the bathroom ceiling, before spreading into her bedroom. 'The smell was potent,' she says. 'Even now, it's still so thick.' She reported it to her property manager, but it wasn't until the third visit, in October last year, a leak was discovered in the roof. By the time the landlord began to fix the roof – the week before Cyclone Alfred was due to hit – black mould was spreading through Morton's house. The structural damage was so bad one tradesman fell through the kitchen ceiling. 'I was standing ... about two tiles away from where his foot went through,' she says. Mould is a fungus that grows and spreads in damp, humid conditions and poorly ventilated spaces such as kitchens, bathrooms and laundries. It can cause serious health issues, from skin irritation and respiratory infections, to severe illness. Exposure to black mould is especially dangerous for those with underlying health conditions and allergen sensitivities, and has been linked to biotoxin-related illness chronic inflammatory response syndrome, or CIRS. Morton is immunocompromised and suffers health challenges. The 29-year-old is terminally ill with a muscle and nerve degenerative disease. She uses a wheelchair and has been profoundly deaf for the past 10 years. The next stage of her disease will rob her of vision. 'Then it's organ failure.' Loading Since the mould appeared, she says she's been hospitalised five times. 'I'm currently coughing up blood because the mould is killing my throat … my partner has eczema, but it's never been this bad. 'We're both asthmatic, so we can't breathe properly.' Architectural scientist and mould expert Tim Law says the health impacts of mould exposure are not widely understood, but a federal inquiry in 2018 brought attention to the issue. 'The inquiry put pressure on a lot of parties to deal with this … and keep condensation management on the front burner,' he says. Last year, the Queensland government introduced regulation enforcing minimum housing standards in rental properties, with provisions to ensure homes are weatherproof and structurally sound, and free from vermin, damp and mould. Tenants can seek compensation or a rent reduction if a landlord fails to take reasonable steps to address issues, or the home is unfit to live in. Tenants Queensland chief executive Penny Carr says owners have a responsibility to prevent rental properties becoming uninhabitable, but notes complications can arise. 'This often happens after a natural disaster, when a tenant might get a notice to leave for non-liveability. They can only get that notice if it's not due to a failure to repair. '[Owners have a] responsibility to provide that property in a way that's fit to live in and meets all health and safety obligations, and to continue maintaining that property in that way as well.' Law's research points to an even bigger problem. In Australia, an estimated one in three houses are affected by mould and moisture, often a result of poor design. It's particularly prevalent in homes that aren't adequately ventilated or use condensation-prone building materials. Law says this can be an unintended consequence of measures to improve building safety, as seen after the 2009 Victorian bushfires. '[Changes were introduced] to make spaces more airtight so that embers wouldn't blow into the spaces,' Law explains. Loading 'But by making a space more airtight … it created bigger condensation humidity problems. 'There's a whole range of reasons why our buildings are letting us down ... some of these problems are not easy to fix because they are designed and built in.' Lack of regulation targeting condensation is another issue. While Australia has taken steps towards improving energy efficiency, condensation management has been comparatively ignored. 'It's a missed opportunity because the science is clear, but we don't have the political will to do it,' Law says. Prolonged condensation can rot and corrode building materials, as was the case in Morton's rental. Shortly after the foot through her kitchen ceiling, a plumber came to Morton's house to fix a blocked shower drain, caused by tree roots in her front yard. Mould and damp were discovered inside the bathroom walls. 'At this point, I said [to the real estate] that I would like for an actual mould specialist to come and test the air … and get a full household treatment.' Despite mould specialists attending the property, Morton says it has not been treated properly, and there are sections of the house where mould has been painted over. She adds that medical equipment, including her hospital bed, and personal items such as clothes and furniture, were damaged during repairs. 'We've just had so much damage, it's unbelievable.' Morton is worried she and partner Chloe will soon be homeless. Their property manager recently advised a $60 a week rental increase, which they cannot afford. After being hospitalised for the fifth time, she says they have no choice but to look for somewhere else to live. 'I pay $490 a week, which is far too much money while on a pension, but that was my only option two years ago, or I would have been homeless,' she says. Loading Finding alternative accommodation in an unaffordable and competitive housing market adds another layer to the issue. '[I'm applying for places] with 50 to 60 other applications per house,' Morton says. 'I'm going blind and I'm deaf. Soon my world will be very, very dark … all I want is a safe home to live in.' Law says stories like these motivate his work and advocacy. '[But if you] take a person out of the building that is making them sick, the problem is: Where do they go? 'I think there's something special about a person being able to be safe in their own houses, and there's something utterly treacherous about your house making you sick.
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
Aimee's rental is making her sick. One in three homes have the same issue
Aimee Morton first noticed mould in her Brisbane rental about a year ago. It started with a few black patches on the bathroom ceiling, before spreading into her bedroom. 'The smell was potent,' she says. 'Even now, it's still so thick.' She reported it to her property manager, but it wasn't until the third visit, in October last year, a leak was discovered in the roof. By the time the landlord began to fix the roof – the week before Cyclone Alfred was due to hit – black mould was spreading through Morton's house. The structural damage was so bad one tradesman fell through the kitchen ceiling. 'I was standing ... about two tiles away from where his foot went through,' she says. Mould is a fungus that grows and spreads in damp, humid conditions and poorly ventilated spaces such as kitchens, bathrooms and laundries. It can cause serious health issues, from skin irritation and respiratory infections, to severe illness. Exposure to black mould is especially dangerous for those with underlying health conditions and allergen sensitivities, and has been linked to biotoxin-related illness chronic inflammatory response syndrome, or CIRS. Morton is immunocompromised and suffers health challenges. The 29-year-old is terminally ill with a muscle and nerve degenerative disease. She uses a wheelchair and has been profoundly deaf for the past 10 years. The next stage of her disease will rob her of vision. 'Then it's organ failure.' Loading Since the mould appeared, she says she's been hospitalised five times. 'I'm currently coughing up blood because the mould is killing my throat … my partner has eczema, but it's never been this bad. 'We're both asthmatic, so we can't breathe properly.' Architectural scientist and mould expert Tim Law says the health impacts of mould exposure are not widely understood, but a federal inquiry in 2018 brought attention to the issue. 'The inquiry put pressure on a lot of parties to deal with this … and keep condensation management on the front burner,' he says. Last year, the Queensland government introduced regulation enforcing minimum housing standards in rental properties, with provisions to ensure homes are weatherproof and structurally sound, and free from vermin, damp and mould. Tenants can seek compensation or a rent reduction if a landlord fails to take reasonable steps to address issues, or the home is unfit to live in. Tenants Queensland chief executive Penny Carr says owners have a responsibility to prevent rental properties becoming uninhabitable, but notes complications can arise. 'This often happens after a natural disaster, when a tenant might get a notice to leave for non-liveability. They can only get that notice if it's not due to a failure to repair. '[Owners have a] responsibility to provide that property in a way that's fit to live in and meets all health and safety obligations, and to continue maintaining that property in that way as well.' Law's research points to an even bigger problem. In Australia, an estimated one in three houses are affected by mould and moisture, often a result of poor design. It's particularly prevalent in homes that aren't adequately ventilated or use condensation-prone building materials. Law says this can be an unintended consequence of measures to improve building safety, as seen after the 2009 Victorian bushfires. '[Changes were introduced] to make spaces more airtight so that embers wouldn't blow into the spaces,' Law explains. Loading 'But by making a space more airtight … it created bigger condensation humidity problems. 'There's a whole range of reasons why our buildings are letting us down ... some of these problems are not easy to fix because they are designed and built in.' Lack of regulation targeting condensation is another issue. While Australia has taken steps towards improving energy efficiency, condensation management has been comparatively ignored. 'It's a missed opportunity because the science is clear, but we don't have the political will to do it,' Law says. Prolonged condensation can rot and corrode building materials, as was the case in Morton's rental. Shortly after the foot through her kitchen ceiling, a plumber came to Morton's house to fix a blocked shower drain, caused by tree roots in her front yard. Mould and damp were discovered inside the bathroom walls. 'At this point, I said [to the real estate] that I would like for an actual mould specialist to come and test the air … and get a full household treatment.' Despite mould specialists attending the property, Morton says it has not been treated properly, and there are sections of the house where mould has been painted over. She adds that medical equipment, including her hospital bed, and personal items such as clothes and furniture, were damaged during repairs. 'We've just had so much damage, it's unbelievable.' Morton is worried she and partner Chloe will soon be homeless. Their property manager recently advised a $60 a week rental increase, which they cannot afford. After being hospitalised for the fifth time, she says they have no choice but to look for somewhere else to live. 'I pay $490 a week, which is far too much money while on a pension, but that was my only option two years ago, or I would have been homeless,' she says. Loading Finding alternative accommodation in an unaffordable and competitive housing market adds another layer to the issue. '[I'm applying for places] with 50 to 60 other applications per house,' Morton says. 'I'm going blind and I'm deaf. Soon my world will be very, very dark … all I want is a safe home to live in.' Law says stories like these motivate his work and advocacy. '[But if you] take a person out of the building that is making them sick, the problem is: Where do they go? 'I think there's something special about a person being able to be safe in their own houses, and there's something utterly treacherous about your house making you sick.
Telegraph
8 hours ago
- Health
- Telegraph
City executive sues plumbers after £1m house ‘made family seriously ill'
A former City executive has filed a legal claim against the plumbers who allegedly fitted faulty pipes that leaked excrement through her £1 million home, making her family seriously ill. Danielle Mensah, 45, is also suing the developers who sold her the five-bedroom home in Beckenham, Kent, a decade ago. Mrs Mensah, who has been named in the top 100 women in the City, claims a botched soil pipe from the bathroom toilet caused a build-up of waste that made her whole family unwell. The case alleges that exposure to the waste left the family with chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS) – a condition not recognised in mainstream European medicine. The family said the offending soil pipe was hidden by boxwork and a wall, but still omitted toxins and mould which over time caused symptoms including fatigue, frequent urination, headaches, blurred vision, diarrhoea and vertigo. Mrs Mensah and her husband, Daniel, have initiated a claim of more than £200,000 against plumbers RG Evans and developers Linden Home. The couple, who are parents to children aged eight and two, moved into the development of 48 detached houses in May 2015. According to their High Court claim, both started to develop strange, debilitating symptoms. Mrs Mensah, who now works as a leadership coach, is said to have started experiencing fatigue and blurred vision, while needing to get up 15 times each night to go to the loo, alongside headaches, cramping, vertigo and cognitive problems which cumulatively caused her to take time off work in 2020. She claims to still require treatment for digestive issues, tiredness, insomnia, weakness, headaches and a deficient working memory, as well as anxiety about being reinfected. Her 40-year-old husband also suffered insomnia, frequent urination and fatigue, as well as mood swings, constipation and sweating, but has seen his condition improve from treatment such as cognitive behavioural therapy. Mr Mensah first noticed staining in an en suite bathroom in 2020. A tradesman then allegedly found that the soil pipe had not been solvent-welded and was propped up by plasterboard rather than being fixed by a bracket. Readings conducted by a company called Building Forensics Report found potential contamination from black water and levels of potentially toxic bacteria were between 10 and 100 times the usual level, according to court documents. A survey using a 'Mouldscope'' revealed a 'red' high mould concentration in all rooms bar one, with none showing the green expected for a residential property, the couple claimed. The family said they were advised to sell their home, moving out in November 2020 and into temporary accommodation. The family has accused both the plumbers and developers of negligence and breach of contract or duty, and are seeking damages for their injuries and the distress and inconvenience caused. Vistry Group, Linden's parent company, has said: 'This matter is the subject of active court proceedings and, on that basis, we decline to comment.'
Daily Mail
14 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE City high flyer sues plumbers and developers for £200,000 over £1m five-bedroom home 'that made her family so ill they had to go to the toilet 15 times a night'
A former high-flying City executive has launched a legal claim against the plumbers who fitted out her new home and the developers who sold it to her, claiming the £1 million house made her and her family seriously ill. Danielle Mensah, 45, spent two decades in finance as an international senior trader, and was named as one of the top 100 women in the City. But after moving into a luxury detached five-bedroom, four-bathroom home in Beckenham, Kent, she and her family say they became ill with a cocktail of mental and physical symptoms. According to their case, they have been diagnosed with chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS) as a result of exposure to toxins in their home. While CIRS is not a formal diagnosis in mainstream medicine, the symptoms and underlying issues it causes are recognized. The couple claim their symptoms were caused by a badly-fitted soil pipe from the bathroom toilet which blocked with human waste and then leaked - but was hidden from view by box work and the wall itself. A waste pipe from a sink also leaked. Now mother-of-two Mrs Mensah, formerly Ballardie, and her husband Daniel are suing plumbers RG Evans and Linden Home for damages, valuing their claim at more than £200,000. They say they had to sell their home and move away because of their illness, and Ms Mensah says she struggled to work because of her condition, and in 2020 was forced to take time off work. She still needs treatment, and suffers from tiredness, weakness, insomnia, headaches, digestive issues, and her working memory is sub-optimal. The couple, who are parents to Maverick, eight, and two-year-old Zara, moved into the property in May 2015, an imposing home spread over three floors, part of a development of 48 detached houses, but say their home was defective. Both developed a variety of symptoms, with Mrs Mensah suffering fatigue, then exhaustion, frequent urination and needing to get up about 15 times each night to go to the loo, headaches, cramping, pains, blurred vision, diarrhoea, vertigo, and cognitive problems. She now works as a leadership coach and speaker after a twenty-year career in finance. Mr Mensah, 40, suffered from fatigue and mood swings, insomnia, frequent urination, and sweating, and his symptoms increased when he spent more time at home during lockdown, according to their High Court claim. Their child Maverick also suffered similar symptoms and is likely to sue Linden and the plumbers separately, the court will hear. Ms Mensah noticed water staining in an ensuite bedroom in 2020, and was told it was water leaking from the soil pipe from the toilet and basin. A tradesman discovered that the soil pipe came apart in his hands at a joint which hadn't been solvent-welded and was completely bunged up with human waste. The pipe had been propped up with plasterboard packing rather than being fixed with a bracket, the claim says. A company called Building Forensics Report said the soil pipe had leaked black water with human bacteroids, high particle counts indicating a possible spread of contamination, and there were potentially toxic moulds on the upper floors where there was also high specific humidity. Levels of potentially toxic bacteria were between 10 and 100 times usual readings, according to the report. A survey using a 'Mouldscope' showed high mould concentrations in rooms rated red in every room except one, which was yellow - with none showing green, the normal level to be expected in a residential property. On the advice of experts, the Mensah family moved out of the house on November 10, 2020, and into temporary accommodation and blame the housebuilders and plumbers for their injuries. They accuse both of negligence and breach of contract or duty, claiming the soil pipe and basin waste were not installed in a workmanlike and professional manner, and failed to ensure the property was fit for human habitation. Mrs Mensah says her condition, chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS), affects the immune system and leads to overproduction of cytokines. She has also suffered a psychological reaction, with anxiety about being reinfected with toxic mould. Her husband's condition has significantly improved as he underwent treatment including cognitive behavioural therapy, but his verbal memory is significantly below his expected optimal level, the court will hear. He also suffers from skin issues, aching, constipation, fatigue, and insomnia. Both are seeking damages for their injuries as well as damages for the distress and inconvenience of having to leave their home in November 2020, and for the inconvenience of having to occupy a series of temporary homes. RG Evans declined to comment but are expected to defend the claim. A spokesperson for Linden Homes' parent company Vistry Group told MailOnline: 'This matter is the subject of active court proceedings and, on that basis, we decline to comment.'
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Insider Suggests Colorado Avalanche as Top Destination for Jonathan Toews
The Colorado Avalanche have already made their top priority signing by re-signing Brock Nelson and locking up their second-line center, but could they look to add another top centerman to their roster? Pierre LeBrun on TSN Toronto 1050 Overdrive stated that Toews has started to narrow down the list of teams he is interested in joining, and the Colorado Avalanche is one of the teams he is considering. Advertisement There is no doubt about what Toews' experience and pedigree can bring to the Avalanche or any team he joins. Over his 15-year career with the Chicago Blackhawks, Toews' two-way game and leadership qualities became hallmarks of the club's championships, contributing to their dynasty. Over his 1067 games with the Blackhawks, he finished with 372 goals and 511 assists for 883 points. One of Toews' most significant factors in his game is his career face-off win percentage. His face-off percentage never dropped below 53%, which came in his rookie season and finished as high as 63.1% in his last active season (2022-23) Toews' performance and statistics began to decline during the 2019-2020 season, which he attributed to being affected by Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS) resulting from the lingering effects of COVID. He missed the entire 2020-21 season to address this issue but returned for the 2021-22 season, during which he scored 12 goals and recorded 25 assists in 71 games. If the Avalanche were to bring Toews in, it would not only raise questions about where he would play, but also who he would replace in the lineup. Does management find a way to move Charlie Coyle and his $5.25 million cap hit, freeing a lot of space to re-sign other pending unrestricted free agents? Or do they keep Coyle and move Jack Drury to the wing to allow Toews to center the fourth line and role some of the deepest center depth they have had in a long time?
