Senate panel hears about mold, mildew

ATLANTA | The mold in Sharon Williams' apartment was so prevalent she could smell it, forcing her to move when her landlord refused to correct it.

"This turned my life upside down because you can't live where you can't breathe," she told a Senate committee Tuesday.

Linda Porter had similar problems in her apartment in another part of Atlanta, growing frustrated when one state and local agency after another told her they were powerless to help.

"One of the biggest problems we have now is there is nothing on the books about mold and mildew," she said, adding that only the threat of a lawsuit prompted her landlord to act.

The two were among eight witnesses testifying before the committee selected to study the issue of mold and mildew eradication, especially about unscrupulous restoration contractors.

"I can assure you this is a statewide problem, especially down in Coastal Georgia," said Bruce Widener, a lobbyist for the Conditioned Air Association of Georgia.

Ironically, there have been no complaints filed about mold removal in the past two years with either the Governor's Office of Consumer Protection, the Better Business Bureau or the federal consumer database. But Andre Westfield, staffer with the Douglas County Office of Environmental Health, said he gets about four or five complaints every month.

According to witnesses, there are problems with landlords who refuse to address mold and mildew, and there are problems with inept contractors who don't fix the problem and also with the crooks who claim to correct mold problems when there aren't any. The committee hasn't decided what aspects of the issue it wants to address or how it might proceed, if at all.

"That's my question: at the end, do we need regulation or is the industry taking care of it?" said Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, who also chairs the Senate Rules Committee that has control over all legislation.

The study is being chaired by Sen. Donzella James, D-Atlanta, whose district includes Douglas County where flooding several years ago has led to numerous instances of mold and mildew since. But her family was the victim of a shyster contractor who caused her to pay for major repairs when no mold was actually present.

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