What is Mold Remediation? How Can Climate Change Impact Health?
Mold is one of the most serious ways climate change can impact health. Although it’s serious it isn’t always obvious. If it goes unnoticed it can have major impacts on health and on finances. Unchecked mold growth can also break down materials and quickly make a building uninhabitable.
What is Mold Remediation?
Mold remediation is the process of treating mold in a building or property. Successful mold remediation has one key element: speed. If there is a serious mold problem, such as after a severe flooding event or a storm caused by climate change, mold can spread irrevocably within 72 hours.
Why is it So Difficult to Tackle Mold? Why Does it Cause Conflict?
Mold is a serious threat to human health. It can cause asthma, illnesses and neurological damage. No one type of mold can be pinpointed as a cause of concern, but mold works to break down materials and release particles that may be harmful. One big problem with diagnosing mold is that the problem is not always visible. It may lurk in hidden places in a building, such as behind walls or in pipes or basements. Another problem with dealing with mold is that the people who want to do something about the mold are not always the people who have money, decision-making power or other resources. Another issue with mold is that insurance companies don’t always pay for mold damage. You may have flood insurance, homeowner’s or renter’s insurance, yet in California, for example, there are certain exclusions for mold.
Who Are the Conflict Parties When There is a Dispute Over Mold?
- Homeowners
- Insurers
- Property Management
- Renters
- Landlords
- Owners within a condo association or renters within a building
- Local authorities
Since the recent flooding in California, there has been outreach to educate tenants on what their landlord may be responsible for if their homes have been damaged by flooding. The situation may differ substantially depending on the laws where you live and a host of other factors like the kind of insurance you have and what kind of damage has been caused.
What to Do About Disputes Involving Flooding and Mold?
Has flood damaged your belongings? A landlord could be liable for different types of damages, for example property damage, but not damage to belongings. If you are a homeowner you could be liable to tenants or even neighbors, for example if flood has damaged common access-ways or affected safety in the building. Mold is a problem that knows no boundaries, and it may be difficult to determine the source of the mold or how to pay for mold remediation. It all depends on what insurance, renters and tenants are prepared to pay and if there is any municipal assistance available.
If the parties involved are not careful, a mold problem could descend into conflict. If you are faced with a conflict about flood damage and mold, the climate change mediators at BCS can mediate small or large disputes with multiple parties.
In many of these cases, time is of the essence. Climate change mediation on mold remediation could be focused on rehabilitation, mold prevention, and/or compensation for damage to health and property. Urgent, time sensitive climate change mediation plays an important role in the immediate aftermath of damage due to flooding and other climate change related events.
People may assume that climate change mediation is something that you turn to after all other options have been exhausted, but it is actually wiser to tackle a dispute before it escalates. Climate change mediation usually resolves within a few sessions and is a quicker and cheaper way of accessing resources to address the problem than a legal fight. If you are facing a dispute that was caused by climate change related damage, the mediators at Boileau Conflict Solutions have expertise in the science and financial and legal implications of climate change related disputes. We can help multiple parties resolve the most complex disputes efficiently and respectfully in a way that is mindful of long-term impacts. We have offices in San Diego, CA, Silicon Valley, CA, Bozeman, MT and Michigan. We can mediate in person or remotely at your convenience. Please contact us to learn more about how we can assist you with your climate change related dispute.