Dr. Michael Carmody:

I have personal experience with defective blocks in my family home where my parents live. Cracks appeared in the block in approximately 1997. A few years later, this progressed to mould contamination, the most concerning of which is black mould. I am representing evidence of health defects on family members. We have had worsening cases of underlying asthma, rhinitis and fatigue. These symptoms will only occur in my brothers when they are staying in the home. I am also speaking today as a medical doctor to convey the health risks associated with black mould, which is affecting the interior of defective-block-affected homes at all levels of degradation.

Mould hitchhikes its way into a home. A black mould requires a continuous water supply to sustain it. It is contaminating the structural materials, which will need to be removed. Black mould is mould that produces mycotoxins. Mycotoxins are compounds that can be inhaled, ingested or transmitted via the skin and are small enough to penetrate human cell membranes and cross the human placenta and blood-brain barrier. They can inhibit protein synthesis and disrupt immune function. These actions are associated with disease causation, as well as exacerbation of existing disease.

Evidence can be supplied, as needed, for the associations that are shown in scientific literature between black mould and illness. Strong associations exist between exposure and the worsening of lung conditions such as asthma, which affects one in 13 people in Ireland, the causation of asthma and the higher medical risk to the immunocompromised person. Black mould is reported to impact or cause decline in cognitive function, a worsening of autoimmune conditions, mental health conditions, chronic fatigue and cancer. Some people are more genetically prone to the more severe mycotoxin-associated illnesses. The severity of illness is associated with duration of exposure.

Treatment of mycotoxin-induced illness often requires medication, including steroids and other immunosuppressants, which carry their own risks. N95 masks are recommended at an industrial level for workers exposed to mould. The Health and Safety Authority, the European Union, the World Health Organization and the Centres for Disease Control give a guidance on mould and black-mould contamination, to include some of the associated health risks. This is the same black mould that is present in buildings with defective blocks.