The City Paper: The Mold War

The Washington City Paper looks at mold, its effects on health, and recent legislation introduced by the DC Council to make it easier to compel landlords to address mold issues.

Children’s Law Center Executive Director Judith Sandalow and Senior Supervising Attorney Kathy Zeisel are both quoted about how mold effects children in DC. They also talk about the new legislation introduced by Councilmember Mary Cheh and spearheaded by advocacy groups, including Children’s Law Center.

As the article notes:

“Here’s how big a problem it is: When you go to court to file that there’s a problem in housing conditions, you actually check boxes for what’s wrong,” says Judith Sandalow, executive director of the Children’s Law Center. “And in the past few years, literally 50 percent of people who file a complaint in court check the box that mold is a problem.” Sandalow is referring to a 2013 survey by the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia, which found that half of all complainants in housing conditions court cited mold or mildew as a problem…Sandalow points to studies that have shown D.C. to have twice the prevalence of asthma as the national average. In her experience, there’s a strong correlation between children who live in mold-infested apartments and children who suffer from asthma—as evidenced by what happens to their health when the mold issue is resolved.”