Chrys Pacheco says black toxic mold began growing in the Sheetrock of High Sierra Lighting in the Sparks industrial complex just after last weekend’s flood. She said workers and the owner of the business were sick after the 1997 flood for two years and that the owner is staying away from the building.
 
Jack Barnes stood outside his flood-damaged business Friday in Sparks, wearing a dust mask and fearing the worst.
 
"It takes a while for it to develop," said Barnes, president of High Sierra Lighting on Coney Island Drive. "It's like an allergy."
 
Barnes is concerned about toxic mold.
 
He claims it resulted in long-term illness after the New Year's flood of 1997. He doesn't want it to happen in the aftermath of last weekend's flooding that left almost two feet of water in his and other offices at an industrial park near the Truckee River.
 
"I ended up having sinus headaches," Barnes said of his health problems in 1997. "I was sick for a couple years."
 
Inside another business on Coney Island Drive, named, ironically, Water Safety Corp., company president Michael Parise will replace the wet Sheetrock in the walls, starting Monday.
He's concerned about toxic mold.
 
"I'm not going to get down in there," Parise said as he kicked the base of one wall with his foot. "I'm not going to get sick."
 
Barnes, Parise and others occupying buildings and living in homes damaged by recent flooding should be concerned about toxic mold, local experts say.
 
"It's a significant occupational health issue," said Dr. James Craner of Reno, a board-certified environmental medicine specialist. "It's a significant indoor health issue."
Especially after a flood.
 
"Within about 48 hours there is a chance of (mold) growth," said Sean Abbott, a scientist in Sparks who studies mold. "There are a million things in buildings (mold) can grow on."
 
Abbott, who operates Natural Link Mold Lab, also warned about possible sewage contamination after flooding.
 
"It would be good to mention the sewage issue as well," said Abbott, who identifies mold types to determine potential hazards. "The mold is the secondary (issue)."
 
Mold grows on construction materials, such as Sheetrock, when they are saturated, according to Craner and Abbott.
 
"They require a lot of water, not a little bit, a lot, like from a flood," Craner said.
Those molds, according to Craner, can cause illness.
 
"They get watery, itchy eyes," Craner said of symptoms. "Sore throat, cough, fatigue, shortness of breath, headaches."
 
But those symptoms, according to Craner, can take a long time to develop.
 
"It takes them months or years to figure out they are sick," said Craner, who has investigated hundreds of homes and buildings and treated 1,500 people. "It often takes a long time to diagnose."
 
Barnes said when he first became ill, he didn't blame it on mold. He didn't know the cause.
"I went through two years of sinus headaches," said Barnes, whose company makes lighting for casinos. "It just hits you."
 
Barnes, who employs between five and 10 people depending on the amount of business he has, is cleaning his offices. Nobody is working on casino lights.
 
"Because of what I went through, I can't ask my people to work in that environment," Barnes said.
Parise, whose company makes water filtration systems, plans to move. He cleaned up after the 1997 flood. He's cleaning up after the latest one.
 
"This is the last time," Parise said. "We're going to move someplace high."
 

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