20 Families File Mold Lawsuit Against Beale AFB




Stephanie Nishikawa


(CBS 13) SACRAMENTO Twenty different families have one thing in common: they all say their lives have been affected by mold. Each of the families has been exposed to mold while living on the Beale AFB’s housing, where, they say, mold was rampant. They’re now taking their fight to the courtroom

On Saturday, the 20 families jointly filed a lawsuit against the government, in which many of the families involved say that the headaches, asthma attacks and chronic pains they experienced were brought on by mold growing in the homes.

Attorneys for the families have already gathered mold samples and have had them tested. They plan to collect more samples for testing.

Beale AFB will not comment as they are currently under investigation.

The families will be meeting with attorneys again on Tuesday.

Prior to the lawsuit being announced, we investigated the mold problem on the base after when past Beale AFB residents came forward with the same complaint of mold.

At first, officials refused to let us on the base, but last week they agreed to let us look at three of the 11 homes we asked to see. They said that they have nothing to hide.

Colonel Miller, Beale AFB, says the Air Force values the health of their families. “We have no indication, no reason to believe that the housing or the workplace is any reason why somebody should become sick,” said Colonel Miller.

Serene: Why do so many kids have sicknesses? Do you think it’s just out of coincidence?

Colonel Miller: No, again I don’t believe it’s an odd coincidence. Again I’d be reluctant to comment on any specific cases.

Residents at Beale say that mold has been a problem for years. Colonel Miller says that the mold has been exacerbated by the high allergies that are bothering people this season. He says that they have hired a construction company that is going to renovate the vast majority of condemned homes on the base. That could happen by the late summer.

We were taken by some of the Colonel’s quarters that are higher up on higher ground on the base. They don’t have mold problems, but he says they have problems of their own.

Most of the video was taken from rooms of the home. None of the mold was in the interior except around the windows. The mold in the mechanical room was in a room that was outside the home. But some of the pictures we were shown by residents showed a problem that existed inside of the homes.
 
 
 
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