A TICKING TIME BOMB

A Government Report Says Those Who Are Exposed to Grow House
Environments Run the Risk of Becoming Seriously Ill

THE MARIJUANA grow house phenomenon sweeping the Toronto area is a
ticking time bomb that at best is a health risk and at worst a killer,
experts say. Illegal grow lab operators are the first to put
themselves at risk when they dig through a basement wall or floor to
tap into the 10,000-watt hydro mains in order to bypass the meter and
steal electricity.

The Green Tide report commissioned by the Ontario Association of
Chiefs of Police says while no electrocutions have been reported in
Ontario to date, an estimated 15 would-be weed growers in British
Columbia died by electrocution between 1995 and 2000.

The threat of electrocution also extends to firefighters, police and
landlords who enter the buildings.

In a typical grow house, numerous electrical ballasts multiply the
power of the 10,000-watt line six times. Crude connections and
humidity levels increase the risk of explosions and fires.

The Green Tide report said fires are 40 times more likely in grow-ops
than in a typical Ontario home.

University College of the Fraser Valley criminologist Prof. Darryl
Plecas said 8.7% of all fires in Surrey, B.C. were directly attributed
to illegal grow houses.

Two Philadelphia-area firefighters were killed in August when they
unwittingly stumbled into a grow lab during a fire.

"It is hard to imagine we are not going to see deaths here ... we have
just been plain lucky," Plecas said.

Growers risk their eyesight through prolonged exposure to 1,000-watt
lights used in the hydroponic grow process.

One York Regional Police officer may have suffered permanent eye
damage from lights during a bust last year.

Fertilizers and pesticides are also hazardous to growers and family
members who live as "crop sitters" to add an air of legitimacy to the
operation, the Green Tide report said.

Booby traps also pose a risk to firefighters and police, kids who live
in the homes and rival drug gangs who break in to steal the weed. Some
homes have been rigged so that intruders face electric shock, scalding
nitric acid, spiked boards and injury through removed floor and stair
boards.

But it is the health risks of mould to future grow house residents
that concerns most experts.

Until the City of Toronto moved a few weeks ago to close two
Scarborough houses until satisfactory structural and environmental
assessments were done, former grow houses were returned to the market
without any government checks.

York Region Police Chief Armand La Barge said he realizes mould issues
are worse than initially believed and drug officers now enter homes
with hand, foot and face protection. "And yet there are kids living
there," sighed La Barge, adding that so far this year 30 children have
been found in grow homes.

The Green Tide report estimated 10,000 kids lived in grow-ops in
Ontario in the past four years.

Environmental inspector and mould specialist Frank Haverkate said he
found seriously "unacceptable" levels of potentially harmful mould in
five of 20 homes he tested.

"Some of these have had pristine drywall, but the condensation from
the grow house humidity has infiltrated every nook and cranny and
inside we have found large amounts of hidden mould growth."

Mould specialist Dr. Andrew Campbell, of the Medical Centre for Immune
and Toxic Disorders in Spring, Texas, said families who buy or rent
mouldy homes will likely become ill within a few months, maybe even
weeks.

"It really has a major impact on their lives. People lose jobs because
they are not performing, they don't pay attention to traffic signals,
they become disoriented and confused. They just do not function
correctly. They are as tired when they wake up in the morning as they
were when they went to bed."

Bruce Stewart, of Pinchin Environmental in Mississauga, said mould
growth has varied in the 40 or so homes his company has assessed.

'Gobs and Gobs'

While experts differ on risk levels, Stewart said all agree moulds are
a health risk and should be immediately removed.

Dr. James Scott, professor of environmental microbiology at the
University of Toronto's department of public health sciences, said
mould produces "gobs and gobs" of spores that are a health hazard when
inhaled.

He said many studies confirm mould exposure is a leading cause of
childhood asthma, behind family tobacco smoking.

Scott said moulds are also problematic because while people may not
initially be allergic to them, repeated exposure will see the onset of
allergies that could become lifelong.

Scott said the mould problem is not confined to grow-ops and can be
found in many poorer housing areas.