Mounting mould growth in an apartment she rents from the Bermuda Housing Corporation is driving one young mother to her wit's end with fears for her family's health.

Winnae Wales-Lugo spoke out to The Royal Gazette after her two-year battle to have her family relocated to another apartment has led to nothing but frustration.

Ms Wales-Lugo has been sharing a two-bedroom unit at Cedar Park in Devonshire with her mother and three young children since March, 2000.

The water damage, condensation and mould growth in the apartment is high even by Bermuda standards as a result of the apartment's flat roof, The Royal Gazette was told.

"Water pools up there and seeps through," said Ms Wales-Lugo. And despite constantly washing down the walls and other affected areas with bleach, Ms Wales-Lugo cannot stay ahead of the mould.

As soon as the family moved in the problem became evident. "The walls and tiles beaded with condensation and over a short period much of our clothes were ruined by mould," she told The Royal Gazette.

One of her young children is asthmatic and while he had not had an attack for three years, his condition has been flaring since the family moved to the home, she added.

"The smell is often very strong and makes me retch," Ms Wales-Lugo said. During the cooler winter months, Ms Wales-Lugo said the problem becomes so severe that her mother cannot even sleep in the second bedroom due to dripping mould and condensation from the ceiling.

And last November the entire living room was flooded with mould spores after a picture fell from the walls.

"I had to race my kids out of the house and keep them there for a while," she said. "My greatest fear is the mould is present at health-threatening levels.

Ms Wales-Lugo's fears may be warranted. Dr. Brenda Davidson of the Health Department told The Royal Gazette high levels of mould can cause serious health problems.

Moulds can exacerbate respiratory problems and also cause dizziness, nausea and headaches. One particularly toxic mould - Stachybotrys - has even been linked to brain damage. The frighteningly dangerous mould, which grows in areas of water damage where there is also cellulose for it to feed on, was the subject of a recent report on the CBS newsmagazine "48 Hours".

The report said that after one Texas family had to evacuate their luxury home, the father was found to have suffered brain damage and one of the children was experiencing seizures as a result of exposure to the toxic mould. When asked if it was possible that Stachybotrys could be lurking around Bermuda homes, Dr. Davidson said: "Absolutely."

Chief Environmental Officer Estlyn Harvey told The Royal Gazette this week mould levels are not normally tested for on health inspections.

When necessary, however, inspectors will have a private company, Bermuda Water Consultants, test for mould levels.

"We don't have the facilities for testing for moulds," Ms Harvey said.

When told of Ms Wales-Lugo' mould issues, Ms Harvey said she would arrange for an inspector to visit the premises this week.

Yesterday, Rachael Gosling of Bermuda Water Consultants, told The Royal Gazette when the company tests a home for mould levels they test for airborne moulds, surfaces areas including soft surfaces such as furniture, carpets and curtains

However, the test results can take from ten to 12 days as the moulds must be cultivated in a laboratory. Ms Gosling said it is impossible to assess the risks associated with the moulds until it is determined which moulds are present. Meanwhile, Ms Wales-Lugo feels BHC has treated her fears with indifference.

"We continuously alerted BHC to these problems. Promises were made but nothing was done to solve the problem," Ms Wales-Lugo said. "We have been living under these deplorable conditions since 2000. Despite this, we remain liable for full rent."

Ms Wales-Lugo said BHC told her they intended to drop the roof to alleviate the mould problem and she tried several times to arrange to have this work done between 2000 and the birth of her third child last summer.

But a BHC contractor who assessed the site told her the problem was more serious.

"He outrightly told me extensive work must be done," she said. "Simply dropping the roof as BHC proposed would not solve the problem, it would just hide it for a little while."

Just before Ms Wales-Lugo went into hospital to have her baby by Caesarian section, the BHC offered to move the family out while work was completed on the roof. Ms Wales-Lugo rejected the offer.

"They had a huge bracket of time to complete the work," she said. "Because they needlessly dragged their feet, they decided to do the work during the most inconvenient and stressful times for us - during my recuperation period."

BHC also offered to move the family to another two-bedroom aparment but Ms Wales-Lugo rejected that offer as the apartment is even smaller than their current home and she is trying to arrange separate accommodation for her mother. Ms Wales-Lugo even contacted Health Minister Nelson Bascome about her concerns over the state of the apartment.

She claims he told her that moulds could not be present at levels dangerous to humans other than anthrax. After their meeting she wrote him and a letter re-iterating her concerns.

In December he replied in a letter saying he was forwarding a copy of the 48 Hours transcript she'd sent him to the Chief Medical Officer. "I am sharing with him (Dr. John Cann) the information you have forwarded and he will respond to you on this matter," the Minister wrote.

He continued: "After reviewing your letter it has shown that the situation is frustrating for you. I will work on your family's behalf and also forward recommendations to the Bermuda Housing Corporation. I look forward to a resolution in this matter." The family have yet to hear from the Minister or the Health Department since, she said. Mr. Bascome did not return calls for comment this week.