''The fear of mold has become an issue unto itself,'' said Daniel Sitomer, a Manhattan co-op and condominium lawyer. ''There are a lot of lawyers out there chasing mold cases, everybody is running to court, and that is resulting in a series of construction-defect lawsuits. Instead of trying to manage mold problems, many people are litigating them.''

Another reason newer buildings may be susceptible to mold, Mr. [Greg Carlson] said, involves the building materials used. In older buildings, he said, the plaster used for construction of interior walls is less likely to provide a good breeding ground for mold. In newer buildings, on the other hand, where wallboard is commonly used for interior walls, the paper backing provides an ideal environment for mold if that paper becomes wet.

For example, Mr. Sitomer said, if mold is discovered in an interior cavity in a building -- such as behind a wall or between a ceiling and the floor above -- the first thing management should do is to conduct testing to determine whether there are hazardous levels of mold spores in the living area. If so, he said, there is probably no alternative but to eliminate the problem by removing the mold. On the other hand, Mr. Sitomer said, if the mold is not getting into the living areas of the building, and the source of the moisture that led to the formation of the mold has been eliminated, it might be better to leave the mold undisturbed until remediation can be tied into the building's ongoing maintenance of renovation plans.

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