While there is still a lot of scepticism relating to mould and its real impacts, lawyers and their clients around the world are cashing in on the “mould rush”, says Christopher Hillmann, CEO of American firm Hillman Environmental Group.

Speaking at a seminar in Melbourne last week titled “The voice of reason on mould”, he said there is now a “huge awareness” of toxic mould within the US legal community.

Mr Hillman, a specialist in mould remediation, said mould wasn’t even an issue 11 years ago. “But now in the US it is out of control.” And he warned Australia will not be left out of the mould controversy.

He told the seminar, which was organised by the BMS Catastrophe group, that hotels in tropical regions such as Hawaii are suffering at present with people who have only stayed there for a couple of weeks now finding grounds to sue. And he warned that a similar situation could occur in Australia. “It is everywhere, from New York to Guam,” he said. “The fungus is among us.”

Anyone involved in a mould claim should deal with it as soon as possible, he said. Otherwise it can end up costing millions or even billions of dollars more than first expected. “If you don’t correct the problem, you’ll never get rid of the problem.”

Charlie Cook, Director Environmental, Health & Safety of BMS Catastrophe in the US, said the “winners” are those people who are proactive in getting things done when the event happens. “That is why large companies such as Westfield are now looking at putting in place contingency contracts with clean up specialists,” he said. “It means that when it happens, they are ready to go.”