Fungal Spores: Hazardous to Health?

[Guest guest]

(this is the article you were asking about JT, Barbara)

http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/1999/suppl-3/469-472sorenson/abstract.html'>http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/1999/suppl-3/469-472sorenson/abstract.html

Environmental Health Perspectives Volume 107, Supplement 3, June 1999

Fungal Spores: Hazardous to Health?

W.G. Sorenson

Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, National Institute for Occupational

Safety and Health, town, West Virginia USA

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Abstract

Fungi have long been known to affect human well being in various ways,

including disease of essential crop plants, decay of stored foods with

possible concomitant production of mycotoxins, superficial and systemic

infection of human tissues, and disease associated with immune stimulation

such as hypersensitivity pneumonitis and toxic pneumonitis. The spores of a

large number of important fungi are less than 5 µm aerodynamic diameter, and

therefore are able to enter the lungs. They also may contain significant

amounts of mycotoxins. Diseases associated with inhalation of fungal spores

include toxic pneumonitis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, tremors, chronic

fatigue syndrome, kidney failure, and cancer. Key words: mold, fungi,

mycotoxin, lung disease, toxic pneumonitis. -- Environ Health Perspect

107(suppl 3):469-472 (1999).

http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/1999/suppl-3/469-472sorenson/abstract.html'>http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/1999/suppl-3/469-472sorenson/abstract.html

This article is based on a presentation at the International Conference on

Indoor Mold and Children held 21 to 24 April 1998 in andria, Virginia.

Address correspondence to W.G. Sorenson, Immunology Section, NIOSH, 1095

Willowdale Road, MS 215, town, WVA 26505. Telephone: (304) 285-5797.

Fax: (304) 285-5861. E-mail: wgs1@...

[Guest guest]

GRRRRR, amaseing what was already known when the ACOEM and AAAAI

wrote theri little position statements. someone should teach them how

to read. how did they ever get were they are? its just not possible

or plausible or anything else, must of been some serious mouth and

hand movements going on. yuck, ok, yes I'm pissed.

--- In , " tigerpaw2c " <tigerpaw2c@...>

wrote:

>

> Environ Health Perspect. 1999 June; 107(Suppl 3): 469–472.

>

> http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1566211

>

> Research Article

>

>

> Fungal spores: hazardous to health?

> W G Sorenson

>

> Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, National Institute for

> Occupational Safety and Health, town, WV 26505, USA.

> wgs1@...

>

>

> Abstract

> Fungi have long been known to affect human well being in various

> ways, including disease of essential crop plants, decay of stored

> foods with possible concomitant production of mycotoxins,

> superficial and systemic infection of human tissues, and disease

> associated with immune stimulation such as hypersensitivity

> pneumonitis and toxic pneumonitis. The spores of a large number of

> important fungi are less than 5 microm aerodynamic diameter, and

> therefore are able to enter the lungs. They also may contain

> significant amounts of mycotoxins. Diseases associated with

> inhalation of fungal spores include toxic pneumonitis,

> hypersensitivity pneumonitis, tremors, chronic fatigue syndrome,

> kidney failure, and cancer.

>

[Guest guest]

GRRRRR, amaseing what was already known when the ACOEM and AAAAI

wrote theri little position statements. someone should teach them how

to read. how did they ever get were they are? its just not possible

or plausible or anything else, must of been some serious mouth and

hand movements going on. yuck, ok, yes I'm pissed.

Where did they get their info? That statement was specifically written to

stop the mold lawsuits. Never mind that it left so many unaware of the true

dangers and so many doctors misinformed, which in my opinion, means their

little paper has actually caused the illnesses in many since Oct 2002.

Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company

The Boston Globe

September 29, 2002, Sunday ,THIRD EDITION

SECTION: REAL ESTATE; Pg. H1

LENGTH: 1105 words

HEADLINE: MOLD IT'S DRAWING ATTENTION AS A POTENTIAL HAZARD, BUT SOME HEALTH

EXPERTS REMAIN SKEPTICAL ABOUT THE RISKS

BYLINE: By Grillo, Globe Correspondent

BODY:

MERRIMACK, N.H. - It was supposed to be their dream house. But within months

of moving in, the O'Neil family suffered from headaches, nosebleeds, sore

throats, and rashes that caused them to flee. The O'Neils were forced out, they

say, by toxic " We've lost our life's savings, " said Dawn O'Neil, a

31-year-old real estate agent. " We had to throw away nearly everything we own

that

could contain mold: toys, clothes, and couches went into the dumpster. "

Today, the O'Neils rent a house three miles away, and they've filed lawsuits

against the previous owners, the home inspector, and the appraiser, alleging

that all of them should have known about the mold that turned their dream

into a nightmare.

and Dawn O'Neil purchased the gray Gambrel-style house with blue

shutters on Riverside Drive in 1998 for $157,000. But eight months later, the

couple and their two children began to experience a variety of health ailments

that baffled their doctors. In 2001, moldmold. "

Several varieties of toxic black mold were found in the O'Neil home by an

air quality specialist, including trichoderma, aspergillus, and penicillium.

Some medical researchers believe these molds can cause respiratory failure,

asthma, and bleeding in the nose and lungs.

That summer, contractors removed the mold-infested second floor and replaced

the living space. But after moving back into the house the O'Neils said the

headaches returned, and traces of mold were found after a retesting. Their

doctor advised them to move out, so the couple sold the house for $217,000 -

less than the appraised value of $271,000 - after disclosing the mold problem

to the buyer. (The new owners have not reported any ill effects, according to

O'Neil. On the heals of several high-profile cases that include former ny

Carson sidekick Ed McMahon and environmental crusader Brockovich, mold

is beginning to get the kind of attention once reserved for health hazards

like lead paint and asbestos.

" The problem of mold is much more insidious than controlling lead paint, "

said Rental Housing Association, a division of the Greater Boston Real

Estate Board, which represents owners and managers of more than 10,000

rental units. " That's because the danger signs are oftern invisible. Lots of

landlords are frightened about this. "

Attorneys nationwide report receiving an increasing number of inquiries

about mold because most homeowners' policies do not cover mold damage. Consider

these cases that have become public in the past two years:

* An Abington family razed its Cape-style home last week after becoming

convinced that the house had become a haven for toxic mold that caused the

couple

and their daughter to become sick.

* Ed McMahon is seeking $20 million for alleged mishandling of toxic that

resulted from a broken pipe in his Beverly Hills, Calif., home. The McMahons

say they and their staff became seriously ill and that their dog died from

mold-related illness. They have moved out of the 8,000-square-foot home.

* Brockovich, who inspired a movie about her $333 million lawsuit

against Pacific Gas & Electric Co. for leaking toxic chromium-6 into the

groundwater of a small California town, filed a suit against the former owner

of her

home and the builder, charging that each played a role in causing water damage

that led to mold formation, which caused her family to suffer respiratory

ailments.

Last month, the O'Neils filed suit in Hillsborough County Superior Court

against the previous owners of the home. The suit alleges that the sellers

failed to di saturated with mold.

In an earlier lawsuit filed in January, the O'Neils charged that A-1 Home

Inspections Inc. of Manchester, N.H., and S & S Appraisal Associates Inc. of

Nashua, failed to detect the mold during inspections. The couple is seeking

unspecified damaged. The case is expected to go to trial next year.

Friedman, a Concord attorney who represents and Debbie

Leggett of Peabody, the couple who sold the home to the O'Neils, denied her

clients knew of the mold. She said the Leggetts never experienced any health

problems while they lived in the home.

Eugene Benoit, an engineer at the Environmental Protection Agency, said that

while experts agree mold

" If someone has asthma or if they are young or elderly, they are susceptible

to low concentrations of mold, " said Benoit. " But unlike radon [a

cancer-causing, radioactive gas], we haven't figured out what [mold] levels are

safe

for the rest of the population. "

Harriet Burge, an associate professor of Environmental Microbiology at

Harvard School of Public Health, says she doubts that the O'Neils' illnesses

were

mold-related.

" There are lots of unknown symptoms people suffer from and it's more

comfortable to blame them on something, " Burge said. " I would be surprised if

mold

had r ailments. Unless they were living in the attic where the mold was found,

they were probably not exposed to high levels of mold. "

The Centers for Disease Control has asked Burge to chair a committee that

will conduct an independent review of mold research. After the results are

released next summer, the CDC plans to use the data to set the agency's

guidelines on mold. " We're trying to calm down this mold frenzy, " said Burge.

" I've

been in this business for 40 years and molds have always been there, and none

of n. "

Still, the issue has raised concern among homeowners and landlords. Libert,

who is chairman of Forest Properties Management Inc. in Newton, has firsthand

experience fighting mold.

In August, a vandal wielding a baseball bat set off the sprinkler system at

the Union Square Apartments, a 170-unit luxury building in the Fenway. By the

time the water was shut off one hour later, 20 apartments had been damaged.

" An insurance adjuster noticed little black dots on the walls that turned

out to be mold, and when the guys in white suits were done with the cleanup, the

renovation costs doubled, " Libert said.

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[Guest guest]

That paper was published in 1999, eight years ago. A LOT has happened since

then.