Re: More misconceptions Letter from Center for School Mold Help

[Guest guest]

H. Bruce Kruger

Managing Director

Practice and Policy

AAAAI

February 28, 2006

Dear Mr. Kruger,

As the Executive Director and Founder of The Center for School Mold Help, I

would like to say, after reviewing the position paper, The medical effects of

mold exposure, by Bush, Portnoy, Saxon, Terr, and Wood, that the paper may

ultimately discredit the AAAAI, as well as all of its authors, because it

appears to be so politically biased.

The paper appears to reflect what has been called the " Orwellian concept of

'sound science,' which is clearly understood by the scientific community to

mean the misrepresentation of scientific data to reflect ... political and

social agendas. " _(Schubert, UT '04)_

(http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2004/07/18/schubert_sound_science_override\

s_reality_and_common_sense.htm) I

would also add, private industry and financial agendas. It is a fact that many

industries and lobbyists have suppressed the science that does exist on mold -

and this paper, which is not based on good science, has no basis in reality.

I am reminded of the fight the tobacco industry has put up to deny harm from

its products.

The immense suffering of the American people in our dilapidated and often

very damp schools (20% of Americans occupy schools each weekday, and 50% have

indoor air problems, with more than 50% having moisture problems) is magnified

by their inability to obtain proper medical assistance for resulting

illnesses. Physicians may be misled by papers such as this one, that purport to

reflect an adequate summation of the state of scientific knowledge on a health

topic, and may then misdiagnose or ignore serious mold or damp-building related

illnesses. This is often the case due to one other similar paper, and to add

this one to your association's archives is to further confound the truth.

This position paper is no " impartial search for understanding " , as Schubert

describes it in his article about the turning of a deaf ear to reality. In

fact, the very name " position paper " indicates bias exists.

The reality is that mold, indeed, makes people ill - many of the types that

grow in buildings produce potent toxins - and this is well documented. School

buildings are the most neglected of all the gov't buildings - and the gov't

buildings are the most neglected of the commercial buildings. Estimates for

damp schools range from 10-50% and above. Schools allow leaks and flooding to

occur for decades, without intervention. Stachybotrys is common in these

leaky schools. The attack of molds, bacteria and other agents in damp buildings

profoundly and visibly impacts the occupants, much as AIDS impacts its

unfortunate victims. Just today, a press release from Michigan State University

described a study that showed how a toxin produced by stachybotrys kills nerve

cells in the nasal passages and brains of mice. Please visit our _Research page_

(http://www.schoolmoldhelp.org/research.html) to read more studies like

these.

Our children and school staff deserve to have impartial and fair, respectful

treatment. These comprise our next generation and their teachers. If we turn

our backs on them and their illnesses from the plethora of damp government

school buildings, what will we have? What future can America offer when its

population increasingly becomes sickened and our youth are not only exposed to

increasingly more dangerous building environments in our schools, but cannot

receive a diagnosis or treatment due to lack of recognition of the problem?

The most important thing one can do is get out of the exposure. How can this

occur when physicians wrongly are led to believe mold is only harmful to the

immuno-compromised?

Consider the statement from the The California Air Resource Board (CARB):

Indoor Mold: A General Guide to Health Effects, Prevention, and Remediation.

Jan. 2006:

" What seems inarguable is that at least some mold-produced toxins can be

very dangerous, as this passage from the Textbook of Military Medicine

suggests:

[T]richothecene mycotoxins are proven lethal agents in warfare. Symptoms

include vomiting, pain, weakness, dizziness, ataxia, anorexia, diarrhea,

bleeding, skin redness, blistering, and gangrene, as well as shock and rapid

death.34

It appears reasonable to conclude that there is a potential risk to humans

from toxic effects of inhalation of mold spores and other mold by-products,

including fragments and dust that may have adsorbed mycotoxins (taken them on

the surface). The level of risk would depend on the amount of the exposure and

on individuals’ susceptibility. Highly contaminated environments and long

exposures increase risk. Lesser exposures might have minor or transient effects

or effects too small to draw notice. Individual genetic factors, prior or

concurrent illnesses, age, weight, and other risk factors affect risks

presented by an environment containing mycotoxins. " (_CA EPA, Indoor Mold,

Jan.'06,

p.18_ (http://www.library.ca.gov/crb/06/01/06-001.pdf) )

Considering school-aged children and their school staff, including teachers,

principals, custodians, secretaries, clerks, aides, and volunteers are

becoming sickened in shocking manner, very much like the above description, in

our

damp schools in great numbers, it would be a great disservice to America's

youth, their families and loved ones, and our society as a whole, to deny them

help. It is a profound shame that our government has not admitted this

problem more acutely. Our medical associations must support health, not deny or

block it.

As a victim of mold in schools, and as a representative of those crying out

for help and medical understanding in our nation's schools, I ask you and your

colleagues not to publish this paper, which does not reflect scientific or

social reality.

Sincerely,

Brinchman

Founder and Executive Director,

The Center for School Mold Help

_www.schoolmoldhelp.org_ (http://www.schoolmoldhelp.org/)