BTU I have aspergillosis. And a law degree. I got one because I got the other.

[Guest guest]

BOSTON UNION TEACHER _ MAY, 2006 _ 7

(Excerpts from BTU Member Ginny Tomasini Lane’s Testimony)

Good Morning. My name is Ginny Tomasini Lane. I have aspergillosis. And

a law degree. I got one because I got the other. I am a teacher.

In September of 1998 I was sent with my class of 25 first graders to a

classroom

that had been closed for mold infestation. It was the beginning of the end

of my health, stamina and quality of life as I then knew it. The school was

the

Oliver Hazard in South Boston. Still open for business. There have

been

14 cases of breast cancer. Six were diagnosed in a span of 18 months.

Some are dead. Others are dying. I am the lucky one.

I was clueless and allergy free when I was sent to that sick classroom.

Clueless

as to the effects of mold on the human body. A career Kindergarten teacher,

observation was my most prized tool. How could it be that the same

biohazards

of war, banned by the Geneva Convention of 1924, could be making me

and the kids sick with asthma and worse. In a classroom. A purported

safehaven.

The now retired head of the World Health Organization, Dr. A.V. Constantini,

and Lars Qvick, Medical Director for the World Health Organization in 1999

authored “The Prevention of Breast Cancer, Hope at Last: The

Fungal/Mycotoxin

Etiology of Breast Cancer,†only a year after my students and I were

exposed to

aspergillus fumigatus. After 3 years of sinus infections, pneumonia, hearing

loss, hair loss, and other symptoms, in 2000, my diagnosis was confirmed by

a

lung wash and biopsy. It was an exact match to testing of materials from my

classroom, requested by BTU president Stutman, by an MIT lab. I

was lucky. No amount of personal bad-mouthing and disparagement could argue

with the results. Others are not so lucky.

Industrial Hygienists at both the city and state levels did not test for

what

made me sick, and then did nothing to extricate my students and me from our

toxic gulag. The harassment I suffered and my personal outrage at being made

sick led to my application to law school in an attempt to find some answers

to

this problem. I have testified at the city, state and for Congressman

Conyers in

Detroit in 2002, as the first teacher to take this mold problem out of a

strictly

residential context. It took me 5-1/2 years to do a 3 year law degree

program

because of my continuous pneumonia, sinus infections and intense fatigue.

I am now retired from the Boston Public Schools on disability retirement. I

was only a few years short of what I would have needed and preferred as a

regular retired teacher. I gave 30 years of my life to other people’s

children. It

is what we teachers do. Every day was a gift and privilege. But, the salary

could

never compensate me for the 8 years of loss of energy, time in bed and

quality

time which came out of the hides of my own 3 kids.

My prime concern with this bill is that the Department of Public Health and

Department of Occupational Safety is charged with the responsibility for

enforcement.

As far as I am concerned, because of the tendency to be subject to

political manipulation, there needs to be oversight. Those in Industrial

Hygiene

and the medical profession are held to a canon of ethics which is set forth

by

their profession, and hat is the standard to which they should be held.

It cannot be, that willful chicanery in testing of classrooms will be

tolerated

or that the data collection process tampered with.

I support this bill and urge its passage, but with this caveat; to closely

oversee

the Indoor Air Quality Testing, and the results, as if your own lives and

those of your children depend upon it. Because they do. Thank you.

(Ginny Tomasini Lane is a retired teacher.)

Retired Teacher Supports Legislation Regarding Indoor Air Quality

New Report Links High Rate of Asthma to Poor School Environmental

Conditions in

Boston Public Schools

City Council Considers Resolutions Calling for School

Building Audit Deadlines and Increased Funding

As the Boston City Council considered

resolutions that respond to the urgent

state of disrepair in Boston’s public

schools, representatives from two public

health advocacy groups released a new

report showing stronger evidence linking

poor school conditions with high rates

of asthma.

Written and produced by the Massachusetts

Coalition for Occupational Safety

and Health (MassCOSH) and the Boston

Urban Asthma Coalition (BUAC), “Who’s

Sick at School: Linking poor school conditions

and health disparities for Boston’s

children†is the first report in the state to

compare school environmental audits

with asthma rates.

“As a parent and MassCOSH Healthy

Schools Coordinator, it is shocking to see

the data that shows the number of

schools with poor environmental conditions

that can affect asthma. But when

you actually see the conditions with your

own eyes, it is a disgrace that we cannot

find the resources to make our schools

healthy learning places.†said Isabel

, at a City Council hearing where

the report was released.

Asthma is the number one chronic illness

of children in the Boston Public

Schools and the number one childhood

cause for hospitalizations in Boston. It

accounts for an average of 14 million

missed school days and results in $9 billion

in health care costs nationwide. Nationally,

inequities in health conditions,

such as asthma, together may account for

as much as a quarter of the racial gap in

school readiness. The cause or causes of

asthma are still unclear although research

has found that exposure to pests,

molds, diesel exhaust, and environmental

tobacco smoke play key roles in

asthma’s development and exacerbation.

Poor school environmental conditions

exacerbate already-existing student

asthma and contribute to problems such

as allergies, sinus infections and decreased

student performance.

“It’s imperative that we get funding to

fix our schools immediately. We need to

do something about the leaks and the

mice. Students and teachers are getting

sick,†said Nia Burke, Physical Education

Teacher and Boston Teachers Union

member.

Using data from school environmental

audits collected in 2004 - 2005, the report

shows that those students attending

the schools ranking worst on three major

environmental factors for asthma

(mold, pests, and leaks) also have high

asthma rates. Eighty-five percent of Boston

Public Schools reported leaks or water

stains, 36 reported visible mold

growth, 63 percent reported overt pest

signs, 83 percent reported repairs needed

and 61 percent reported improper chemical

storage. Over 80 percent reported one

or more of these problems. The schools

with the highest percentages are often

located in the lowest income areas and

those with the highest incidences of

asthma – some double the state average.

White, BUAC Parent Leader and

parent of two Boston Public School students

said, “We know what the problem

is and we have the findings, so why does

it take so long to get repairs done? It

should be about the health of our children,

yet why does it take so long? The

money should be in the budget to fix our

schools.â€

In presenting this report, the Coalitions

call for the Mayor and City Council

to support them in raising the $200 million

needed for capital repairs that would

bring these top offenders up to safe and

healthy standards and to ensure that the

Mayor’s Green Building Initiative prioritizes

work in the schools. They also emphasized

that the health of children of

color and low income families are disproportionately

impacted: 85% of Boston’s

student population are children of color

and 74% qualify for free or reduced-rate

meals.

“The city can address many of these

problems now. While we would like to see

the state and federal government add

their support, we can’t wait forever. We

have known about the problems long

enough – it is time to see some changes

made.†said Zotter, Executive Director

of the Boston Urban Asthma Coalition.