Re: Re: EPA statements -- Havic's Definition

[Guest guest]

“Toxic Moldâ€

Havics' Definition: â€A fungus or fungal component that contains or produces a metabolite, exudate, or other substance that has an acute oral median lethal dose (LD50) of <100 mg/kg for rodents or humans, or as an aerosol it has an acute inhalation median lethal concentration (LC50) of <20,000 mg/m3 for rodents or humans, or an acute dermal median LD50 of <1,000 mg/kg for rats or rabbits or humans by skin

absorptionâ€. Just because it is classified as toxic does not mean that it is a

significant risk. Classifications are used to group and manage risk on a rank basis.

Tony,

I don't have a problem with this definition. It is likely to define toxic mold out of existence for anything but ingestion. I do foresee a problem with doing aerosol testing of mycotoxins on rodents because it would likely be cost-prohibitive and otherwise not feasible for a number of practical QC reasons.

I'd rather see funds spent on finding out how mold causes real health effects in real people instead of looking for ways to discount mold as a cause of health effects.

Steve Temes