Guest guest Posted December 17, 1999 Report Share Posted December 17, 1999 Hi Debbie thanks for the info. Do you know how Dr. B feels about the use of flagyl---is it helpful etc.? thank you lea << To Barb and Lea and Anyone Else.... Flagyl is an antibiotic used to treat the cyst form of Bb while other antibiotics target the actual spirochete......it can be toxic to the liver but is actually an older drug used rather effectively for other things.......like any medication, some folk tolerate it better than others...... Metronidazole is the generic version of Flagyl while tinidazole is a European version of it (and supposedly less toxic) Tinidazole can be gotten on ocassion in this country...... It is interesting that Atkinson-Barr advocates using Flagyl with Tetracycline (Doxy is also in the tetracycline family) but I've just recently heard that Dr. B has posted that Tetracycline inhibits some of the properties of Flagyl and doesn't advise the combo.......hmmmmmmmm, I suppose all of this needs more research. Many folk report good effects from Flagyl, if you can get over some of the herxes and limited side effects of the drug (such as bad taste in the mouth and neuropathies although the latter may be more related to Flagyl attacking infections than drug sensitivity in a traditional sense) Hope this helps. Debi >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 17, 1999 Report Share Posted December 17, 1999 To Barb and Lea and Anyone Else.... Flagyl is an antibiotic used to treat the cyst form of Bb while other antibiotics target the actual spirochete......it can be toxic to the liver but is actually an older drug used rather effectively for other things.......like any medication, some folk tolerate it better than others...... Metronidazole is the generic version of Flagyl while tinidazole is a European version of it (and supposedly less toxic) Tinidazole can be gotten on ocassion in this country...... It is interesting that Atkinson-Barr advocates using Flagyl with Tetracycline (Doxy is also in the tetracycline family) but I've just recently heard that Dr. B has posted that Tetracycline inhibits some of the properties of Flagyl and doesn't advise the combo.......hmmmmmmmm, I suppose all of this needs more research. Many folk report good effects from Flagyl, if you can get over some of the herxes and limited side effects of the drug (such as bad taste in the mouth and neuropathies although the latter may be more related to Flagyl attacking infections than drug sensitivity in a traditional sense) Hope this helps. Debi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 30, 2001 Report Share Posted January 30, 2001 well, the text files are still too big to open, so guess i'll say good bye to the list... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 26, 2001 Report Share Posted June 26, 2001 Hi All, Has anyone had an experience with mold causing the following symptoms: 1-severe itching 2-feeling of mosquito bites every 3 to 4 seconds, all over 3-sensation of a strand of hair falling on the skin, especially on the face region, every few seconds. These are the main physical symptoms we have experienced with mold in a previous home. We have since moved into a new home with no leaks and a concrete foundation. We are experiencing severe itching again in our new place after throwing everything we owned away and salvaging only things like non porous items(flat ware, glass items, etc..). Extreme caution was taken in decontamination of the few items that we did feel safe trying to save(wash, rinse, treat with biocide, rinse, then dry in the sun outside for 3 to 4 days). My question: Has ANYONE experienced these symptoms and is there anything or anyone that can help us successfully get rid of this itching?? We are not sleeping because the itching is so severe and it's driving us nuts....help. Thanx guys....chaughton. ----- Original Message ----- From: < > < > Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2001 4:56 AM Subject: [] Digest Number 909 There are 24 messages in this issue. Topics in this digest:- 1. Fw: The Effects of Glutathion (whey)and/or guaifenesin on GWS, CFS and MCS and fibromyalgia From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 2. Fwd: Suddenly, it's personal... From: RLLIPSEY87@... 3. Fwd: [ToxicMoldSurvivors] Digest Number 31 From: RLLIPSEY87@... 4. Fwd: PBS From: RLLIPSEY87@... 5. HOBB Opposes Insurance Exclusion of Mold Coverage From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 6. Toxic mold/Asperger's Syndrome Link? Mom Looking for Answers From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 7. Molds are hazards in variety of ways From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 8. PORTABLE CLASSROOMS TO BECOME LESS TOXIC From: cavegrl777@... 9. Is the fungus in your floorboards making you sick? With no clear answers, panic and lawsuits abound From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 10. Insurance companies seek to head off homeowner claims for mold From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 11. As mold grows, so do health worries From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 12. Mastering mold: how to get control From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 13. Answers about mold From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 14. Family abandons home after mold moves in From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 15. Mold, filth and broken fixtures plague schools, civic audit finds (Middle Tennessee) From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 16. FDA Plans To Make Allergen Inspections From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 17. Mold can create wall of frustration From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 18. Woman Says House Is Making Her Sick From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 19. on practicing mold avoidance and PTSS From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 20. Breathe Free Coupon officer From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 21. Re: Can anyone recommend Michigan doctor? From: Angel MCS <jap2bemc@...> 22. Re: Remediation: Is chlorine dioxide safe? From: " Gil Vice " <gilvice@...> 23. Keep deleting those e-mails From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 24. Re: Remediation: Is chlorine dioxide safe? From: " Gil Vice " <gilvice@...> ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 1 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 07:03:43 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: Fw: The Effects of Glutathion (whey)and/or guaifenesin on GWS, CFS and MCS and fibromyalgia ----- Original Message ----- From: " " <erikj6@...> " bherk " <bherk@...> Sent: Sunday, June 24, 2001 9:49 PM Subject: Re: The Effects of Glutathion (whey)and/or guaifenesin on GWS, CFS and MCS and fibromyalgia : Hi Barbara, I've been on the undenatured whey protein for 4 years now and I : agree that it has been the supplement that seems to do me the most good. : Definitely not a cure and it didn't wipe out the mycoplasma, but it seems to : help. Lots of people have been using both the whey and guaifenesin stuff for : a while now. I haven't heard that it's a magic bullet. I've tried every damn : thing that I could afford and nothing has done much more than help a little : bit until I tried this crazy mold avoidance thing. I just got back from : climbing Jobs peak, about a 5,000 ft. altitude gain. After 13 years of : godawful living hell, I never dared hope that I could recover to the extent : that I have. Let me ask you this. If toxins are the prime mover of CFS and : GWI how do wives and children get it? There is a smouldering infection just : waiting to blaze with a toxic exposure, surgury, mold, stress or any other : thing that pushes you over the edge. You wouldn't have a glutathione : depletion if there wasn't something that used up everything you got and : more. You've seen the huge increase of people complaining about stachy. : That's just the beginning. Uncontrollable fungal infection and chemical : sensitivity come next. Oh well, I've been screaming about this since 1985 : and it's pretty much been a waste of time. - : : ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 2 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 08:42:07 EDT From: RLLIPSEY87@... Subject: Fwd: Suddenly, it's personal... In a message dated 6/25/2001 8:18:48 AM Eastern Daylight Time, Rllipsey87 writes: > Subj: Re: Suddenly, it's personal... > Date: 6/25/2001 8:18:48 AM Eastern Daylight Time > From: <A HREF= " mailto:Rllipsey87 " >Rllipsey87</A> > <A HREF= " mailto:lisarolanda@... " >lisarolanda@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:ToxicMoldSurvivors " >ToxicMoldSurvivors@gro ups.com</A> > CC: <A HREF= " mailto:toxtalk@... " >toxtalk@...</A> > BCC: <A HREF= " mailto:sbldf@... " >sbldf@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:wpfaff@... " >wpfaff@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:dp18@... " >dp18@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:info@... " >info@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:krhoda@... " > > krhoda@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:HeartsNUni " >HeartsNUni</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:lallen@... " >lallen@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:NJTOXICS " >NJTOXICS</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:will@... " > > will@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:hferreir@... " >hferreir@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:masspirg@... " >masspirg@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:txpeer@... " >txpeer@... > </A>, <A HREF= " mailto:ezh1@... " >ezh1@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:tburke@... " >tburke@...</A> > > > > LISA........ > Kilz anti-microbial paint is a Band-Aid approach to mold control and > will not solve your mother's mold problem. The black mold is either A. niger > or Stachybotrys..................both highly pathogenic. > I do not recommend that you use tape in baggies. Your mother's life is > worth more than saving a few dollars. Hire a professional or call the > health dept. > Aspergillus versicolor has been linked to brain tumors............... in > rats. > > DR. R. LIPSEY > UNIV OF NORTH FLORIDA > PROFESSOR AND TOXICOLOGIST > <A HREF= " http://www.richardlipsey.com/index.htm " >RESUME, 2001--DR. R. LIPSEY (www.richardlipsey.com)</A> [This message contained attachments] ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 3 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 08:42:40 EDT From: RLLIPSEY87@... Subject: Fwd: [ToxicMoldSurvivors] Digest Number 31 In a message dated 6/25/2001 8:10:25 AM Eastern Daylight Time, Rllipsey87 writes: > Subj: Re: [ToxicMoldSurvivors] Digest Number 31 > Date: 6/25/2001 8:10:25 AM Eastern Daylight Time > From: <A HREF= " mailto:Rllipsey87 " >Rllipsey87</A> > <A HREF= " mailto:ToxicMoldSurvivors-owner " >ToxicMoldSurvivors-ow ner </A> > CC: <A HREF= " mailto:toxtalk@... " >toxtalk@...</A> > > > > > Yes, an air level of 10,400 cfu's/M3 is a hazardous level for any > pathogenic Aspergillus species of mold. > > There are no federal or state standards or guidelines for any mold at > any level, but Aspergillus versicolor is occasionally pathogenic that is > associated with two mycotoxins that can cause diarrhea, nausea, etc. It has > also been associated with liver and kidney cancer. Any level of 300 > cfu's/M3 should be considered toxic for normal healthy people, but the > first to get sick will be infants, the elderly and weak immune systems and > asthma. My suggestion to you is find out if the spores have spread inside > your home and have a professional decontamination done which would include > the ripping out of all the wallboard and insulation in the contaminated > wall and then washing the remaining wood with a bleach solution of 1 cup or > 1.5 cups of bleach in a gallon of water. > > DR. RICHARD LIPSEY > PROFESSOR AND TOXICOLOGIST > UNIV OF NORTH FLORIDA > <A HREF= " http://www.richardlipsey.com/index.htm " >RESUME, 2001--DR. R. LIPSEY (www.richardlipsey.com)</A> [This message contained attachments] ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 4 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 08:43:13 EDT From: RLLIPSEY87@... Subject: Fwd: PBS In a message dated 6/25/2001 7:59:02 AM Eastern Daylight Time, Rllipsey87 writes: > Subj: Re: PBS > Date: 6/25/2001 7:59:02 AM Eastern Daylight Time > From: <A HREF= " mailto:Rllipsey87 " >Rllipsey87</A> > <A HREF= " mailto:coolgram@... " >coolgram@...</A> > CC: <A HREF= " mailto:Chatboards@... " >Chatboards@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:ToxicMoldSurvivors " >ToxicMoldSurvivors@gro ups.com</A> > BCC: <A HREF= " mailto:toxtalk@... " >toxtalk@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:sbldf@... " >sbldf@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:wpfaff@... " >wpfaff@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:dp18@... " > > dp18@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:info@... " >info@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:krhoda@... " >krhoda@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:HeartsNUni " >HeartsNUni</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:lallen@... " > > lallen@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:NJTOXICS " >NJTOXICS</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:will@... " >will@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:hferreir@... " >hferreir@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:masspirg@... " > > masspirg@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:txpeer@... " >txpeer@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:ezh1@... " >ezh1@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:tburke@... " >tburke@...</A> > > > > The PBS program on MOLD POISONING is being produced this week........but > no date on the date of the airing of the program. I will post it when I > know. > > DR. R. LIPSEY > PROFESSOR AND TOXICOLOGIST > UNIV OF NORTH FLORIDA > <A HREF= " http://www.richardlipsey.com/index.htm " >RESUME, 2001--DR. R. LIPSEY (www.richardlipsey.com)</A> [This message contained attachments] ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 5 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 10:28:51 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: HOBB Opposes Insurance Exclusion of Mold Coverage : HOMEOWNERS FOR BETTER BUILDING : E-mail: president@... * Website: www.hobb.org : / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / : MOLD ALERT: Insurance Coverage Public Hearing : " Silent Killer and Sick Building Syndrome " : 9:30 June 26, 2001,A.M. : LBJ Library Auditorium - 2313 Red River in Austin : Austin, Texas, June 25, 2001 -- Texas insurance : companies are requesting that the Texas Insurance Commission exclude mold : coverage from homeowner policies. HomeOwners for Better Building is : opposed to this effort to eliminate coverage. : Recent news accounts of health issues have given attention to the : nationwide crisis of dangerous Toxic Molds that are invading homes, : offices, and schools. Faulty construction, faulty air conditioning, : plumbing leaks, careless building practices and defective building : materials are identified as the major contributing factors to the growth : of molds. If the Texas Insurance Commission allows insurance companies : to delete mold coverage from homeowner policies, then health care cost : will most certainly increase, which does not solve the dilemma. : What is the answer? Construction Defects are the major cause of the : growth of these toxic molds, leaving families facing a crisis without : answers or help. The mold issue should be handled in the same manner as : any other health issue. HomeOwners for Better Building will recommend : that the insurance industry concentrate on the identification and : prevention of construction defect in homes rather than eliminating " mold " : from insurance coverage. This should be a wakeup call for the Insurance : Industry to start addressing prevention as a way to cut their losses, : instead of refusing to help victims. The industry has an obligation to : insist that builders of new homes adhere to standards that insure homes : are built free of construction defects that contribute to the growth of : mold. : Homebuilders are not licensed or regulated in the state of Texas, and the : lack of accountability on the part of homebuilders is being recognized as : the cause for the lack of quality control, resulting in substandard : homes, that promotes the growth of toxic molds. Tort Reform and : contractual advantage requirements designed by the home building industry : prevent homeowners from suing the builder, leaving them with only their : insurance coverage as a means of getting help. : HomeOwners for Better Building will aslo be meeting with Lieutenant : Governor Ratliff to discuss Interim Committee Hearings on the mold : crisis, construction defects and a home lemon law that was introduced : this last session by Senator Van de Putte. : Contacts: Janet Ahmad, President, (210) 494-6404 or Gerding, (936) 321-5565 : HOBB National Board of Directors : Janet Ahmad - San h Munoz - Austin h Judy Doyle - : California h Tom Davey - Dallas l Armstrong - Florida : Flo /Osteen & Tomlinson - Georgia hTahni Hutchins - Indiana : h Cobarruvias - Houston : & Ainslie Vice - Kentucky h Lorinda & Couch - North : Carolina h Marie Crosby - New Jersey h Gloria - South Carolina ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 6 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 12:27:55 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: Toxic mold/Asperger's Syndrome Link? Mom Looking for Answers ----- Original Message ----- From: " Peggy Chaves " <ToxicHomes@...> <bherk@...> Sent: Monday, June 25, 2001 11:54 AM Subject: Research Hi Barbara, Seats thought I should e-mail you. I had e-mailed her this story and she thought maybe you could help. I just want to try and get this query out to has many people has I can that have been affected with toxic mold. Thank you, Peggy Chaves In 1998 my son, who was 8 at the time, started developing strange behaviors and unexplained outbursts. We searched for two years for a diagnosis. We were told of a Dr. at UCLA, California, that could possibly help us. We took him to UCLA where he was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome. We recently found out in Feb. '01 that we have been exposed to toxic molds for a good 3-4 years and didn't know it. I believe these toxins directly affected my son's nervous system. I have found a couple of families who have experienced the same thing. I'm asking for everyone's help, if you believe your children may have been exposed to toxic mold and are autistic, or have an autism spectrum disorder, I need to hear from you. I need to gather this information for research purposes. You can send me your story or contact me, Peggy, at ToxicHomes@... ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 7 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 12:32:34 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: Molds are hazards in variety of ways http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/business/buggs/951334 June 25, 2001, 9:48AM Molds are hazards in variety of ways By SHANNON BUGGS Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle The flood sicced mosquitoes and mold on homes all over Houston. Both can carry germs harmful to your health, but the mold also could be hazardous to your insurance claim. Molds are microscopic organisms that are so lightweight they can travel through the air. They use moisture to multiply and spread to any available surface. If left unchecked, mold can cause structural damage to a home. Federal flood insurance policies specify payment can be denied on claims if " water, moisture, mildew or mold damage " results from a homeowner failing to " inspect and maintain the property after a flood recedes. " Flood insurance covers the repair and replacement of most items touched by floodwaters, but coverage for mold cleanup depends on homeowners actively working to kill mold. Clean and keep cleaning It's not enough to rip out wet carpet, stack up destroyed possessions on the curb and shut your home's windows and doors while you wait for an insurance adjuster to come assess the damage. If you do just that, when the adjuster finally arrives, your home will be infested with mold and mildew. And since you did nothing to stop its spread, you run the risk of your adjuster refusing to recommend coverage for removing the mold and mildew. To make sure you don't lose out on some insurance money, clean and keep cleaning until the repair work begins. By this time, you should have discarded all ruined clothes and possessions, washed and disinfected anything salvageable and dried out your home and belongings using fans, air conditioners and sunshine. If you haven't, get started today. For most flood cleanup jobs, a bleach solution combining a quarter cup of liquid chlorine bleach, such as Clorox or Purex, for each gallon of water will kill mold and mildew. Tear out and throw away Sheetrock or drywall rotten with mold, so spores won't jump to other walls and ceilings. Further protect your home's interior by removing all the Sheetrock at least 12 inches above the high water mark. Remove water-soaked insulation. If it's rigid foam, you may be able to disinfect it, dry it out and reuse it. But other insulation materials must be destroyed. If you properly clean and air out everything, you should eliminate the moisture mold needs to spread. In case you missed a spot, stay vigilant. Continue to wipe down interior and exterior walls with disinfectant or the bleach solution every few days. Insurance issue intense As much of a hassle as all of this may seem, the standard federal flood policy at least provides mold coverage. There's an effort now to cut mold coverage in the Texas standard homeowners policy. Farmers Insurance Group has asked state regulators to allow it to modify all of its Texas homeowners policies to limit its liability for losses caused by wet or dry rot, mold, rust or fungus. Farmers wants to cover only mold damage stemming from a sudden or accidental burst of water, such as a broken pipe, and exclude mold claims resulting from an old leak that a homeowner failed to repair or from faulty construction. The standard homeowners policy already excludes mold and other damage caused by flooding. Federal flood insurance covers that. Farmers' request came in the midst of the Los Angeles-based insurer's court battle with an Austin-area couple. Earlier this month, a jury decided Farmers committed fraud by delaying payment to repair a plumbing leak in the couple's home and awarded them $32 million. Without discussing the specifics of the case, Ray of the Southwestern Insurance Information Service said, " Premiums were not written to cover these types of claims. A year ago, mold wasn't even heard of. " The insurance industry expects mold claims to mount into the billions of dollars, with claims ranging from $10,000 to $100,000. Ray predicts insurance companies will go bankrupt if state rules don't change to limit mold coverage or create separate policies for mold damage. TDI will hold a public hearing at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in Austin. The location was changed from the Commissioner's Hearing Room in the department to the 1,000-seat LBJ Library Auditorium. Interest in mold insurance coverage is just that intense. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Buggs invites comments and column ideas, but cannot offer specific financial advice about individual situations. E-mail her at shannon.buggs@... or call 713-220-2000, access code 1003. ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 8 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 12:50:44 EDT From: cavegrl777@... Subject: PORTABLE CLASSROOMS TO BECOME LESS TOXIC PORTABLE CLASSROOMS TO BECOME LESS TOXIC SAN FRANCISCO, California, June 22, 2001 (ENS) - In a major victory for California school children, manufacturers and distributors of portable classrooms have agreed to use less toxic materials in their buildings. The change could slash exposures to airborne chemicals known to cause cancer, asthma and other illnesses. A settlement was reached last month in a lawsuit brought by As You Sow, a San Francisco based environmental group, against 14 makers and suppliers of modular buildings, including many of the estimated 85,000 portable classrooms in use in California. As You Sow sued under Proposition 65, a state law that says products containing chemicals that cause cancer or reproductive harm must carry warning labels. The portable classroom companies did not admit liability, but paid As You Sow $150,000 in restitution funds, which will be redistributed as grants to other nonprofit groups working to reduce chemical exposures and raise public awareness of toxic chemicals' health effects. The portables companies also paid all of As You Sow's legal fees and costs, and $10,000 in civil penalties. In 1999, an Environmental Working Group (EWG) analysis of state and federal data found that more than two million California children attend school in portable classrooms that can expose them to harmful levels of toxic chemicals and molds. EWG calculated that long term exposure to known levels of formaldehyde, benzene and other chemicals emitted inside portables could increase some children's lifetime risk of developing cancer by a factor of two. The EWG study, " Reading, Writing and Risk, " is available at: http://www.ewg.org/pub/home/reports/readingwritingrisk/pressrelease.html " Two years ago the modular building industry vehemently denied that the toxic materials used in portable classrooms posed a health hazard to children, " said Bill , EWG's California director. " They still won't admit it, but they've agreed to use safer materials, and that means kids will be healthier at school. " ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 9 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 14:58:32 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: Is the fungus in your floorboards making you sick? With no clear answers, panic and lawsuits abound http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,165155,00.html Sunday, Jun. 24, 2001 Beware:Toxic Mold Is the fungus in your floorboards making you sick? With no clear answers, panic and lawsuits abound BY ANITA HAMILTON Sharyn Iler, 52, of the Woodlands, Texas, an upscale suburb of Houston, couldn't figure out what was wrong. Every time she went into her bathroom to put on makeup, her eyes started burning. She felt constantly exhausted, her vision was blurry and she had a dry cough that just wouldn't quit. Diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998, Iler feared the worst. Perhaps after two years of remission, the disease had returned. She never imagined that the source of her troubles might lie buried within the walls of her $300,000 home--or that she and her husband Bruce would be forced to flee for health reasons with nothing but their dog and cat in tow. Yet that is exactly what happened one ill-fated afternoon last February. Inspectors had found a thick black mold growing between the stucco and the drywall of the master bedroom, bath, study and dining room. After some of it was identified as stachybotrys atra--a fungus that has been linked to everything from sinus infections to brain damage--an industrial hygienist warned the Ilers to evacuate. Thirty minutes later, they abandoned their home forever. " I thought, This can't be happening to me, " says Sharyn. " This is my sanctuary. This is where I come when everything else is wrong. " Like some sort of biblical plague, toxic mold has been creeping through homes, schools and other buildings across the U.S. Although press reports have focused on stachybotrys, strains of aspergillus, chaetomium and penicillium have also triggered their share of grief. At least two families have burned their homes to rid themselves of the contamination. Thousands more, including antipollution crusader Brockovich, are suing home builders, landlords and insurers for damages to their property and their health. Last month the California state senate approved the country's first mold bill, which would set standards for acceptable levels indoors and require home sellers to disclose mold problems. Amid the frenzy, a cottage industry of fungus busters, mold lawyers and support groups is growing. On June 4 a jury found that Farmers Insurance should pay Melinda Ballard of Dripping Springs, Texas, $32 million for mold damage to her 22-room, hilltop mansion and for her ensuing mental anguish. In May the Delaware Supreme Court upheld a $1 million jury award to Stroot of Wilmington, Del., who claimed that moldy water leaking into the bathroom of her apartment aggravated her asthma and caused cognitive disorders. Faced with a rising number of claims, insurers and home builders are looking for ways to minimize their liability. Farmers, which estimates that in Texas alone it will have to shell out $85 million in mold claims, has simply eliminated coverage in some 30 states. Says Janet Bachman, vice president of the American Insurance Association: " We are not the guarantors of public health. " The California building industry tried and failed to push through a " home warranty " bill, under which homeowners could be required to enter binding arbitration instead of suing for defects. How much of the crisis is based on hard science and how much stems from plain old hysteria--fanned by news reports and plaintiffs' lawyers--is a hotly contested issue. Mold, after all, is everywhere, from the tasty Roquefort cheese in your salad dressing to the nasty black stuff clinging to the grout in your bathroom. Doctors know that certain strains can trigger allergic reactions, asthma and other respiratory ailments. They have discovered that toxins produced by aspergillus molds can cause cancer. But proving that a mold in this house caused this person's nosebleeds or mental confusion is a notoriously difficult task. Among the skeptics, Dr. Emil Bardana, of Oregon Health & Science University, argues that most people will experience little more than " transient irritations, " such as a runny nose or teary eyes, that clear up once the mold is removed. Others are not so sure. In a study published in 1999, Mayo Clinic researchers concluded that mold causes most chronic sinus infections. Even more alarming, several researchers believe that molds can cause some types of brain damage. Wayne Gordon, a neuropsychologist, and Dr. Eckardt Johanning, both of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, have seen enough patients whose problems with memory, learning and concentration occurred only after exposure to stachybotrys to convince them there is a relationship. Still, they concede, more research is needed. Lawyers don't require such absolutes. " For science to prove something, it has to be 100% certain. In a civil lawsuit, it has to be proved only 51%, " says Guy Vann, a New York City attorney who has won mold trials. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has shelled out some $5 million to clean up mold problems in low-income homes. The biggest winners are the industries feeding off mold mania. " Six years ago, people laughed in my face, " says Ed Cross, a lawyer in Santa Ana, Calif. Since then, he has won mold settlements as large as $978,000 and says he gets 50 calls a week from potential clients. Steve Temes, an industrial hygienist in Red Bank, N.J., charges $150 an hour for mold inspections. " I used to do radon and lead testing, " he says. " But there was no demand. " The losers are people like Mark and Jane O'Hara of Eugene, Ore. In February they had the local fire department burn their home to the ground after doctors attributed the family's chronic nosebleeds, flulike symptoms and severe headaches to mold. The O'Haras figured it would cost more to repair the house than to rebuild it from scratch. Others, like Carol Cherry of Hazlet, N.J., can't afford the $5,000-to-$10,000 retainer that lawyers often require to take on a mold case. Stranded in her moldy home, Cherry says, " I can't have guests over. I can't even invite children over to play with my nine-year-old son. " Yet Cherry, who has spent the past year looking for help, is not ready to give up the fight. " My children and I were wronged, " she says, " and I will do everything in my power to right that wrong. " With reporting by Dan Cray/Los Angeles, Hylton/ Austin, McCalope/Houston and Maggie Sieger/Chicago The EPA's Mold Resources page Mold Remediation Information provided for commercial buildings that's also applicable to homes Center for Disease Control Questions and nswers on Stachybotrys chartarum and other molds Clearing the Air A report on asthma and mold from the National Academy of Science Institute of Medicine ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 10 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 15:01:41 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: Insurance companies seek to head off homeowner claims for mold http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?n4889_BC_LA -TX--BlackMold & & news & newsflash-financial Insurance companies seek to head off homeowner claims for mold By DAVID KOENIG The Associated Press 6/24/01 1:46 PM DALLAS (AP) -- The spiderlike crack in the breakfast-room wall didn't look serious, but when a workman removed the wallboard, the insulation and back of the board were covered with black fuzz. The mildewing substance stretched around a corner and into the adjoining den. A biochemist came in to take samples of the rot. A month later, in early 1999, homeowner Harold Hobbs got a call from his insurance company's staff engineer. " She said the biochemist strongly recommends you don't go into the house without a respirator, a moon suit, gloves and boots, " Hobbs said. " It scared the hell out of me. " Tests showed the mold growing behind the walls in Hobbs' Houston home was Stachybotrys chartarum, which some scientists have linked to everything from rashes to fatal pulmonary bleeding -- conclusions disputed by other scientists and insurers. Hobbs, who moved his family into a hotel and then a leased house, was on the cutting edge of an apparently growing trend: Mold growing in homes and other buildings. In the past few months, a Dallas apartment complex was evacuated, a courthouse in Denton was closed and a construction company agreed to pay a school district $3 million, all in cases involving mold. There's nothing new about mold -- it's mentioned in the Bible -- but concern about its effect on people living in infested homes is growing faster than the fungus itself. Homeowners, contractors and attorneys are looking for someone to pay for expensive mold removal and home repairs. That would be insurance companies. Worried insurers say mold claims, if unchecked, soon could rival the billions they have paid for asbestos-related claims. " The number of claims is growing exponentially, " said Bob Huxel, a lobbyist for Farmers Insurance, the largest underwriter of homeowner policies in Texas. " We anticipate the losses coming in very rapidly. " Farmers, which sells 10 percent of the homeowner policies in Texas, will testify before state regulators this week that claims this year in Texas alone could conservatively approach $130 million and require a 40 percent increase in homeowner premiums. Farmers has petitioned the state insurance commissioner to exclude coverage of mold claims. If the request is granted, other insurers are expected to follow suit or seek to require homeowners to buy separate policies for mold damage. " It's going to cost homeowners thousands of dollars in repairs if the insurance companies don't cover this, " said Joe Cole, a contractor who does mold-abatement work in Corpus Christi. " We have some houses that are only worth $100,000 and the cleanup is $300,000. People are just going to walk away from the houses and turn them over to the lenders. " Insurers say that the public -- encouraged by media reports -- has become hysterical about mold. The Environmental Protection Agency says molds are everywhere and grow easily on just about any damp surface. EPA says there is no practical way to eliminate mold inside buildings and the best defense is to control moisture. Insurance officials also suggest that not all mold claims are on the level. " There are legitimate instances of mold having an effect on a person's health, but we've seen cases where people develop what we call opportunistic illness, " said Jerry s, spokesman for an industry group, the Southwestern Insurance Information Service. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says links between mold and conditions such as memory loss and lung damage haven't been proved, although the agency says people with lowered immune systems or lung disease might be at increased risk for infection from mold. Homeowners who have moved out of mold-infested homes say their suffering is far from phony. Melinda Ballard sued Farmers when it delayed repairing water-soaked sub flooring in her 22-room, 11,500-square-foot dream house in the Hill Country town of Dripping Springs. She said a water leak in late 1998 allowed Stachybotrys chartarum, also called black mold, to spread wildly throughout the home. Ballard said she suffered no ill effects but her husband still suffers blackouts and had to quit his job as an investment banker. She said her 5-year-old son has scarred lung tissue, asthma and learning problems because of exposure to the mold. Two weeks ago, an Austin jury awarded Ballard $32 million in actual and punitive damages -- a judge is scheduled to review the verdict Monday. " They could've fixed the house for less than $1 million in April of 1999. They opted not to, " Ballard said. " That was pure stupidity and arrogance. " Ballard vows to sue again over her son's health problems, which were not an issue in the trial. " Farmers hasn't seen the last of us by a long shot, " she said. Hobbs, the Houston man forced out of his home, is also suing Farmers. He claims adjusters didn't take the time to examine the house when the mold and sources of moisture could have been treated. Farmers declined to comment on the cases. Its lawyers have hinted they will appeal the Ballard verdict if the state district court judge doesn't overturn it. Insurers usually order toxicology tests when mold is found in a home. If it's Stachybotrys, abatement crews are called in, and EPA guidelines tell them to wear full protective suits and masks. Contents, from shoes to sofas, are often double-wrapped in plastic and hauled away. The cost of such a job adds up quickly. s, the Texas insurance industry group official, said the average claim is about $30,000. In January, Farmers petitioned Texas Insurance Commissioner Montemayor to approve a new form for its Texas homeowner policies that would exclude coverage for " any loss consisting of, caused by, contributed to, or aggravated by rust, mold, fungus, or wet or dry rot. " The proposal has raised a furor among homeowners with mold claims. Montemayor called a Tuesday hearing, and interest on the subject forced him to move it from a 150-seat room to an auditorium that holds 1,000. No one claims to know how the insurance commissioner will rule on Farmers' request, but Huxel, the company's Texas lobbyist, acknowledged that growing public concern about mold could make it harder for the insurer to get its way. " My fear is it's such an emotional issue that facts may not carry the day, " he said. ------ On the Net: Texas Department of Insurance: www.tdi.state.tx.us CDC site: http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/asthma/factsheets/molds/default.htm EPA: http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/moldresources.html Copyright 2001 Associated Press. ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 11 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 15:07:49 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: As mold grows, so do health worries http://enquirer.com/editions/2001/06/24/loc_as_mold_grows_so_do.html Sunday, June 24, 2001 As mold grows, so do health worries Toxic threat or overblown fear? By Peggy O'Farrell The Cincinnati Enquirer Mold, the fungus that gave us the wonder drug penicillin, is now being blamed for everything from asthma to cancer to immune deficiencies. An industrial hygenist wearing a respirator suit inspects a Tristate home with mold-covered walls. (M.S. Crandall Group Inc. photo) Increasingly, Americans are worrying - some experts say panicking - about getting sick from the black fuzz that can grow, unseen and unchecked, behind walls in our homes, schools and offices. So how big a problem is it? Some scientists call mold a potentially new, serious health threat. Others say concern is overblown. But whatever their belief, more people are paying attention. For the first time, the Ohio Department of Health is working with federal and local officials to clean up mold and improve air quality in schools. In the Tristate, tens of thousands of dollars are being spent to clean up mold in buildings where we work, play and sleep. And while national experts debate how bad the problem really is, Cincinnati researchers for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may have developed a way to find answers. A hidden menace The Vanden Bosch family in West Chester is one of perhaps hundreds of Tristate households facing costs of cleaning up mold that grew, unbeknownst to them, in their own homes. WARNING SIGNS . Visible mold . Visible water damage to building materials, carpet, furniture, etc. . A musty, damp odor . Unexplained symptoms such as runny nose, congestion, watery nose, sneezing and cough, headache or skin rashes. Vanden Bosch and her son, , were starting a home improvement project early in March at their 23-year-old, trilevel house. When they began peeling back wallpaper in the downstairs bathroom, they discovered unsightly fuzz underneath. The growth was so thick, it had eaten holes in the drywall. Mrs. Vanden Bosch's husband, Tom, discovered the fuzz was even more widespread when he investigated after work. So horrified was the family that they called a contractor. " He put on an a spacesuit and a respirator " before going into the house to do testing, Mrs. Vanden Bosch says. " I'd never seen anything like it. " The Vanden Bosch family - , and Tom - in the West Chester home they had to leave for monthws because of mold. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM | The contractor found even more mold. It was upstairs as well - under carpet and behind wallpaper in all three bathrooms. It had eaten holes in the wooden sub-flooring. Lab results were even more dismaying: Mold samples in the Vanden Bosch home came back positive for Stachybotrys and Aspergillus, two common indoor molds linked to numerous health problems, including some forms of cancer, skin irritation, systemic infections, hemorrhage and convulsions. The family hired a company to clean up their house and moved into a hotel in April. Insurance is covering most of the cost to replace drywall and paint and carpet - estimated at $30,000 so far. While test results answered some questions, the Vanden Bosches wonder what health effects may linger. Mrs. Vanden Bosch and , now nearly 8, had suffered many upper respiratory infections, coughs, headaches and sore throats. was having trouble in school because he was sick so often. After they tore the wallpaper off, some of those symptoms got worse, Mrs. Vanden Bosch says. She developed a severe rash and was " covered in hives " at one point. Many of their symptoms eased after they moved out of the house. is in better health, although Mrs. Vanden Bosch still has a cough she can't seem to shake. She's also still waiting on tests taken from a skin lesion to find out if it's cancer and another to see whether the mold and its toxins are in her bloodstream. Thriving in the dark Experts blame escalating complaints about mold on contemporary construction techniques that emphasize air-tight energy conservation. Moisture provides a perfect breeding ground for mold, especially in houses that allow little air in or out. MORE ABOUT MOLD .. How to get control .. Answers to common questions That's because mold feeds on rotting organic matter. And it grows everywhere - on building materials, grass, dead leaves, newspapers, books, firewood, grain, fruit, bread and soil. Under a microscope, mold looks like a vibrant mixture of red, orange, yellow or green. It's routine to find mold on shower walls or around window air-conditioners where moisture condenses. Usually, people clean these areas regularly. But mold thrives where it is hidden away - inside walls, under carpet and in damp attics and basements. Its ill effects can include allergic reactions, resulting in runny noses, itchy eyes, rashes and asthma. It also can be infectious, meaning people can inhale mold spores, which then begin growing in the body, resulting in permanent tissue and organ damage. Histoplasmosis is a common form of mold infection in the Ohio Valley. In its worst form, molds produce mycotoxins, which can interfere with cellular and DNA function, resulting in cancers and other problems. Mike Crandall, a certified industrial hygienist and owner of M.S. Crandall Group Inc. in Norwood, frequently lectures on the best way to prevent and clean up mold damage. " Everyone, it seems, has an interest in mold these days, " Mr. Crandall says. Last month, a Texas jury awarded $32 million to a woman who sued her insurance company for not covering mold damage claims. That verdict " got everybody talking and thinking about mold, particularly if you own buildings. " Mold in schools has been in the headlines here. In April, a classroom in E. Lucas Intermediate School in the Princeton school district was closed for the rest of the school year because of mold. Maple Dale Elementary School in Blue Ash was closed for two days in February after officials discovered potentially dangerous mold on a single ceiling tile in a storage closet. And at Lawrenceburg, Ind., High School, several rooms were closed in March while heating and cooling systems were cleaned and wallpaper and water-damaged ceilings were removed. Gayetsky, an industrial hygienist with the Ohio Department of Health, has helped officials at 10 area schools identify potential problems affecting the air that students breathe. Flat roofs, for example, can contribute to a problem if rain can't easily run off, he says. Mr. Gayetsky is working with schools to implement the " Tools for Schools " program, an EPA training program that emphasizes improving indoor air quality in school buildings. State and federal funding funding for the program totaled $44,000 for 2000-2001. The Vanden Bosches blame a leaky water pipe for their mold problem. They discovered the leak and had it fixed soon after they moved into the home in 1997, but the damage was already done. Mold 101 Baby boomers were taught that living things are divided into two kingdoms, plants and animals. Now, science students learn that fungi are a kingdom of their own. Types of fungi include mushrooms, mildew and mold. There are hundreds of kinds of mold; scientists can't even agree on how many. One kind - Penicillium - gives us the antibiotic penicillin. But the bigger debate is how big a public health threat mold poses. Dr. Eckhart Johanning, an Albany, N.Y., mold expert and the head of the Fungal Research Group, is concerned. " Mold has great public health impact. If we can make a small dent in this, I think we will make a great difference in people's quality of life, " Dr. Johanning says. Dr. Gots disagrees. An environmental health and toxicology expert, he's the head of the International Center for Toxicology and Medicine in Washington, D.C. " People abandon houses and close schools, and there's no reason for it, " he says. " It's just out of control. It's totally out of control. " Dr. Gots blames a number of factors for what he calls undue panic over indoor mold, including high-profile lawsuits and more advertising from contractors who specialize in testing for or cleaning up mold. " I'm getting brochures every day that are titled, How to Make Money in Mold. There are plaintiff's lawyers who are filing lawsuits every day, " he says. " There's media hype. There is a wildly active and very chaotic industry made up of all sorts of people with varying expertise about what to test and how to test and how much cleanup is necessary. And there's very little medical input. " Dr. Malcolm Adcock, health commissioner for the city of Cincinnati, calls references to toxic mold " an overstatement. " He says that for most people, mold is simply an allergen, not a deadly poison. " I'm not downplaying it, but I think it's been raised to more of a concern than it warrants, given the types of problems that it normally causes, " Dr. Adcock says. " People don't think a thing at all about taking a walk in the woods. If you're out walking through the woods with decaying material on the floor of the forest, you're being exposed to literally thousands of kinds of mold. " Questions remain For all their differences, the experts do agree that many questions need to be answered. Among them: . How much mold is too much? There are national maximum exposure standards for chemicals but none for mold. It's unlikely a mold standard could be established, Dr. Johanning says. Molds are allergens, and some individuals are much more sensitive to them than others. And since molds are so common, it's nearly impossible to establish a mold-free environment. Dr. Gots is working with other researchers to compile existing background levels of molds in different settings - households, office buildings, manufacturing plants, lumberyards and other places. He's correlating that data with information on health complaints that might be related. . How toxic is toxic? Lab tests show mycotoxins - poisons produced by molds - cause serious health problems, including cancers, in animals. But it's difficult to detect mycotoxins in humans because they remain in the body for such short times. Researchers can find antigens - protein " markers " for a few mycotoxins and mold. But several different types of mold can produce the same markers, making it difficult to trace toxic effects. . What else may be causing health problems? Mold isn't the only thing that likes wet, dark environments. So do bacteria. It's possible that toxic effects being attributed to molds are really being caused by toxins produced by bacteria. Science in Cincinnati Cincinnati researchers are at the forefront of research trying to answer some of those questions. At the EPA's Office of Research and Development's National Exposure Research Laboratory, molecular microbiologists Haugland and Vesper have developed a way to rapidly identify different strains of mold using DNA sequencing. They're also working to determine how much mold is present from a particular sample. The researchers have collected DNA markers for Stachybotrys and more than 100 other problem molds. Currently, mold samples are sent to labs and grown - a process that can take weeks. Some molds can be identified by physical characteristics, but that method isn't always accurate. The method developed at the EPA's Cincinnati lab gives fast and accurate results, making it easier to tie specific molds to health complaints, and to determine " which molds are a problem and at what levels they are a problem, " Dr. Haugland says. " We hope that this can be a big piece of the puzzle. " The EPA is licensing the technology, and one firm in Arizona is using it commercially. Are we ever safe? With so many unanswered questions, it's difficult for people and their doctors to determine the risks of mold exposure. But whether it causes a runny nose or lung infection or cancer, mold should be limited indoors. " It really doesn't matter what kind of mold it is,'' says Mandy Burkett, chief of the Ohio Department of Health's indoor environment section. " You need to get rid of it. " Members of the Vanden Bosch family hope they can move back home in another week or two, and they're adapting to life in the hotel. But Mrs. Vanden Bosch wonders what's next. Will her medical tests be OK? How many other families are getting sick because they don't realize mold is in their homes? Will mold re-infest her home? " I wonder if I'll ever feel safe there again. " Mastering mold: how to get control Answers about mold ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 12 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 15:12:21 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: Mastering mold: how to get control http://enquirer.com/editions/2001/06/24/loc_mastering_mold_how.html Sunday, June 24, 2001 Mastering mold: how to get control By Peggy O'Farrell The Cincinnati Enquirer Experts say it's almost a certainty that there's some mold in your house, since mold spores can be found almost everywhere. The key is to keep mold from growing so much it can damage your home and your health. If you can see or smell mold, you know it's there. The little bit growing in the shower or around the window air-conditioner isn't harmful. The black fuzz eating away your attic could be. If your house has suffered water damage from a flood, burst pipe or leaky roof, it's at risk for mold intrusion. If you or your family - especially your children - suffer allergy symptoms (runny nose, congestion, itchy eyes), cough, headaches or repeated colds and upper respiratory infections only at home, that could be a sign there's a mold problem. And if you can see a significant amount of mold - more than several inches in diameter - it's time to call a professional to find out how bad things might be. A little mold isn't a problem. But when it starts taking over carpets and walls and adds up to square feet, it could reach toxic levels. To keep mold from running rampant in your home or office, follow these steps: . Keep water out of the building. Look for leaks from pipes, foundations, basements, roofs and attics. Plug the leaks and clean up any standing water. . Clean up visible mold. If it's the stuff turning the grout in the bathroom black, a household cleaner, or a sponge soaked in liquid bleach and water, will do it. . Control the humidity. Try to keep the humidity at or below 50 percent, and consider installing a humidity gauge in the basement, which tends to be damper than other parts of the house. . Remove water- or mold-damaged materials, including carpet and other floor coverings, wallpaper, drywall, wood, sheetrock, paper, yard waste and plants. . Get it where it lives: Check mold-friendly areas regularly for intrusion: Potting soil, piles of old newspapers, laundry rooms, the sills and molding around window air-conditioning units, insulation and carpet. As mold grows, so do health worries Mastering mold: how to get control Answers about mold ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 13 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 15:16:17 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: Answers about mold http://enquirer.com/editions/2001/06/24/loc_answers_about.html Sunday, June 24, 2001 Answers about mold What is it? Mold is one of the oldest life forms on Earth. Neither a plant nor an animal, mold belongs to the fungi kingdom, along with mushrooms, rusts, smuts and mildews. Fungi can't produce chlorophyll, as green plants do, and rely on rotting organic material (wood, leaves, grass, paper, etc.) for food. There are hundreds of types of mold. (Penicillium, Aspergillus, Stachybotrys, Fusarium and Alternaria are a few), and experts sometimes disagree when identifying individual types of mold and on what criteria to use to classify them. How can it affect my health? Mold can affect people's health in three ways: . Allergic reactions: runny nose, asthma, hypersensitive pneumonitis. . Infectious: the growth of mold spores in or on the body. Histoplasmosis is a common mold infection in the Tristate. . Toxic: disruption of cellular and DNA function, including cancer. What harm can mold-produced toxins do? Molds produce mycotoxins, poisons that can harm people and animals if they're eaten, inhaled or touched. There are plenty of data available that indicate mycotoxins are harmful to animals and to some agricultural workers. There's little information showing a direct link between mycotoxins and health problems in people in non-agricultural, indoor settings. Molds that produce mycotoxins include: . Apergillus: These common molds produce aflatoxins, which can cause miscarriage, birth defects, immunosuppression and cancer in animals. In humans, aflatoxins have been implicated in cases of liver cancer and hepatitis B, liver cirrhosis and Reye's syndrome. The toxin is regularly found in moldy peanuts, peas, bread, cheese, rice, corn and other grains, and some studies suggest that people who work in peanut processing have higher cancer rates. Some lab workers who have inhaled aflatoxins have reported lung disease and lung cancer. . Fusarium, Stachybotrys, Memnoniella and other strains: These molds produce more than 100 compounds classified as tricothecenes. T-2 toxin, a biological warfare agent, is probably the best known of the tricothecenes, and is believed to be the mycotoxin responsible for some forms of aleukia (the absence of white blood cells). T-2 toxin is believed to have killed thousands of Soviets who ate mold-infested cereal grains toward the end of World War II. Symptoms of tricothecene poisoning include skin irritation, vomiting, anorexia, diarrhea, hemorrhage and convulsions, sometimes resulting in death. Stachybotrys poisoning has been associated with fatal hemorrhaging in horses and other livestock, and dermatitis, bloody rhinitis, cough and severe respiratory tract irritation in people. Farm workers, workers in cottonseed oil plants and grain elevators, textile mill works, grain processing workers and binder twine factory workers report occupational exposure to stachybotrys toxins. . Penicillium produces several toxins, including ochratoxin A, which has been shown to cause miscarriage, birth defects and kidney damage in experimental animals. It has also been linked to a form of kidney disease found in people in the Balkan Valley region of Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Romania, theoretically because they ate contaminated foods. . Alternaria, a very common mold, produces more than 30 compounds that are toxic to animals and cell cultures. Its toxicity to people is unknown, though it can cause allergic reaction ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 14 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 15:25:29 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: Family abandons home after mold moves in http://www.caller.com/2001/june/24/today/localnew/3626.html Sunday, June 24, 2001 Family abandons home after mold moves in Couple believes water leak in A/C led to growth throughout the house By Neal Falgoust Caller-Times What began for Dwight and Mercer as a simple renovation of their Flour Bluff house turned into a flight from home, a nine-month exile and a fight with their insurance company. All the Mercers wanted was to add a room and spruce up the property, but they soon found themselves swirling in a storm of mold. The Mercers' battle with mold began in February of last year. 's father, Cloud, wanted to move in with the family. They decided to build him a room and to do some other renovations on the home that they had lived in for more than a decade. The home had been a fixer-upper. The family rented it for several years before buying it in 1992, and since then made nearly $40,000 in improvements. The Mercers hired Gutmann Turn Key contractors to repair a deck overlooking the water and to enclose part of the garage, where Cloud would live. They expected the job to proceed in a timely fashion. During an inspection of the home, Gutmann, president of the contracting firm, found some soft spots in the floor that separated the upstairs home from the downstairs garage. What Gutmann found underneath the floor would change the Mercers' lives. From beneath the floor A leak in the air conditioning system had dampened the sub-floor and frame of the house. Mold was growing in the moisture, feasting on the wood and paper in the floor. The mold also had spread throughout the home's air conditioning system and had contaminated the family's furniture, Mercer said. By March of last year, just a month after they found the mold, Dwight and Mercer filed a claim with their insurance company and hoped to have the mold problem resolved. Two independent air conditioning contractors inspected the unit for the Mercers, and the insurance company hired a third firm. All three concluded that there had been a leak, Mercer said. But the insurance adjuster was not convinced that there was a problem, Gutmann said. " You can't smell it. You can't see it, " she said. " So the insurance company goes in and says, 'There's nothing wrong with this.' " 'It doesn't cover this' But something was wrong, the Mercers maintain. Dwight Mercer had respiratory problems, and everyone in the house was feeling sick. " We all thought we had the flu, " Mercer said. But they couldn't afford to do anything about their problems without help from the insurance company. " We had the coverage, but for some reason they said it doesn't cover this, " Mercer said. Then, in September - eight months after the family discovered the mold and after the family hired a lawyer - the insurance company agreed to pay for relocation. The family left as soon as it got word that the insurance company would pay. They took only their clothes. Photos of relatives still hang on the moldy walls. Furniture that has not been sat on in more than a year now shows signs of mold growth. And Mercer's room looks like it was frozen in time - a pair of overturned tennis shoes sits in the middle of the floor, the sheets on his bed still tousled. " We assumed when we moved out that things would start moving and the work would be done and we would be back home, " Mercer said. Living in exile Since then, the family has floated from a hotel to a rental property on Padre Island. They had to buy an entire house full of furniture. Mercer also had to adjust to a new life in a strange place, a place where she feels uncomfortable. " I get scared out here, " she said. For now, the insurance company is paying only for the family's temporary quarters - not for the furniture they needed to replace. There has been no agreement about who should pay to fix the house. The family's case is set for trial Nov. 5, and Mercer still hopes that she will be able to move back home. She hopes the courts will be able to settle the issue. " It's a big hope, " she said. " But where else do you go? This is our home. " ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Contact Neal Falgoust at 886-4334 or_falgoustn@... ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 15 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 15:32:29 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: Mold, filth and broken fixtures plague schools, civic audit finds (Middle Tennessee) http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/01/04/06043037.shtml?Element_ID=604 3037 Sunday, 06/24/01 Mold, filth and broken fixtures plague schools, civic audit finds JOHN PARTIPILO / STAFF Missing ceiling tiles expose wiring and existing tiles reveal large watermarks in the fourth-floor hallway, which lacks air conditioning, at East Literature Magnet School. By ANITA WADHWANI Staff Writer Students and staff in Metro schools face health and safety hazards that include unsafe bleachers on sports fields, sewer odors permeating classrooms, and mold so widespread that some teachers say it is causing respiratory problems that are keeping staff and students home sick, according to a community group's audit of 67 Metro schools. Members of the group, Tying Nashville Together, say they are surprised at the conditions children must face in trying to get an education and plan to begin a 60- to 90-day countdown today to demand that the most critical problems identified in dozens of schools be fixed - despite the cost - in time for kids to return to class. Students and staff in Metro schools face health and safety hazards that include unsafe bleachers on sports fields, sewer odors permeating classrooms, and mold so widespread that some teachers say it is causing respiratory problems that are keeping staff and students home sick, according to a community group's audit of 67 Metro schools. Members of the group, Tying Nashville Together, say they are surprised at the conditions children must face in trying to get an education and plan to begin a 60- to 90-day countdown today to demand that the most critical problems identified in dozens of schools be fixed - despite the cost - in time for kids to return to class. ''My thinking is that if you live in a house and the roof leaks, you fix it,'' said Sneed, a TNT member and parent of a 16-year-old student attending Hume-Fogg Magnet, a high school identified in the report as needing emergency work to remove mold and fix heating and air-conditioning systems. ''In Metro schools that doesn't seem to happen, and the kids like my daughter are the ones who suffer.'' TNT, an organization that represents more than 60 community groups and churches, is presenting its school report today at an assembly at Hillsboro High that organizers expect to draw 800 to 1,000 people. The meeting is scheduled for 4-5:30 p.m. TNT members-turned-amateur school inspectors found that about half of the elementary, middle and high schools they visited this spring - schools chosen to represent a geographical and socio-economic cross section - had problems severe enough that they posed an immediate health or safety hazard. ''I think many of our people were pleasantly surprised by many of the things they did see in our schools, but I think we also realize that there are things that nobody should tolerate,'' said Irene Boyd of TNT, who organized the teams of volunteer auditors. Those problems included fire hazards such as chained exit doors, health code violations such as peeling lead-based paint, flooding, bad plumbing and filthy bathrooms, missing or malfunctioning doors and locks, and heating and cooling systems that are always broken. Metro officials, who received copies of the report earlier this week, said the group's audit highlighted the legacy of lean budget years when money was directed into classroom education at the expense of maintaining the district's 130 school buildings - many of which are decades old. ''When we've had shortfalls in the budget, the areas that were first cut have been maintenance and upkeep,'' school board Chairman said. ''I think it's vital that those problems be remedied. We may be at the point of getting back to those basics.'' said TNT's audit would provide ''meaningful input'' into summer maintenance plans. School principals also said that the report pointed toward a lack of resources rather than a lack of resolve to fix many ongoing problems caused by aging buildings and a shrinking budget. East Literature Magnet made TNT's list. Principal Kaye Schneider has sweated, along with her 600 students, in hot weather because replacement parts are no longer made for the old air conditioners. She says she has heard students holler as mice and ''big, huge bugs'' scamper across classrooms. ''There's no hot water in the bathrooms, the showers don't work and the lockers are broken,'' Schneider said. ''It's an old building. Is that an excuse? I don't know. ''This may sound like a cliché, but I assume it's because of a lack of money to hire the proper personnel to take care of our buildings.'' The Rev. s of TNT said budget shortfalls cannot be used as an excuse to skimp on the safety and well-being of children and school staff. ''Forget about what's in the budget line,'' said s, who is also a pastor of Village Church in east Nashville. ''These things are must-do, must-fix things. And they must be addressed now.'' The new Metro schools budget includes a hefty increase for school maintenance, following a half-million-dollar performance audit by an outside consultant hired by Mayor Bill Purcell last year. While TNT's survey focused on facilities and resources available to teachers, the MGT audit focused on how schools were run. MGT recommended an increase of more than $7.8 million for maintenance and $4.78 million to hire more custodians over the next five years. This year's school budget, expected to gain approval from the Metro Council this week and go into effect Sunday, included the first $1 million down payment for maintenance based on that recommendation. Boyd said that TNT's audit also highlighted long-term problems, such as an inequitable distribution of resources between schools. ''There's a lot of explanations for that,'' she said. ''There is a lot of private money going into public schools being raised by parents and from teachers' pockets. The main thing we want to see is long-term equity in our schools. The difference between equity and equality is that we know every school is not going to have the same thing as every other school. But we think each school should have what it needs.'' The group plans to convene a working group of representatives from schools, public officials and TNT members to define baseline standards for resources that must be available in each school. Problems in need of attention The most pressing health and safety problems identified in the TNT survey of 67 Metro schools, include: Fire safety problems, such as broken or missing fire extinguishers, exit doors chained shut, broken fire doors and disabled fire alarms: Buena Vista Paideia Magnet East Literature Magnet ton Middle Margaret Elementary McKissack Middle Pennington Elementary Stratford Comprehensive High Two Rivers Middle Mold problems, such as mold-covered ceilings and walls that have led to respiratory problems and staff and student sick days: Bellevue Middle Hume-Fogg Magnet Hunters Lane Comprehensive High Kings Lane Design Center Pearl-Cohn High Middle Health code violations and other dangers, such as broken windows, concerns about peeling paint containing lead, asbestos, broken dishwashers, unsafe bleachers and balconies. Buena Vista Paideia Magnet Cameron Middle Glenview Elementary Haynes Middle ton Middle Nashville School of the Arts Old Center Elementary Percy Priest Elementary Rose Park Middle Flooding in classrooms and hallways: Cole Elementary Cumberland Elementary Problems with doors and locks: Crieve Hall Elementary Hillsboro Comprehensive High ton Middle Bathroom problems, such as missing stall doors, mildew, leaking toilets, sinks and pipes, unsanitary conditions: Buena Vista Paideia Magnet Buena Vista Paideia Magnet East Literature Magnet McKissack Middle Stratford Comprehensive High Pearl-Cohn High Heating and cooling problems, such as broken air conditioners, heaters and water heaters: W.A. Bass Middle East Literature Magnet Glenview Elementary Hume-Fogg Magnet Napier Elementary Stratford High ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 16 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 15:36:13 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: FDA Plans To Make Allergen Inspections JUNE 25, 05:45 EST FDA Plans To Make Allergen Inspections By PHILIP BRASHER Associated Press Writer NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The Food and Drug Administration plans to inspect thousands of candy makers, bakeries and other processors over the next two years to make sure ingredients that cause common allergic reactions aren't getting into food and candy accidentally. The FDA decided on the inspections, which could involve as many as 6,000 plants, after recently testing several plants in Minnesota and Wisconsin. One-fourth of the cookie, ice cream and candy makers tested had ingredients such as peanuts that weren't disclosed on product labels. ``We'd like to go out and see if that is true in the rest of the nation,'' said Falci, an FDA official who briefed industry officials on the agency's plans at the Institute of Food Technologists annual conference over the weekend. Foods are supposed to disclose all ingredients except for flavorings, colorings and spices, but allergenic ingredients sometimes slip into foods undetected because machinery hasn't been cleaned properly between different products, industry officials say. Training for the 2,500 inspectors will take up to a year, Falci said. The agency also has asked food makers and their ingredient suppliers to study all of the thousands of flavorings, colorings and spices that are in use to identify those that are made from common allergens, Falci said. Under federal law, companies are not required to disclose the composition of flavorings, colorings and spices on food labels. Some 7 million Americans who suffer from food allergies rely on ingredient labels to tell which processed foods are safe for them to consume. Some food allergies, particularly peanut allergies, can be fatal, claiming an estimated 150 lives a year. Allergy-related food recalls jumped 20 percent last year to more than 120, according to the FDA. Eight food groups are responsible for most allergic reactions: Crustaceans such as crab and lobster; peanuts, eggs, fish, milk, soy, tree nuts such as almonds and walnuts; and wheat. In Minnesota and Wisconsin, the FDA asked state inspectors to look just at peanut and egg allergies. The inspectors found that allergens usually got into foods undetected because bakers used the same utensils to stir separate mixes or reused baking sheets between batches. At one candy company, certain machinery was washed only once a year, even though both peanut-containing and peanut-free chocolates were run through the equipment. The food industry recently released voluntary labeling standards that call for disclosure of the sources of flavorings that could cause allergic reactions. Labels also are supposed to use more easily understood terms for ingredients like casein, a milk product. Falci suggested that the FDA may restrict the use of some precautionary statements that some manufacturers are putting on all their products to protect themselves against lawsuits. One common statement reads, ``May contain peanuts.'' Such a label could be considered ``false and misleading'' if there is little chance the food could contain an allergen, Falci said. The food industry, meanwhile, is wrestling with whether to start testing foods for allergens. Tests have been developed that can detect minute amounts of allergenic proteins for peanuts, milk and eggs. Some companies won't do the testing on advice of their attorneys, industry officials say. The fear is that the results could be used against them in lawsuits. ``Before you actually do the testing you have to sit back and say, what are you going to do with the results,'' said Hahn, an attorney who specializes in food law. But, he said, the tests could help companies discover problems in their plants. --- On the Net: Institute of Food Technologists: http://www.ift.org Food and Drug Administration: http://www.fda.gov Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network: http://www.foodallergy.org ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 17 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 15:39:47 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: Mold can create wall of frustration http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/062401/loc_0624010058.shtml Sunday, June 24, 2001 Last modified at 2:01 a.m. on Sunday, June 24, 2001 © 2001 - The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal Dr. Strauss examines Black Mold in a lab at TTHSC. A-J photo/Jim Watkins Mold can create wall of frustration By CHARLES L. EHRENFELD Avalanche-Journal Lindsey has stopped coughing up blood, but the headaches remain, she said, along with lingering fatigue. Her mother, Donna of Amarillo, claims the symptoms stem from the presence of a mold in the Lubbock apartment in which the Texas Tech student lived from August 2000 to mid-February 2001. " This has been just a nightmare for us, " Donna recently told The Avalanche-Journal. Her nightmare has been compounded by a lack of oversight by any public health entity. When it comes to pathogens, such as black mold and similar agents, in buildings that cater to the public, residents have little recourse. No existing local or state body investigates complaints about harmful molds found in apartments, schools, homes or other buildings. " It becomes a responsibility between the tenant and the building owner, " said Ben Gordon, a regional industrial hygienist for the Texas Department of Health. " Everyone is exposed to mold all the time. It's probably going to be a problem for a while, but it's certainly not a new problem. " It has just become more recognized. We get five inquiries a day from people all over the Panhandle. It has really picked up in the last month and a half. " Stuart , lead environmental specialist with the Environmental Inspection Ser vices Department for the city of Lubbock, said his department also has seen more complaints about mold from city residents. The city, however, lacks testing measures to identify mold. " Any complaints we get about mold, if we are going to pursue them, we approach under the sub-standard housing ordinances, " said. " We try to get folks to handle it themselves first. If there are leaking pipes, that can be a violation of an ordinance and can be pursued by our office. " During the most recent legislative session, state Rep. Elliott Naishtat, D-Austin, introduced a bill to prompt more inspections of schools for mold and other contamination. After a fire, flood or reports of some illnesses, school officials would have to have the quality of air inspected. The bill, however, was left pending at the conclusion of the 77th legislative session. If passed, the bill could have caused the Texas Department of Health to set some indoor clean-air standards. Meanwhile, litigation involving toxic mold is popping up like wild mushrooms across the country. " It's the new asbestos, " says on IV, co-founder and managing senior partner of Knopfler & on, a Los Angeles, Calif.-based civil litigation law firm that specializes in general liability and insurance matters. " Asbestos generated a lot of litigation and controversy in the beginning, but everyone knows now it's dangerous. It's no longer being used in manufacturing. " But mold is naturally occurring, so it's always going to be present, " on said. " It's the new asbestos as far as toxic tort litigation. And like asbestos was 30 years ago, the medical and scientific communities don't have all the answers yet. They do know it can make people sick; they don't necessarily know why. " on's firm currently is representing 1,000 mold plaintiffs, including Brockovich, the real-life law firm clerk portrayed by in last year's Academy Award-nominated movie. Brockovich has a house with a bad mold problem. " I'm turning away about 90 percent of the calls I get these days, " said on, whose first mold case came in 1997, filed on behalf of an unnamed actor and his wife who claimed the mold in their Malibu, Calif., house made them ill. He settled the case for $1.35 million. " Lawsuits are turning up all over the place. I'm chairing a mold litigation conference here on the West Coast next week, and it's sold out. We have people coming from all over the country. " on, who also is a member of the state bar in Texas, said there has been litigation filed by insurance companies in Texas to try to exclude mold claims. In May, the Delaware Supreme Court upheld a $1.04 million award to two women whose landlord failed to address leaks and mold problems in their apartments, resulting in asthma attacks and other health problems. Lindsey 's health problems, she said, stemmed from a mold identified by a professor at Texas Tech. The mold found in apartment ED 8 & 9 at The Heritage Apartments, 3002 Fourth St., is not stachybotrys chartarum, or " black mold, " that recently forced 20 Lubbock families out of their homes, according to C. Straus, a professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Black mold also temporarily displaced 31 employees from the Lubbock County field office of the Child Support Enforcement Division of the Texas State Attorney General's Office and damaged the Lubbock County Jail. Straus is considered a leader in the field in the study of molds found in buildings. He pioneered research into mold-induced illnesses known as " sick building syndrome. " Using instructions from Straus, Lindsey took four swab samples from her apartment Feb. 14. Test results from the Indoor Air Quality Laboratory at TTUHSC indicated the presence of Aspergillus versicolor on one swab. The swab sample containing Aspergillus was taken from inside a cabinet under the sink in the apartment's laundry area, according to results detailed in the microbiological report. " The mold found in her apartment was not black mold, as I recall, " Straus said. " It was Aspergillus, which can produce different mycotoxins, some of which are carcinogenic. " Three other swab samples taken from the apartment's two bathrooms and from a spot under the linoleum were found to contain only common environmental yeast, which is not considered to be harmful to health, according to the microbiological report. According to records furnished by representatives of The Heritage Apartments, the company took one independent swab sample from apartment ED 8 & 9 on the same day, along with single swab samples from apartments EF 28 and W 101. A separate microbiological report from the Indoor Air Quality Laboratory at TTUHSC indicated that each swab contained only common environmental yeast, along with the presence of Pithomyces and Cladosporium fungal species, neither of which is toxic to humans. Sandy Holloway, manager of The Heritage Apartments, declined to comment on the matter. Lindsey , 20, said she moved into apartment ED 8 & 9 in August 2000 and began to experience symptoms, such as a recurring sore throat and an upper respiratory infection, by Sept. 15. She was unaware of the presence of mold at the time, she said. Her symptoms worsened throughout the fall semester, and she fainted twice in a public place. When she returned to Amarillo for the Christmas break, she had medical tests to rule out a brain tumor and an EEG to test her heart. There also were a chest X-ray and blood tests later, all of which proved negative. It was not until telephone conversations with Straus that she learned a mold could be causing her illness. said other residents at Heritage told her of having similar symptoms. " There also was a stench, " said. " Even our clothes started having a musty, moldy, mildew smell. " said she noticed one of the apartment's toilets - the toilet in her bathroom - had been leaking. She reported it to complex representatives. said the walls in both bathrooms later were knocked out by maintenance workers in mid-February, and deteriorating, leaking pipes were found. said she also found mold growing on ceiling fan blades and on stucco walls inside kitchen cabinets. " Molds produce spores, extremely small particles that float around in the air, " Straus said. " When the spores land on a surface that is wet, they grow. " The key factor is water. If a house is dry and clean, mold will not grow. It can't grow without water. But if there has been water damage from a leaky pipe or a roof leak, mold will grow. " In high concentrations on surfaces or in the air, molds, also called fungi, are health hazards, he added. Potentially dangerous types of mold grow indoors on wet material, including Sheetrock, pressed particle board and ceiling tiles. Straus pointed out that not all mold that appears black in color is stachybotrys, or black mold. " Unfortunately, there are actually lots of mold that are black, " Straus said. " In fact, most molds look black when growing on building material. " Managers of the apartment complex allowed to move to a different apartment within the complex in mid-February, offering to pay moving costs and provide moving assistance. After she changed apartments, she began feeling better, she said. " I go to bed with a headache and wake up with a headache, " said. " I still have fatigue. But the coughing up of blood has gone away. " L. Ehrenfeld can be contacted at 766-8796 or cehrenfeld@... ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 18 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 15:44:10 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: Woman Says House Is Making Her Sick http://www.wdiv.com/det/news/stories/news-83783620010622-150604.html Woman Says House Is Making Her Sick Black Mold At Root Of Problem WARREN, Mich., 6:07 p.m. EDT June 22, 2001-- The signs in the front of the house warn all who pass by: Toxic Home, Black Mold, Do Not Enter. The woman who lives in the Warren house says that the black mold inside is killing her. " I've got asthma, " Cheri Brunner said. An environmental specialist from Sanit Air came to check Brunner's home for testing because she was experiencing such health problems. They cut into her walls and found bacteria and mold so dangerous that they recommended she immediately evacuate the home. It all started a year and a half ago when her house flooded while she was on vacation. Brunner's insurance company brought in contractors to fix the mess, but a lawsuit against the insurance company and contractors claims the work wasn't done right. Brunner knew that she was getting sicker but didn't know why. She now has a lawyer who says the mold is responsible. They want the house torn down and a new home built for Brunner, plus money for her pain and suffering. " She has a myriad of problems, all related to mold, " Brunner's attorney Dodd Fisher said. Stachybotrys is toxic. And if the spores are inhaled they can lead to a variety of ailments and even death. Experts say that it sometimes takes years before the effects of black mold exposure are detected. Stachybotrys information: Stachybotrys, or black mold, thrives in moisture and grows well on wood, paper or cotton surfaces. When wet, the mold looks black and slimy and often has white edges. It's less shiny when dry. If you find black mold, contact a home inspector, who should be able to locate the source of moisture. Moldy surfaces can normally be cleaned with bleach and water, but usually require remediation if the mold is extensive in carpeting, insulation or drywall. Is The Mold In Your House Dangerous? Center For Disease Control Copyright 2001 by ClickOnDetroit.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 19 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 17:05:35 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: on practicing mold avoidance and PTSS ----- Original Message ----- From: " " <erikj6@...> " bherk " <bherk@...> Sent: Monday, June 25, 2001 11:52 AM Subject: ABX : I took 300 mg. Doxycycline a day for a year and it helped, as I say, a : little bit. I had to stop because yeast got out of control. I think it was : worth it though. Dr. Cheney thinks that the Immune pro alone can get rid of : mycoplasma. (yes, that's what I'm taking) No, it didn't work for me. Garth : Nicolson says the ABX are just bacteriostatic and it takes a healthy immune : system to get rid of them. Absolutely nothing that I have done compares to : the results I get by avoiding mold. I taught my girlfriend to do it and she : has the identical response. People " know " that stress caused their onset in : the same way they " knew " that stress caused ulcers. They felt the stress : first so they think that's the predisposing factor. If you have bacteria : boring a hole in your guts, it's just conceivable that you might have an : inflammatory response. As you read in " A mind under siege " it seems that a : hyperinflammatory response can be directly responsible for a depression : response. When you try to rationalize the reason for your depression, you : always find something in your life that could be responsible... you burnt : the cookies, or you just broke up with your derelict " insignificant other " : (should be cause for celebration) or whatever. I noticed that my depression : was the first indicator of a toxic exposure and use it as a guide for : avoidance. If I wait until I feel like shit, it's way to late and I'll : suffer for hours. By consistently doing this I gradually started feeling : better and better. I know that any toxic exposure that you happen to be : sensitive to can set off the response, but avoiding paint, perfume and : petroleum products never lessened my reactivity to mold, but avoiding mold : decreased my reactivity to everything else. That still might be considered : just my own personal fluke except I noticed that almost everybody with CFS : that I talk to complains about the same things that led me to suspect that : mycotoxins were my primary reactor. And then, of course, repeating my : experiment with a girl I met who complained of similar problems and getting : identical results, reinforced my concept in a big way. I asked Garth : Nicolson if constant low level exposure to mycotoxins might not have the : same effect on mycoplasma as giving somebody Penicillin. He agreed that that : might certainly be the case. We are all infected with something that hates : mold. PTSD is right, Perpetual Toxic Shock Syndrome! - : ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 20 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 17:18:45 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: Breathe Free Coupon officer Coupon at: http://www.dealofday.com/sys/deal?6497 code to enter " CHERRY " $10 off on a $35 order at Breathe Free. Use it before 7/31. They sell a variety of clean air products so check out replacing the filter in your air cleaners or adding a piece of equipment you need to breathe better. Those of you who NEED a mask and haven't gotten one yet - check them out. Those of you who have a mask or respirator - let us know how it's working, how often you have to change the cartridges, etc. I have survived without one - but if I planned on traveling by airplane - it would be at the TOP of my list. http://www.breathefree.com/cgi-bin/beacon7/BreatheFree ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 21 Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2001 00:39:29 +0000 (UTC) From: Angel MCS <jap2bemc@...> Subject: Re: Can anyone recommend Michigan doctor? Try: R. Harbut, MD, MPH, FCCP Diplomate, ABPM, Occ Med Center for Occ/Env Medicine Southfield, Mi. I have corresponded with him and beleive he can assist you Angel " If having endured much, we at last asserted our 'right to know' and if, knowing, we have concluded that we are being asked to take senseless and frightening risks, then we should no longer accept the counsel of those who tell us that we must fill our world with poisonous chemicals, we should look around and see what other course is open to us. " Carson " My toxicasa (world) is your toxicasa (world). " Judith Goode On Mon, 4 Jun 2001, JB wrote: > Can anyone recommend a good Michigan doctor experienced in mold > poisioning, MCS, Immunotoxocologist/neurologist? There is no doctor > familiar with any of this within my health care system. Any help > greatly appreciated. > jb > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 26, 2001 Report Share Posted June 26, 2001 , The doctor gave me Allegra and Diflucan (an antifungal) and creams-Mentax and dermatop has turned that part around!!! Still have other things going on but the itching is better!!! Good Luck, Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 27, 2001 Report Share Posted June 27, 2001 We have a mold problem in our house. We see mold and mildew all over the house, we smell mold, and we have had a history of plumbing and water problems at our home during the last ten years. We recently moved from our home into an apartment because of the suspected mold problem. Our home insurer is covering the total expense. I have, personally, experienced the three symptoms you have described. I had a severe itching/rash under my arms and on my crouch that lasted numerous weeks. I did not know what to think. I also had the feeling that things were crawling all over my body. I was very concerned about this. However, I was not aware of the mold problem at that time. I went to my doctor because of these symptoms, thinking I had a contagious disease. My doctor gave me some medication and the symptoms went away several weeks latter. I don't think my doctor adequately identified my illness. I have also had symptoms of fatigue, muscle aches, and joint pains/inflamation, and many other symptoms. Please keep me informed of what you discover concerning this. Tha. -----Original Message----- From: Haughton [mailto:1764@...] Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2001 1:10 PM Subject: Re: [] Digest Number 909 Hi All, Has anyone had an experience with mold causing the following symptoms: 1-severe itching 2-feeling of mosquito bites every 3 to 4 seconds, all over 3-sensation of a strand of hair falling on the skin, especially on the face region, every few seconds. These are the main physical symptoms we have experienced with mold in a previous home. We have since moved into a new home with no leaks and a concrete foundation. We are experiencing severe itching again in our new place after throwing everything we owned away and salvaging only things like non porous items(flat ware, glass items, etc..). Extreme caution was taken in decontamination of the few items that we did feel safe trying to save(wash, rinse, treat with biocide, rinse, then dry in the sun outside for 3 to 4 days). My question: Has ANYONE experienced these symptoms and is there anything or anyone that can help us successfully get rid of this itchinare not sleeping because the itching is so severe and it's driving us nuts....help. Thanx guys....chaughton. ----- Original Message ----- From: < > < > Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2001 4:56 AM Subject: [] Digest Number 909 There are 24 messages in this issue. Topics in this digest:- 1. Fw: The Effects of Glutathion (whey)and/or guaifenesin on GWS, CFS and MCS and fibromyalgia From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 2. Fwd: Suddenly, it's personal... From: RLLIPSEY87@... 3. Fwd: [ToxicMoldSurvivors] Digest Number 31 From: RLLIPSEY87@... 4. Fwd: PBS From: RLLIPSEY87@... 5. HOBB Opposes Insurance Exclusion of Mold Coverage From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 6. Toxic mold/Asperger's Syndrome Link? Mom Looking for Answers From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 7. Molds are hazards in variety of ways From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 8. PORTABLE CLASSROOMS TO BECOME LESS TOXIC From: cavegrl777@... 9. Is the fungus in your floorboards making you sick? With no clear answers, panic and lawsuits abound From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 10. Insurance companies seek to head off homeowner claims for mold From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 11. As mold grows, so do health worries From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 12. Mastering mold: how to get control From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 13. Answers about mold From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 14. Family abandons home after mold moves in From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 15. Mold, filth and broken fixtures plague schools, civic audit finds (Middle Tennessee) From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 16. FDA Plans To Make Allergen Inspections From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 17. Mold can create wall of frustration From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 18. Woman Says House Is Making Her Sick From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 19. on practicing mold avoidance and PTSS From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 20. Breathe Free Coupon officer From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 21. Re: Can anyone recommend Michigan doctor? From: Angel MCS <jap2bemc@...> 22. Re: Remediation: Is chlorine dioxide safe? From: " Gil Vice " <gilvice@...> 23. Keep deleting those e-mails From: " bherk " <bherk@...> 24. Re: Remediation: Is chlorine dioxide safe? From: " Gil Vice " <gilvice@...> ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 1 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 07:03:43 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: Fw: The Effects of Glutathion (whey)and/or guaifenesin on GWS, CFS and MCS and fibromyalgia ----- Original Message ----- From: " " <erikj6@...> " bherk " <bherk@...> Sent: Sunday, June 24, 2001 9:49 PM Subject: Re: The Effects of Glutathion (whey)and/or guaifenesin on GWS, CFS and MCS and fibromyalgia : Hi Barbara, I've been on the undenatured whey protein for 4 years now and I : agree that it has been the supplement that seems to do me the most good. : Definitely not a cure and it didn't wipe out the mycoplasma, but it seems to : help. Lots of people have been using both the whey and guaifenesin stuff for : a while now. I haven't heard that it's a magic bullet. I've tried every damn : thing that I could afford and nothing has done much more than help a little : bit until I tried this crazy mold avoidance thing. I just got back from : climbing Jobs peak, about a 5,000 ft. altitude gain. After 13 years of : godawful living hell, I never dared hope that I could recover to the extent : that I have. Let me ask you this. If toxins are the prime mover of CFS and : GWI how do wives and children get it? There is a smouldering infection just : waiting to blaze with a toxic exposure, surgury, mold, stress or any other : thing that pushes you over the edge. You wouldn't have a glutathione : depletion if there wasn't something that used up everything you got and : more. You've seen the huge increase of people complaining about stachy. : That's just the beginning. Uncontrollable fungal infection and chemical : sensitivity come next. Oh well, I've been screaming about this since 1985 : and it's pretty much been a waste of time. - : : ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 2 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 08:42:07 EDT From: RLLIPSEY87@... Subject: Fwd: Suddenly, it's personal... In a message dated 6/25/2001 8:18:48 AM Eastern Daylight Time, Rllipsey87 writes: > Subj: Re: Suddenly, it's personal... > Date: 6/25/2001 8:18:48 AM Eastern Daylight Time > From: <A HREF= " mailto:Rllipsey87 " >Rllipsey87</A> > <A HREF= " mailto:lisarolanda@... " >lisarolanda@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:ToxicMoldSurvivors " >ToxicMoldSurvivors@gro ups.com</A> > CC: <A HREF= " mailto:toxtalk@... " >toxtalk@...</A> > BCC: <A HREF= " mailto:sbldf@... " >sbldf@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:wpfaff@... " >wpfaff@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:dp18@... " >dp18@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:info@... " >info@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:krhoda@... " > > krhoda@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:HeartsNUni " >HeartsNUni</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:lallen@... " >lallen@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:NJTOXICS " >NJTOXICS</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:will@... " > > will@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:hferreir@... " >hferreir@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:masspirg@... " >masspirg@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:txpeer@... " >txpeer@... > </A>, <A HREF= " mailto:ezh1@... " >ezh1@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:tburke@... " >tburke@...</A> > > > > LISA........ > Kilz anti-microbial paint is a Band-Aid approach to mold control and > will not solve your mother's mold problem. The black mold is either A. niger > or Stachybotrys..................both highly pathogenic. > I do not recommend that you use tape in baggies. Your mother's life is > worth more than saving a few dollars. Hire a professional or call the > health dept. > Aspergillus versicolor has been linked to brain tumors............... in > rats. > > DR. R. LIPSEY > UNIV OF NORTH FLORIDA > PROFESSOR AND TOXICOLOGIST > <A HREF= " http://www.richardlipsey.com/index.htm " >RESUME, 2001--DR. R. LIPSEY (www.richardlipsey.com)</A> [This message contained attachments] ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 3 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 08:42:40 EDT From: RLLIPSEY87@... Subject: Fwd: [ToxicMoldSurvivors] Digest Number 31 In a message dated 6/25/2001 8:10:25 AM Eastern Daylight Time, Rllipsey87 writes: > Subj: Re: [ToxicMoldSurvivors] Digest Number 31 > Date: 6/25/2001 8:10:25 AM Eastern Daylight Time > From: <A HREF= " mailto:Rllipsey87 " >Rllipsey87</A> > <A HREF= " mailto:ToxicMoldSurvivors-owner " >ToxicMoldSurvivors-ow ner </A> > CC: <A HREF= " mailto:toxtalk@... " >toxtalk@...</A> > > > > > Yes, an air level of 10,400 cfu's/M3 is a hazardous level for any > pathogenic Aspergillus species of mold. > > There are no federal or state standards or guidelines for any mold at > any level, but Aspergillus versicolor is occasionally pathogenic that is > associated with two mycotoxins that can cause diarrhea, nausea, etc. It has > also been associated with liver and kidney cancer. Any level of 300 > cfu's/M3 should be considered toxic for normal healthy people, but the > first to get sick will be infants, the elderly and weak immune systems and > asthma. My suggestion to you is find out if the spores have spread inside > your home and have a professional decontamination done which would include > the ripping out of all the wallboard and insulation in the contaminated > wall and then washing the remaining wood with a bleach solution of 1 cup or > 1.5 cups of bleach in a gallon of water. > > DR. RICHARD LIPSEY > PROFESSOR AND TOXICOLOGIST > UNIV OF NORTH FLORIDA > <A HREF= " http://www.richardlipsey.com/index.htm " >RESUME, 2001--DR. R. LIPSEY (www.richardlipsey.com)</A> [This message contained attachments] ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 4 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 08:43:13 EDT From: RLLIPSEY87@... Subject: Fwd: PBS In a message dated 6/25/2001 7:59:02 AM Eastern Daylight Time, Rllipsey87 writes: > Subj: Re: PBS > Date: 6/25/2001 7:59:02 AM Eastern Daylight Time > From: <A HREF= " mailto:Rllipsey87 " >Rllipsey87</A> > <A HREF= " mailto:coolgram@... " >coolgram@...</A> > CC: <A HREF= " mailto:Chatboards@... " >Chatboards@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:ToxicMoldSurvivors " >ToxicMoldSurvivors@gro ups.com</A> > BCC: <A HREF= " mailto:toxtalk@... " >toxtalk@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:sbldf@... " >sbldf@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:wpfaff@... " >wpfaff@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:dp18@... " > > dp18@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:info@... " >info@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:krhoda@... " >krhoda@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:HeartsNUni " >HeartsNUni</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:lallen@... " > > lallen@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:NJTOXICS " >NJTOXICS</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:will@... " >will@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:hferreir@... " >hferreir@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:masspirg@... " > > masspirg@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:txpeer@... " >txpeer@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:ezh1@... " >ezh1@...</A>, <A HREF= " mailto:tburke@... " >tburke@...</A> > > > > The PBS program on MOLD POISONING is being produced this week........but > no date on the date of the airing of the program. I will post it when I > know. > > DR. R. LIPSEY > PROFESSOR AND TOXICOLOGIST > UNIV OF NORTH FLORIDA > <A HREF= " http://www.richardlipsey.com/index.htm " >RESUME, 2001--DR. R. LIPSEY (www.richardlipsey.com)</A> [This message contained attachments] ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 5 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 10:28:51 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: HOBB Opposes Insurance Exclusion of Mold Coverage : HOMEOWNERS FOR BETTER BUILDING : E-mail: president@... * Website: www.hobb.org : / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / : MOLD ALERT: Insurance Coverage Public Hearing : " Silent Killer and Sick Building Syndrome " : 9:30 June 26, 2001,A.M. : LBJ Library Auditorium - 2313 Red River in Austin : Austin, Texas, June 25, 2001 -- Texas insurance : companies are requesting that the Texas Insurance Commission exclude mold : coverage from homeowner policies. HomeOwners for Better Building is : opposed to this effort to eliminate coverage. : Recent news accounts of health issues have given attention to the : nationwide crisis of dangerous Toxic Molds that are invading homes, : offices, and schools. Faulty construction, faulty air conditioning, : plumbing leaks, careless building practices and defective building : materials are identified as the major contributing factors to the growth : of molds. If the Texas Insurance Commission allows insurance companies : to delete mold coverage from homeowner policies, then health care cost : will most certainly increase, which does not solve the dilemma. : What is the answer? Construction Defects are the major cause of the : growth of these toxic molds, leaving families facing a crisis without : answers or help. The mold issue should be handled in the same manner as : any other health issue. HomeOwners for Better Building will recommend : that the insurance industry concentrate on the identification and : prevention of construction defect in homes rather than eliminating " mold " : from insurance coverage. This should be a wakeup call for the Insurance : Industry to start addressing prevention as a way to cut their losses, : instead of refusing to help victims. The industry has an obligation to : insist that builders of new homes adhere to standards that insure homes : are built free of construction defects that contribute to the growth of : mold. : Homebuilders are not licensed or regulated in the state of Texas, and the : lack of accountability on the part of homebuilders is being recognized as : the cause for the lack of quality control, resulting in substandard : homes, that promotes the growth of toxic molds. Tort Reform and : contractual advantage requirements designed by the home building industry : prevent homeowners from suing the builder, leaving them with only their : insurance coverage as a means of getting help. : HomeOwners for Better Building will aslo be meeting with Lieutenant : Governor Ratliff to discuss Interim Committee Hearings on the mold : crisis, construction defects and a home lemon law that was introduced : this last session by Senator Van de Putte. : Contacts: Janet Ahmad, President, (210) 494-6404 or Gerding, (936) 321-5565 : HOBB National Board of Directors : Janet Ahmad - San h Munoz - Austin h Judy Doyle - : California h Tom Davey - Dallas l Armstrong - Florida : Flo /Osteen & Tomlinson - Georgia hTahni Hutchins - Indiana : h Cobarruvias - Houston : & Ainslie Vice - Kentucky h Lorinda & Couch - North : Carolina h Marie Crosby - New Jersey h Gloria - South Carolina ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 6 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 12:27:55 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: Toxic mold/Asperger's Syndrome Link? Mom Looking for Answers ----- Original Message ----- From: " Peggy Chaves " <ToxicHomes@...> <bherk@...> Sent: Monday, June 25, 2001 11:54 AM Subject: Research Hi Barbara, Seats thought I should e-mail you. I had e-mailed her this story and she thought maybe you could help. I just want to try and get this query out to has many people has I can that have been affected with toxic mold. Thank you, Peggy Chaves In 1998 my son, who was 8 at the time, started developing strange behaviors and unexplained outbursts. We searched for two years for a diagnosis. We were told of a Dr. at UCLA, California, that could possibly help us. We took him to UCLA where he was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome. We recently found out in Feb. '01 that we have been exposed to toxic molds for a good 3-4 years and didn't know it. I believe these toxins directly affected my son's nervous system. I have found a couple of families who have experienced the same thing. I'm asking for everyone's help, if you believe your children may have been exposed to toxic mold and are autistic, or have an autism spectrum disorder, I need to hear from you. I need to gather this information for research purposes. You can send me your story or contact me, Peggy, at ToxicHomes@... ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 7 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 12:32:34 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: Molds are hazards in variety of ways http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/business/buggs/951334 June 25, 2001, 9:48AM Molds are hazards in variety of ways By SHANNON BUGGS Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle The flood sicced mosquitoes and mold on homes all over Houston. Both can carry germs harmful to your health, but the mold also could be hazardous to your insurance claim. Molds are microscopic organisms that are so lightweight they can travel through the air. They use moisture to multiply and spread to any available surface. If left unchecked, mold can cause structural damage to a home. Federal flood insurance policies specify payment can be denied on claims if " water, moisture, mildew or mold damage " results from a homeowner failing to " inspect and maintain the property after a flood recedes. " Flood insurance covers the repair and replacement of most items touched by floodwaters, but coverage for mold cleanup depends on homeowners actively working to kill mold. Clean and keep cleaning It's not enough to rip out wet carpet, stack up destroyed possessions on the curb and shut your home's windows and doors while you wait for an insurance adjuster to come assess the damage. If you do just that, when the adjuster finally arrives, your home will be infested with mold and mildew. And since you did nothing to stop its spread, you run the risk of your adjuster refusing to recommend coverage for removing the mold and mildew. To make sure you don't lose out on some insurance money, clean and keep cleaning until the repair work begins. By this time, you should have discarded all ruined clothes and possessions, washed and disinfected anything salvageable and dried out your home and belongings using fans, air conditioners and sunshine. If you haven't, get started today. For most flood cleanup jobs, a bleach solution combining a quarter cup of liquid chlorine bleach, such as Clorox or Purex, for each gallon of water will kill mold and mildew. Tear out and throw away Sheetrock or drywall rotten with mold, so spores won't jump to other walls and ceilings. Further protect your home's interior by removing all the Sheetrock at least 12 inches above the high water mark. Remove water-soaked insulation. If it's rigid foam, you may be able to disinfect it, dry it out and reuse it. But other insulation materials must be destroyed. If you properly clean and air out everything, you should eliminate the moisture mold needs to spread. In case you missed a spot, stay vigilant. Continue to wipe down interior and exterior walls with disinfectant or the bleach solution every few days. Insurance issue intense As much of a hassle as all of this may seem, the standard federal flood policy at least provides mold coverage. There's an effort now to cut mold coverage in the Texas standard homeowners policy. Farmers Insurance Group has asked state regulators to allow it to modify all of its Texas homeowners policies to limit its liability for losses caused by wet or dry rot, mold, rust or fungus. Farmers wants to cover only mold damage stemming from a sudden or accidental burst of water, such as a broken pipe, and exclude mold claims resulting from an old leak that a homeowner failed to repair or from faulty construction. The standard homeowners policy already excludes mold and other damage caused by flooding. Federal flood insurance covers that. Farmers' request came in the midst of the Los Angeles-based insurer's court battle with an Austin-area couple. Earlier this month, a jury decided Farmers committed fraud by delaying payment to repair a plumbing leak in the couple's home and awarded them $32 million. Without discussing the specifics of the case, Ray of the Southwestern Insurance Information Service said, " Premiums were not written to cover these types of claims. A year ago, mold wasn't even heard of. " The insurance industry expects mold claims to mount into the billions of dollars, with claims ranging from $10,000 to $100,000. Ray predicts insurance companies will go bankrupt if state rules don't change to limit mold coverage or create separate policies for mold damage. TDI will hold a public hearing at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in Austin. The location was changed from the Commissioner's Hearing Room in the department to the 1,000-seat LBJ Library Auditorium. Interest in mold insurance coverage is just that intense. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Buggs invites comments and column ideas, but cannot offer specific financial advice about individual situations. E-mail her at shannon.buggs@... or call 713-220-2000, access code 1003. ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 8 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 12:50:44 EDT From: cavegrl777@... Subject: PORTABLE CLASSROOMS TO BECOME LESS TOXIC PORTABLE CLASSROOMS TO BECOME LESS TOXIC SAN FRANCISCO, California, June 22, 2001 (ENS) - In a major victory for California school children, manufacturers and distributors of portable classrooms have agreed to use less toxic materials in their buildings. The change could slash exposures to airborne chemicals known to cause cancer, asthma and other illnesses. A settlement was reached last month in a lawsuit brought by As You Sow, a San Francisco based environmental group, against 14 makers and suppliers of modular buildings, including many of the estimated 85,000 portable classrooms in use in California. As You Sow sued under Proposition 65, a state law that says products containing chemicals that cause cancer or reproductive harm must carry warning labels. The portable classroom companies did not admit liability, but paid As You Sow $150,000 in restitution funds, which will be redistributed as grants to other nonprofit groups working to reduce chemical exposures and raise public awareness of toxic chemicals' health effects. The portables companies also paid all of As You Sow's legal fees and costs, and $10,000 in civil penalties. In 1999, an Environmental Working Group (EWG) analysis of state and federal data found that more than two million California children attend school in portable classrooms that can expose them to harmful levels of toxic chemicals and molds. EWG calculated that long term exposure to known levels of formaldehyde, benzene and other chemicals emitted inside portables could increase some children's lifetime risk of developing cancer by a factor of two. The EWG study, " Reading, Writing and Risk, " is available at: http://www.ewg.org/pub/home/reports/readingwritingrisk/pressrelease.html " Two years ago the modular building industry vehemently denied that the toxic materials used in portable classrooms posed a health hazard to children, " said Bill , EWG's California director. " They still won't admit it, but they've agreed to use safer materials, and that means kids will be healthier at school. " ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 9 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 14:58:32 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: Is the fungus in your floorboards making you sick? With no clear answers, panic and lawsuits abound http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,165155,00.html Sunday, Jun. 24, 2001 Beware:Toxic Mold Is the fungus in your floorboards making you sick? With no clear answers, panic and lawsuits abound BY ANITA HAMILTON Sharyn Iler, 52, of the Woodlands, Texas, an upscale suburb of Houston, couldn't figure out what was wrong. Every time she went into her bathroom to put on makeup, her eyes started burning. She felt constantly exhausted, her vision was blurry and she had a dry cough that just wouldn't quit. Diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998, Iler feared the worst. Perhaps after two years of remission, the disease had returned. She never imagined that the source of her troubles might lie buried within the walls of her $300,000 home--or that she and her husband Bruce would be forced to flee for health reasons with nothing but their dog and cat in tow. Yet that is exactly what happened one ill-fated afternoon last February. Inspectors had found a thick black mold growing between the stucco and the drywall of the master bedroom, bath, study and dining room. After some of it was identified as stachybotrys atra--a fungus that has been linked to everything from sinus infections to brain damage--an industrial hygienist warned the Ilers to evacuate. Thirty minutes later, they abandoned their home forever. " I thought, This can't be happening to me, " says Sharyn. " This is my sanctuary. This is where I come when everything else is wrong. " Like some sort of biblical plague, toxic mold has been creeping through homes, schools and other buildings across the U.S. Although press reports have focused on stachybotrys, strains of aspergillus, chaetomium and penicillium have also triggered their share of grief. At least two families have burned their homes to rid themselves of the contamination. Thousands more, including antipollution crusader Brockovich, are suing home builders, landlords and insurers for damages to their property and their health. Last month the California state senate approved the country's first mold bill, which would set standards for acceptable levels indoors and require home sellers to disclose mold problems. Amid the frenzy, a cottage industry of fungus busters, mold lawyers and support groups is growing. On June 4 a jury found that Farmers Insurance should pay Melinda Ballard of Dripping Springs, Texas, $32 million for mold damage to her 22-room, hilltop mansion and for her ensuing mental anguish. In May the Delaware Supreme Court upheld a $1 million jury award to Stroot of Wilmington, Del., who claimed that moldy water leaking into the bathroom of her apartment aggravated her asthma and caused cognitive disorders. Faced with a rising number of claims, insurers and home builders are looking for ways to minimize their liability. Farmers, which estimates that in Texas alone it will have to shell out $85 million in mold claims, has simply eliminated coverage in some 30 states. Says Janet Bachman, vice president of the American Insurance Association: " We are not the guarantors of public health. " The California building industry tried and failed to push through a " home warranty " bill, under which homeowners could be required to enter binding arbitration instead of suing for defects. How much of the crisis is based on hard science and how much stems from plain old hysteria--fanned by news reports and plaintiffs' lawyers--is a hotly contested issue. Mold, after all, is everywhere, from the tasty Roquefort cheese in your salad dressing to the nasty black stuff clinging to the grout in your bathroom. Doctors know that certain strains can trigger allergic reactions, asthma and other respiratory ailments. They have discovered that toxins produced by aspergillus molds can cause cancer. But proving that a mold in this house caused this person's nosebleeds or mental confusion is a notoriously difficult task. Among the skeptics, Dr. Emil Bardana, of Oregon Health & Science University, argues that most people will experience little more than " transient irritations, " such as a runny nose or teary eyes, that clear up once the mold is removed. Others are not so sure. In a study published in 1999, Mayo Clinic researchers concluded that mold causes most chronic sinus infections. Even more alarming, several researchers believe that molds can cause some types of brain damage. Wayne Gordon, a neuropsychologist, and Dr. Eckardt Johanning, both of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, have seen enough patients whose problems with memory, learning and concentration occurred only after exposure to stachybotrys to convince them there is a relationship. Still, they concede, more research is needed. Lawyers don't require such absolutes. " For science to prove something, it has to be 100% certain. In a civil lawsuit, it has to be proved only 51%, " says Guy Vann, a New York City attorney who has won mold trials. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has shelled out some $5 million to clean up mold problems in low-income homes. The biggest winners are the industries feeding off mold mania. " Six years ago, people laughed in my face, " says Ed Cross, a lawyer in Santa Ana, Calif. Since then, he has won mold settlements as large as $978,000 and says he gets 50 calls a week from potential clients. Steve Temes, an industrial hygienist in Red Bank, N.J., charges $150 an hour for mold inspections. " I used to do radon and lead testing, " he says. " But there was no demand. " The losers are people like Mark and Jane O'Hara of Eugene, Ore. In February they had the local fire department burn their home to the ground after doctors attributed the family's chronic nosebleeds, flulike symptoms and severe headaches to mold. The O'Haras figured it would cost more to repair the house than to rebuild it from scratch. Others, like Carol Cherry of Hazlet, N.J., can't afford the $5,000-to-$10,000 retainer that lawyers often require to take on a mold case. Stranded in her moldy home, Cherry says, " I can't have guests over. I can't even invite children over to play with my nine-year-old son. " Yet Cherry, who has spent the past year looking for help, is not ready to give up the fight. " My children and I were wronged, " she says, " and I will do everything in my power to right that wrong. " With reporting by Dan Cray/Los Angeles, Hylton/ Austin, McCalope/Houston and Maggie Sieger/Chicago The EPA's Mold Resources page Mold Remediation Information provided for commercial buildings that's also applicable to homes Center for Disease Control Questions and nswers on Stachybotrys chartarum and other molds Clearing the Air A report on asthma and mold from the National Academy of Science Institute of Medicine ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 10 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 15:01:41 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: Insurance companies seek to head off homeowner claims for mold http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?n4889_BC_LA -TX--BlackMold & & news & newsflash-financial Insurance companies seek to head off homeowner claims for mold By DAVID KOENIG The Associated Press 6/24/01 1:46 PM DALLAS (AP) -- The spiderlike crack in the breakfast-room wall didn't look serious, but when a workman removed the wallboard, the insulation and back of the board were covered with black fuzz. The mildewing substance stretched around a corner and into the adjoining den. A biochemist came in to take samples of the rot. A month later, in early 1999, homeowner Harold Hobbs got a call from his insurance company's staff engineer. " She said the biochemist strongly recommends you don't go into the house without a respirator, a moon suit, gloves and boots, " Hobbs said. " It scared the hell out of me. " Tests showed the mold growing behind the walls in Hobbs' Houston home was Stachybotrys chartarum, which some scientists have linked to everything from rashes to fatal pulmonary bleeding -- conclusions disputed by other scientists and insurers. Hobbs, who moved his family into a hotel and then a leased house, was on the cutting edge of an apparently growing trend: Mold growing in homes and other buildings. In the past few months, a Dallas apartment complex was evacuated, a courthouse in Denton was closed and a construction company agreed to pay a school district $3 million, all in cases involving mold. There's nothing new about mold -- it's mentioned in the Bible -- but concern about its effect on people living in infested homes is growing faster than the fungus itself. Homeowners, contractors and attorneys are looking for someone to pay for expensive mold removal and home repairs. That would be insurance companies. Worried insurers say mold claims, if unchecked, soon could rival the billions they have paid for asbestos-related claims. " The number of claims is growing exponentially, " said Bob Huxel, a lobbyist for Farmers Insurance, the largest underwriter of homeowner policies in Texas. " We anticipate the losses coming in very rapidly. " Farmers, which sells 10 percent of the homeowner policies in Texas, will testify before state regulators this week that claims this year in Texas alone could conservatively approach $130 million and require a 40 percent increase in homeowner premiums. Farmers has petitioned the state insurance commissioner to exclude coverage of mold claims. If the request is granted, other insurers are expected to follow suit or seek to require homeowners to buy separate policies for mold damage. " It's going to cost homeowners thousands of dollars in repairs if the insurance companies don't cover this, " said Joe Cole, a contractor who does mold-abatement work in Corpus Christi. " We have some houses that are only worth $100,000 and the cleanup is $300,000. People are just going to walk away from the houses and turn them over to the lenders. " Insurers say that the public -- encouraged by media reports -- has become hysterical about mold. The Environmental Protection Agency says molds are everywhere and grow easily on just about any damp surface. EPA says there is no practical way to eliminate mold inside buildings and the best defense is to control moisture. Insurance officials also suggest that not all mold claims are on the level. " There are legitimate instances of mold having an effect on a person's health, but we've seen cases where people develop what we call opportunistic illness, " said Jerry s, spokesman for an industry group, the Southwestern Insurance Information Service. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says links between mold and conditions such as memory loss and lung damage haven't been proved, although the agency says people with lowered immune systems or lung disease might be at increased risk for infection from mold. Homeowners who have moved out of mold-infested homes say their suffering is far from phony. Melinda Ballard sued Farmers when it delayed repairing water-soaked sub flooring in her 22-room, 11,500-square-foot dream house in the Hill Country town of Dripping Springs. She said a water leak in late 1998 allowed Stachybotrys chartarum, also called black mold, to spread wildly throughout the home. Ballard said she suffered no ill effects but her husband still suffers blackouts and had to quit his job as an investment banker. She said her 5-year-old son has scarred lung tissue, asthma and learning problems because of exposure to the mold. Two weeks ago, an Austin jury awarded Ballard $32 million in actual and punitive damages -- a judge is scheduled to review the verdict Monday. " They could've fixed the house for less than $1 million in April of 1999. They opted not to, " Ballard said. " That was pure stupidity and arrogance. " Ballard vows to sue again over her son's health problems, which were not an issue in the trial. " Farmers hasn't seen the last of us by a long shot, " she said. Hobbs, the Houston man forced out of his home, is also suing Farmers. He claims adjusters didn't take the time to examine the house when the mold and sources of moisture could have been treated. Farmers declined to comment on the cases. Its lawyers have hinted they will appeal the Ballard verdict if the state district court judge doesn't overturn it. Insurers usually order toxicology tests when mold is found in a home. If it's Stachybotrys, abatement crews are called in, and EPA guidelines tell them to wear full protective suits and masks. Contents, from shoes to sofas, are often double-wrapped in plastic and hauled away. The cost of such a job adds up quickly. s, the Texas insurance industry group official, said the average claim is about $30,000. In January, Farmers petitioned Texas Insurance Commissioner Montemayor to approve a new form for its Texas homeowner policies that would exclude coverage for " any loss consisting of, caused by, contributed to, or aggravated by rust, mold, fungus, or wet or dry rot. " The proposal has raised a furor among homeowners with mold claims. Montemayor called a Tuesday hearing, and interest on the subject forced him to move it from a 150-seat room to an auditorium that holds 1,000. No one claims to know how the insurance commissioner will rule on Farmers' request, but Huxel, the company's Texas lobbyist, acknowledged that growing public concern about mold could make it harder for the insurer to get its way. " My fear is it's such an emotional issue that facts may not carry the day, " he said. ------ On the Net: Texas Department of Insurance: www.tdi.state.tx.us CDC site: http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/asthma/factsheets/molds/default.htm EPA: http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/moldresources.html Copyright 2001 Associated Press. ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 11 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 15:07:49 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: As mold grows, so do health worries http://enquirer.com/editions/2001/06/24/loc_as_mold_grows_so_do.html Sunday, June 24, 2001 As mold grows, so do health worries Toxic threat or overblown fear? By Peggy O'Farrell The Cincinnati Enquirer Mold, the fungus that gave us the wonder drug penicillin, is now being blamed for everything from asthma to cancer to immune deficiencies. An industrial hygenist wearing a respirator suit inspects a Tristate home with mold-covered walls. (M.S. Crandall Group Inc. photo) Increasingly, Americans are worrying - some experts say panicking - about getting sick from the black fuzz that can grow, unseen and unchecked, behind walls in our homes, schools and offices. So how big a problem is it? Some scientists call mold a potentially new, serious health threat. Others say concern is overblown. But whatever their belief, more people are paying attention. For the first time, the Ohio Department of Health is working with federal and local officials to clean up mold and improve air quality in schools. In the Tristate, tens of thousands of dollars are being spent to clean up mold in buildings where we work, play and sleep. And while national experts debate how bad the problem really is, Cincinnati researchers for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may have developed a way to find answers. A hidden menace The Vanden Bosch family in West Chester is one of perhaps hundreds of Tristate households facing costs of cleaning up mold that grew, unbeknownst to them, in their own homes. WARNING SIGNS . Visible mold . Visible water damage to building materials, carpet, furniture, etc. . A musty, damp odor . Unexplained symptoms such as runny nose, congestion, watery nose, sneezing and cough, headache or skin rashes. Vanden Bosch and her son, , were starting a home improvement project early in March at their 23-year-old, trilevel house. When they began peeling back wallpaper in the downstairs bathroom, they discovered unsightly fuzz underneath. The growth was so thick, it had eaten holes in the drywall. Mrs. Vanden Bosch's husband, Tom, discovered the fuzz was even more widespread when he investigated after work. So horrified was the family that they called a contractor. " He put on an a spacesuit and a respirator " before going into the house to do testing, Mrs. Vanden Bosch says. " I'd never seen anything like it. " The Vanden Bosch family - , and Tom - in the West Chester home they had to leave for monthws because of mold. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM | The contractor found even more mold. It was upstairs as well - under carpet and behind wallpaper in all three bathrooms. It had eaten holes in the wooden sub-flooring. Lab results were even more dismaying: Mold samples in the Vanden Bosch home came back positive for Stachybotrys and Aspergillus, two common indoor molds linked to numerous health problems, including some forms of cancer, skin irritation, systemic infections, hemorrhage and convulsions. The family hired a company to clean up their house and moved into a hotel in April. Insurance is covering most of the cost to replace drywall and paint and carpet - estimated at $30,000 so far. While test results answered some questions, the Vanden Bosches wonder what health effects may linger. Mrs. Vanden Bosch and , now nearly 8, had suffered many upper respiratory infections, coughs, headaches and sore throats. was having trouble in school because he was sick so often. After they tore the wallpaper off, some of those symptoms got worse, Mrs. Vanden Bosch says. She developed a severe rash and was " covered in hives " at one point. Many of their symptoms eased after they moved out of the house. is in better health, although Mrs. Vanden Bosch still has a cough she can't seem to shake. She's also still waiting on tests taken from a skin lesion to find out if it's cancer and another to see whether the mold and its toxins are in her bloodstream. Thriving in the dark Experts blame escalating complaints about mold on contemporary construction techniques that emphasize air-tight energy conservation. Moisture provides a perfect breeding ground for mold, especially in houses that allow little air in or out. MORE ABOUT MOLD . How to get control . Answers to common questions That's because mold feeds on rotting organic matter. And it grows everywhere - on building materials, grass, dead leaves, newspapers, books, firewood, grain, fruit, bread and soil. Under a microscope, mold looks like a vibrant mixture of red, orange, yellow or green. It's routine to find mold on shower walls or around window air-conditioners where moisture condenses. Usually, people clean these areas regularly. But mold thrives where it is hidden away - inside walls, under carpet and in damp attics and basements. Its ill effects can include allergic reactions, resulting in runny noses, itchy eyes, rashes and asthma. It also can be infectious, meaning people can inhale mold spores, which then begin growing in the body, resulting in permanent tissue and organ damage. Histoplasmosis is a common form of mold infection in the Ohio Valley. In its worst form, molds produce mycotoxins, which can interfere with cellular and DNA function, resulting in cancers and other problems. Mike Crandall, a certified industrial hygienist and owner of M.S. Crandall Group Inc. in Norwood, frequently lectures on the best way to prevent and clean up mold damage. " Everyone, it seems, has an interest in mold these days, " Mr. Crandall says. Last month, a Texas jury awarded $32 million to a woman who sued her insurance company for not covering mold damage claims. That verdict " got everybody talking and thinking about mold, particularly if you own buildings. " Mold in schools has been in the headlines here. In April, a classroom in E. Lucas Intermediate School in the Princeton school district was closed for the rest of the school year because of mold. Maple Dale Elementary School in Blue Ash was closed for two days in February after officials discovered potentially dangerous mold on a single ceiling tile in a storage closet. And at Lawrenceburg, Ind., High School, several rooms were closed in March while heating and cooling systems were cleaned and wallpaper and water-damaged ceilings were removed. Gayetsky, an industrial hygienist with the Ohio Department of Health, has helped officials at 10 area schools identify potential problems affecting the air that students breathe. Flat roofs, for example, can contribute to a problem if rain can't easily run off, he says. Mr. Gayetsky is working with schools to implement the " Tools for Schools " program, an EPA training program that emphasizes improving indoor air quality in school buildings. State and federal funding funding for the program totaled $44,000 for 2000-2001. The Vanden Bosches blame a leaky water pipe for their mold problem. They discovered the leak and had it fixed soon after they moved into the home in 1997, but the damage was already done. Mold 101 Baby boomers were taught that living things are divided into two kingdoms, plants and animals. Now, science students learn that fungi are a kingdom of their own. Types of fungi include mushrooms, mildew and mold. There are hundreds of kinds of mold; scientists can't even agree on how many. One kind - Penicillium - gives us the antibiotic penicillin. But the bigger debate is how big a public health threat mold poses. Dr. Eckhart Johanning, an Albany, N.Y., mold expert and the head of the Fungal Research Group, is concerned. " Mold has great public health impact. If we can make a small dent in this, I think we will make a great difference in people's quality of life, " Dr. Johanning says. Dr. Gots disagrees. An environmental health and toxicology expert, he's the head of the International Center for Toxicology and Medicine in Washington, D.C. " People abandon houses and close schools, and there's no reason for it, " he says. " It's just out of control. It's totally out of control. " Dr. Gots blames a number of factors for what he calls undue panic over indoor mold, including high-profile lawsuits and more advertising from contractors who specialize in testing for or cleaning up mold. " I'm getting brochures every day that are titled, How to Make Money in Mold. There are plaintiff's lawyers who are filing lawsuits every day, " he says. " There's media hype. There is a wildly active and very chaotic industry made up of all sorts of people with varying expertise about what to test and how to test and how much cleanup is necessary. And there's very little medical input. " Dr. Malcolm Adcock, health commissioner for the city of Cincinnati, calls references to toxic mold " an overstatement. " He says that for most people, mold is simply an allergen, not a deadly poison. " I'm not downplaying it, but I think it's been raised to more of a concern than it warrants, given the types of problems that it normally causes, " Dr. Adcock says. " People don't think a thing at all about taking a walk in the woods. If you're out walking through the woods with decaying material on the floor of the forest, you're being exposed to literally thousands of kinds of mold. " Questions remain For all their differences, the experts do agree that many questions need to be answered. Among them: . How much mold is too much? There are national maximum exposure standards for chemicals but none for mold. It's unlikely a mold standard could be established, Dr. Johanning says. Molds are allergens, and some individuals are much more sensitive to them than others. And since molds are so common, it's nearly impossible to establish a mold-free environment. Dr. Gots is working with other researchers to compile existing background levels of molds in different settings - households, office buildings, manufacturing plants, lumberyards and other places. He's correlating that data with information on health complaints that might be related. . How toxic is toxic? Lab tests show mycotoxins - poisons produced by molds - cause serious health problems, including cancers, in animals. But it's difficult to detect mycotoxins in humans because they remain in the body for such short times. Researchers can find antigens - protein " markers " for a few mycotoxins and mold. But several different types of mold can produce the same markers, making it difficult to trace toxic effects. . What else may be causing health problems? Mold isn't the only thing that likes wet, dark environments. So do bacteria. It's possible that toxic effects being attributed to molds are really being caused by toxins produced by bacteria. Science in Cincinnati Cincinnati researchers are at the forefront of research trying to answer some of those questions. At the EPA's Office of Research and Development's National Exposure Research Laboratory, molecular microbiologists Haugland and Vesper have developed a way to rapidly identify different strains of mold using DNA sequencing. They're also working to determine how much mold is present from a particular sample. The researchers have collected DNA markers for Stachybotrys and more than 100 other problem molds. Currently, mold samples are sent to labs and grown - a process that can take weeks. Some molds can be identified by physical characteristics, but that method isn't always accurate. The method developed at the EPA's Cincinnati lab gives fast and accurate results, making it easier to tie specific molds to health complaints, and to determine " which molds are a problem and at what levels they are a problem, " Dr. Haugland says. " We hope that this can be a big piece of the puzzle. " The EPA is licensing the technology, and one firm in Arizona is using it commercially. Are we ever safe? With so many unanswered questions, it's difficult for people and their doctors to determine the risks of mold exposure. But whether it causes a runny nose or lung infection or cancer, mold should be limited indoors. " It really doesn't matter what kind of mold it is,'' says Mandy Burkett, chief of the Ohio Department of Health's indoor environment section. " You need to get rid of it. " Members of the Vanden Bosch family hope they can move back home in another week or two, and they're adapting to life in the hotel. But Mrs. Vanden Bosch wonders what's next. Will her medical tests be OK? How many other families are getting sick because they don't realize mold is in their homes? Will mold re-infest her home? " I wonder if I'll ever feel safe there again. " Mastering mold: how to get control Answers about mold ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 12 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 15:12:21 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: Mastering mold: how to get control http://enquirer.com/editions/2001/06/24/loc_mastering_mold_how.html Sunday, June 24, 2001 Mastering mold: how to get control By Peggy O'Farrell The Cincinnati Enquirer Experts say it's almost a certainty that there's some mold in your house, since mold spores can be found almost everywhere. The key is to keep mold from growing so much it can damage your home and your health. If you can see or smell mold, you know it's there. The little bit growing in the shower or around the window air-conditioner isn't harmful. The black fuzz eating away your attic could be. If your house has suffered water damage from a flood, burst pipe or leaky roof, it's at risk for mold intrusion. If you or your family - especially your children - suffer allergy symptoms (runny nose, congestion, itchy eyes), cough, headaches or repeated colds and upper respiratory infections only at home, that could be a sign there's a mold problem. And if you can see a significant amount of mold - more than several inches in diameter - it's time to call a professional to find out how bad things might be. A little mold isn't a problem. But when it starts taking over carpets and walls and adds up to square feet, it could reach toxic levels. To keep mold from running rampant in your home or office, follow these steps: . Keep water out of the building. Look for leaks from pipes, foundations, basements, roofs and attics. Plug the leaks and clean up any standing water. . Clean up visible mold. If it's the stuff turning the grout in the bathroom black, a household cleaner, or a sponge soaked in liquid bleach and water, will do it. . Control the humidity. Try to keep the humidity at or below 50 percent, and consider installing a humidity gauge in the basement, which tends to be damper than other parts of the house. . Remove water- or mold-damaged materials, including carpet and other floor coverings, wallpaper, drywall, wood, sheetrock, paper, yard waste and plants. . Get it where it lives: Check mold-friendly areas regularly for intrusion: Potting soil, piles of old newspapers, laundry rooms, the sills and molding around window air-conditioning units, insulation and carpet. As mold grows, so do health worries Mastering mold: how to get control Answers about mold ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 13 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 15:16:17 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: Answers about mold http://enquirer.com/editions/2001/06/24/loc_answers_about.html Sunday, June 24, 2001 Answers about mold What is it? Mold is one of the oldest life forms on Earth. Neither a plant nor an animal, mold belongs to the fungi kingdom, along with mushrooms, rusts, smuts and mildews. Fungi can't produce chlorophyll, as green plants do, and rely on rotting organic material (wood, leaves, grass, paper, etc.) for food. There are hundreds of types of mold. (Penicillium, Aspergillus, Stachybotrys, Fusarium and Alternaria are a few), and experts sometimes disagree when identifying individual types of mold and on what criteria to use to classify them. How can it affect my health? Mold can affect people's health in three ways: . Allergic reactions: runny nose, asthma, hypersensitive pneumonitis. . Infectious: the growth of mold spores in or on the body. Histoplasmosis is a common mold infection in the Tristate. . Toxic: disruption of cellular and DNA function, including cancer. What harm can mold-produced toxins do? Molds produce mycotoxins, poisons that can harm people and animals if they're eaten, inhaled or touched. There are plenty of data available that indicate mycotoxins are harmful to animals and to some agricultural workers. There's little information showing a direct link between mycotoxins and health problems in people in non-agricultural, indoor settings. Molds that produce mycotoxins include: . Apergillus: These common molds produce aflatoxins, which can cause miscarriage, birth defects, immunosuppression and cancer in animals. In humans, aflatoxins have been implicated in cases of liver cancer and hepatitis B, liver cirrhosis and Reye's syndrome. The toxin is regularly found in moldy peanuts, peas, bread, cheese, rice, corn and other grains, and some studies suggest that people who work in peanut processing have higher cancer rates. Some lab workers who have inhaled aflatoxins have reported lung disease and lung cancer. . Fusarium, Stachybotrys, Memnoniella and other strains: These molds produce more than 100 compounds classified as tricothecenes. T-2 toxin, a biological warfare agent, is probably the best known of the tricothecenes, and is believed to be the mycotoxin responsible for some forms of aleukia (the absence of white blood cells). T-2 toxin is believed to have killed thousands of Soviets who ate mold-infested cereal grains toward the end of World War II. Symptoms of tricothecene poisoning include skin irritation, vomiting, anorexia, diarrhea, hemorrhage and convulsions, sometimes resulting in death. Stachybotrys poisoning has been associated with fatal hemorrhaging in horses and other livestock, and dermatitis, bloody rhinitis, cough and severe respiratory tract irritation in people. Farm workers, workers in cottonseed oil plants and grain elevators, textile mill works, grain processing workers and binder twine factory workers report occupational exposure to stachybotrys toxins. . Penicillium produces several toxins, including ochratoxin A, which has been shown to cause miscarriage, birth defects and kidney damage in experimental animals. It has also been linked to a form of kidney disease found in people in the Balkan Valley region of Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Romania, theoretically because they ate contaminated foods. . Alternaria, a very common mold, produces more than 30 compounds that are toxic to animals and cell cultures. Its toxicity to people is unknown, though it can cause allergic reaction ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 14 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 15:25:29 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: Family abandons home after mold moves in http://www.caller.com/2001/june/24/today/localnew/3626.html Sunday, June 24, 2001 Family abandons home after mold moves in Couple believes water leak in A/C led to growth throughout the house By Neal Falgoust Caller-Times What began for Dwight and Mercer as a simple renovation of their Flour Bluff house turned into a flight from home, a nine-month exile and a fight with their insurance company. All the Mercers wanted was to add a room and spruce up the property, but they soon found themselves swirling in a storm of mold. The Mercers' battle with mold began in February of last year. 's father, Cloud, wanted to move in with the family. They decided to build him a room and to do some other renovations on the home that they had lived in for more than a decade. The home had been a fixer-upper. The family rented it for several years before buying it in 1992, and since then made nearly $40,000 in improvements. The Mercers hired Gutmann Turn Key contractors to repair a deck overlooking the water and to enclose part of the garage, where Cloud would live. They expected the job to proceed in a timely fashion. During an inspection of the home, Gutmann, president of the contracting firm, found some soft spots in the floor that separated the upstairs home from the downstairs garage. What Gutmann found underneath the floor would change the Mercers' lives. From beneath the floor A leak in the air conditioning system had dampened the sub-floor and frame of the house. Mold was growing in the moisture, feasting on the wood and paper in the floor. The mold also had spread throughout the home's air conditioning system and had contaminated the family's furniture, Mercer said. By March of last year, just a month after they found the mold, Dwight and Mercer filed a claim with their insurance company and hoped to have the mold problem resolved. Two independent air conditioning contractors inspected the unit for the Mercers, and the insurance company hired a third firm. All three concluded that there had been a leak, Mercer said. But the insurance adjuster was not convinced that there was a problem, Gutmann said. " You can't smell it. You can't see it, " she said. " So the insurance company goes in and says, 'There's nothing wrong with this.' " 'It doesn't cover this' But something was wrong, the Mercers maintain. Dwight Mercer had respiratory problems, and everyone in the house was feeling sick. " We all thought we had the flu, " Mercer said. But they couldn't afford to do anything about their problems without help from the insurance company. " We had the coverage, but for some reason they said it doesn't cover this, " Mercer said. Then, in September - eight months after the family discovered the mold and after the family hired a lawyer - the insurance company agreed to pay for relocation. The family left as soon as it got word that the insurance company would pay. They took only their clothes. Photos of relatives still hang on the moldy walls. Furniture that has not been sat on in more than a year now shows signs of mold growth. And Mercer's room looks like it was frozen in time - a pair of overturned tennis shoes sits in the middle of the floor, the sheets on his bed still tousled. " We assumed when we moved out that things would start moving and the work would be done and we would be back home, " Mercer said. Living in exile Since then, the family has floated from a hotel to a rental property on Padre Island. They had to buy an entire house full of furniture. Mercer also had to adjust to a new life in a strange place, a place where she feels uncomfortable. " I get scared out here, " she said. For now, the insurance company is paying only for the family's temporary quarters - not for the furniture they needed to replace. There has been no agreement about who should pay to fix the house. The family's case is set for trial Nov. 5, and Mercer still hopes that she will be able to move back home. She hopes the courts will be able to settle the issue. " It's a big hope, " she said. " But where else do you go? This is our home. " ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Contact Neal Falgoust at 886-4334 or_falgoustn@... ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 15 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 15:32:29 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: Mold, filth and broken fixtures plague schools, civic audit finds (Middle Tennessee) http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/01/04/06043037.shtml?Element_ID=604 3037 Sunday, 06/24/01 Mold, filth and broken fixtures plague schools, civic audit finds JOHN PARTIPILO / STAFF Missing ceiling tiles expose wiring and existing tiles reveal large watermarks in the fourth-floor hallway, which lacks air conditioning, at East Literature Magnet School. By ANITA WADHWANI Staff Writer Students and staff in Metro schools face health and safety hazards that include unsafe bleachers on sports fields, sewer odors permeating classrooms, and mold so widespread that some teachers say it is causing respiratory problems that are keeping staff and students home sick, according to a community group's audit of 67 Metro schools. Members of the group, Tying Nashville Together, say they are surprised at the conditions children must face in trying to get an education and plan to begin a 60- to 90-day countdown today to demand that the most critical problems identified in dozens of schools be fixed - despite the cost - in time for kids to return to class. Students and staff in Metro schools face health and safety hazards that include unsafe bleachers on sports fields, sewer odors permeating classrooms, and mold so widespread that some teachers say it is causing respiratory problems that are keeping staff and students home sick, according to a community group's audit of 67 Metro schools. Members of the group, Tying Nashville Together, say they are surprised at the conditions children must face in trying to get an education and plan to begin a 60- to 90-day countdown today to demand that the most critical problems identified in dozens of schools be fixed - despite the cost - in time for kids to return to class. ''My thinking is that if you live in a house and the roof leaks, you fix it,'' said Sneed, a TNT member and parent of a 16-year-old student attending Hume-Fogg Magnet, a high school identified in the report as needing emergency work to remove mold and fix heating and air-conditioning systems. ''In Metro schools that doesn't seem to happen, and the kids like my daughter are the ones who suffer.'' TNT, an organization that represents more than 60 community groups and churches, is presenting its school report today at an assembly at Hillsboro High that organizers expect to draw 800 to 1,000 people. The meeting is scheduled for 4-5:30 p.m. TNT members-turned-amateur school inspectors found that about half of the elementary, middle and high schools they visited this spring - schools chosen to represent a geographical and socio-economic cross section - had problems severe enough that they posed an immediate health or safety hazard. ''I think many of our people were pleasantly surprised by many of the things they did see in our schools, but I think we also realize that there are things that nobody should tolerate,'' said Irene Boyd of TNT, who organized the teams of volunteer auditors. Those problems included fire hazards such as chained exit doors, health code violations such as peeling lead-based paint, flooding, bad plumbing and filthy bathrooms, missing or malfunctioning doors and locks, and heating and cooling systems that are always broken. Metro officials, who received copies of the report earlier this week, said the group's audit highlighted the legacy of lean budget years when money was directed into classroom education at the expense of maintaining the district's 130 school buildings - many of which are decades old. ''When we've had shortfalls in the budget, the areas that were first cut have been maintenance and upkeep,'' school board Chairman said. ''I think it's vital that those problems be remedied. We may be at the point of getting back to those basics.'' said TNT's audit would provide ''meaningful input'' into summer maintenance plans. School principals also said that the report pointed toward a lack of resources rather than a lack of resolve to fix many ongoing problems caused by aging buildings and a shrinking budget. East Literature Magnet made TNT's list. Principal Kaye Schneider has sweated, along with her 600 students, in hot weather because replacement parts are no longer made for the old air conditioners. She says she has heard students holler as mice and ''big, huge bugs'' scamper across classrooms. ''There's no hot water in the bathrooms, the showers don't work and the lockers are broken,'' Schneider said. ''It's an old building. Is that an excuse? I don't know. ''This may sound like a cliché, but I assume it's because of a lack of money to hire the proper personnel to take care of our buildings.'' The Rev. s of TNT said budget shortfalls cannot be used as an excuse to skimp on the safety and well-being of children and school staff. ''Forget about what's in the budget line,'' said s, who is also a pastor of Village Church in east Nashville. ''These things are must-do, must-fix things. And they must be addressed now.'' The new Metro schools budget includes a hefty increase for school maintenance, following a half-million-dollar performance audit by an outside consultant hired by Mayor Bill Purcell last year. While TNT's survey focused on facilities and resources available to teachers, the MGT audit focused on how schools were run. MGT recommended an increase of more than $7.8 million for maintenance and $4.78 million to hire more custodians over the next five years. This year's school budget, expected to gain approval from the Metro Council this week and go into effect Sunday, included the first $1 million down payment for maintenance based on that recommendation. Boyd said that TNT's audit also highlighted long-term problems, such as an inequitable distribution of resources between schools. ''There's a lot of explanations for that,'' she said. ''There is a lot of private money going into public schools being raised by parents and from teachers' pockets. The main thing we want to see is long-term equity in our schools. The difference between equity and equality is that we know every school is not going to have the same thing as every other school. But we think each school should have what it needs.'' The group plans to convene a working group of representatives from schools, public officials and TNT members to define baseline standards for resources that must be available in each school. Problems in need of attention The most pressing health and safety problems identified in the TNT survey of 67 Metro schools, include: Fire safety problems, such as broken or missing fire extinguishers, exit doors chained shut, broken fire doors and disabled fire alarms: Buena Vista Paideia Magnet East Literature Magnet ton Middle Margaret Elementary McKissack Middle Pennington Elementary Stratford Comprehensive High Two Rivers Middle Mold problems, such as mold-covered ceilings and walls that have led to respiratory problems and staff and student sick days: Bellevue Middle Hume-Fogg Magnet Hunters Lane Comprehensive High Kings Lane Design Center Pearl-Cohn High Middle Health code violations and other dangers, such as broken windows, concerns about peeling paint containing lead, asbestos, broken dishwashers, unsafe bleachers and balconies. Buena Vista Paideia Magnet Cameron Middle Glenview Elementary Haynes Middle ton Middle Nashville School of the Arts Old Center Elementary Percy Priest Elementary Rose Park Middle Flooding in classrooms and hallways: Cole Elementary Cumberland Elementary Problems with doors and locks: Crieve Hall Elementary Hillsboro Comprehensive High ton Middle Bathroom problems, such as missing stall doors, mildew, leaking toilets, sinks and pipes, unsanitary conditions: Buena Vista Paideia Magnet Buena Vista Paideia Magnet East Literature Magnet McKissack Middle Stratford Comprehensive High Pearl-Cohn High Heating and cooling problems, such as broken air conditioners, heaters and water heaters: W.A. Bass Middle East Literature Magnet Glenview Elementary Hume-Fogg Magnet Napier Elementary Stratford High ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 16 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 15:36:13 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: FDA Plans To Make Allergen Inspections JUNE 25, 05:45 EST FDA Plans To Make Allergen Inspections By PHILIP BRASHER Associated Press Writer NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The Food and Drug Administration plans to inspect thousands of candy makers, bakeries and other processors over the next two years to make sure ingredients that cause common allergic reactions aren't getting into food and candy accidentally. The FDA decided on the inspections, which could involve as many as 6,000 plants, after recently testing several plants in Minnesota and Wisconsin. One-fourth of the cookie, ice cream and candy makers tested had ingredients such as peanuts that weren't disclosed on product labels. ``We'd like to go out and see if that is true in the rest of the nation,'' said Falci, an FDA official who briefed industry officials on the agency's plans at the Institute of Food Technologists annual conference over the weekend. Foods are supposed to disclose all ingredients except for flavorings, colorings and spices, but allergenic ingredients sometimes slip into foods undetected because machinery hasn't been cleaned properly between different products, industry officials say. Training for the 2,500 inspectors will take up to a year, Falci said. The agency also has asked food makers and their ingredient suppliers to study all of the thousands of flavorings, colorings and spices that are in use to identify those that are made from common allergens, Falci said. Under federal law, companies are not required to disclose the composition of flavorings, colorings and spices on food labels. Some 7 million Americans who suffer from food allergies rely on ingredient labels to tell which processed foods are safe for them to consume. Some food allergies, particularly peanut allergies, can be fatal, claiming an estimated 150 lives a year. Allergy-related food recalls jumped 20 percent last year to more than 120, according to the FDA. Eight food groups are responsible for most allergic reactions: Crustaceans such as crab and lobster; peanuts, eggs, fish, milk, soy, tree nuts such as almonds and walnuts; and wheat. In Minnesota and Wisconsin, the FDA asked state inspectors to look just at peanut and egg allergies. The inspectors found that allergens usually got into foods undetected because bakers used the same utensils to stir separate mixes or reused baking sheets between batches. At one candy company, certain machinery was washed only once a year, even though both peanut-containing and peanut-free chocolates were run through the equipment. The food industry recently released voluntary labeling standards that call for disclosure of the sources of flavorings that could cause allergic reactions. Labels also are supposed to use more easily understood terms for ingredients like casein, a milk product. Falci suggested that the FDA may restrict the use of some precautionary statements that some manufacturers are putting on all their products to protect themselves against lawsuits. One common statement reads, ``May contain peanuts.'' Such a label could be considered ``false and misleading'' if there is little chance the food could contain an allergen, Falci said. The food industry, meanwhile, is wrestling with whether to start testing foods for allergens. Tests have been developed that can detect minute amounts of allergenic proteins for peanuts, milk and eggs. Some companies won't do the testing on advice of their attorneys, industry officials say. The fear is that the results could be used against them in lawsuits. ``Before you actually do the testing you have to sit back and say, what are you going to do with the results,'' said Hahn, an attorney who specializes in food law. But, he said, the tests could help companies discover problems in their plants. --- On the Net: Institute of Food Technologists: http://www.ift.org Food and Drug Administration: http://www.fda.gov Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network: http://www.foodallergy.org ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 17 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 15:39:47 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: Mold can create wall of frustration http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/062401/loc_0624010058.shtml Sunday, June 24, 2001 Last modified at 2:01 a.m. on Sunday, June 24, 2001 © 2001 - The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal Dr. Strauss examines Black Mold in a lab at TTHSC. A-J photo/Jim Watkins Mold can create wall of frustration By CHARLES L. EHRENFELD Avalanche-Journal Lindsey has stopped coughing up blood, but the headaches remain, she said, along with lingering fatigue. Her mother, Donna of Amarillo, claims the symptoms stem from the presence of a mold in the Lubbock apartment in which the Texas Tech student lived from August 2000 to mid-February 2001. " This has been just a nightmare for us, " Donna recently told The Avalanche-Journal. Her nightmare has been compounded by a lack of oversight by any public health entity. When it comes to pathogens, such as black mold and similar agents, in buildings that cater to the public, residents have little recourse. No existing local or state body investigates complaints about harmful molds found in apartments, schools, homes or other buildings. " It becomes a responsibility between the tenant and the building owner, " said Ben Gordon, a regional industrial hygienist for the Texas Department of Health. " Everyone is exposed to mold all the time. It's probably going to be a problem for a while, but it's certainly not a new problem. " It has just become more recognized. We get five inquiries a day from people all over the Panhandle. It has really picked up in the last month and a half. " Stuart , lead environmental specialist with the Environmental Inspection Ser vices Department for the city of Lubbock, said his department also has seen more complaints about mold from city residents. The city, however, lacks testing measures to identify mold. " Any complaints we get about mold, if we are going to pursue them, we approach under the sub-standard housing ordinances, " said. " We try to get folks to handle it themselves first. If there are leaking pipes, that can be a violation of an ordinance and can be pursued by our office. " During the most recent legislative session, state Rep. Elliott Naishtat, D-Austin, introduced a bill to prompt more inspections of schools for mold and other contamination. After a fire, flood or reports of some illnesses, school officials would have to have the quality of air inspected. The bill, however, was left pending at the conclusion of the 77th legislative session. If passed, the bill could have caused the Texas Department of Health to set some indoor clean-air standards. Meanwhile, litigation involving toxic mold is popping up like wild mushrooms across the country. " It's the new asbestos, " says on IV, co-founder and managing senior partner of Knopfler & on, a Los Angeles, Calif.-based civil litigation law firm that specializes in general liability and insurance matters. " Asbestos generated a lot of litigation and controversy in the beginning, but everyone knows now it's dangerous. It's no longer being used in manufacturing. " But mold is naturally occurring, so it's always going to be present, " on said. " It's the new asbestos as far as toxic tort litigation. And like asbestos was 30 years ago, the medical and scientific communities don't have all the answers yet. They do know it can make people sick; they don't necessarily know why. " on's firm currently is representing 1,000 mold plaintiffs, including Brockovich, the real-life law firm clerk portrayed by in last year's Academy Award-nominated movie. Brockovich has a house with a bad mold problem. " I'm turning away about 90 percent of the calls I get these days, " said on, whose first mold case came in 1997, filed on behalf of an unnamed actor and his wife who claimed the mold in their Malibu, Calif., house made them ill. He settled the case for $1.35 million. " Lawsuits are turning up all over the place. I'm chairing a mold litigation conference here on the West Coast next week, and it's sold out. We have people coming from all over the country. " on, who also is a member of the state bar in Texas, said there has been litigation filed by insurance companies in Texas to try to exclude mold claims. In May, the Delaware Supreme Court upheld a $1.04 million award to two women whose landlord failed to address leaks and mold problems in their apartments, resulting in asthma attacks and other health problems. Lindsey 's health problems, she said, stemmed from a mold identified by a professor at Texas Tech. The mold found in apartment ED 8 & 9 at The Heritage Apartments, 3002 Fourth St., is not stachybotrys chartarum, or " black mold, " that recently forced 20 Lubbock families out of their homes, according to C. Straus, a professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Black mold also temporarily displaced 31 employees from the Lubbock County field office of the Child Support Enforcement Division of the Texas State Attorney General's Office and damaged the Lubbock County Jail. Straus is considered a leader in the field in the study of molds found in buildings. He pioneered research into mold-induced illnesses known as " sick building syndrome. " Using instructions from Straus, Lindsey took four swab samples from her apartment Feb. 14. Test results from the Indoor Air Quality Laboratory at TTUHSC indicated the presence of Aspergillus versicolor on one swab. The swab sample containing Aspergillus was taken from inside a cabinet under the sink in the apartment's laundry area, according to results detailed in the microbiological report. " The mold found in her apartment was not black mold, as I recall, " Straus said. " It was Aspergillus, which can produce different mycotoxins, some of which are carcinogenic. " Three other swab samples taken from the apartment's two bathrooms and from a spot under the linoleum were found to contain only common environmental yeast, which is not considered to be harmful to health, according to the microbiological report. According to records furnished by representatives of The Heritage Apartments, the company took one independent swab sample from apartment ED 8 & 9 on the same day, along with single swab samples from apartments EF 28 and W 101. A separate microbiological report from the Indoor Air Quality Laboratory at TTUHSC indicated that each swab contained only common environmental yeast, along with the presence of Pithomyces and Cladosporium fungal species, neither of which is toxic to humans. Sandy Holloway, manager of The Heritage Apartments, declined to comment on the matter. Lindsey , 20, said she moved into apartment ED 8 & 9 in August 2000 and began to experience symptoms, such as a recurring sore throat and an upper respiratory infection, by Sept. 15. She was unaware of the presence of mold at the time, she said. Her symptoms worsened throughout the fall semester, and she fainted twice in a public place. When she returned to Amarillo for the Christmas break, she had medical tests to rule out a brain tumor and an EEG to test her heart. There also were a chest X-ray and blood tests later, all of which proved negative. It was not until telephone conversations with Straus that she learned a mold could be causing her illness. said other residents at Heritage told her of having similar symptoms. " There also was a stench, " said. " Even our clothes started having a musty, moldy, mildew smell. " said she noticed one of the apartment's toilets - the toilet in her bathroom - had been leaking. She reported it to complex representatives. said the walls in both bathrooms later were knocked out by maintenance workers in mid-February, and deteriorating, leaking pipes were found. said she also found mold growing on ceiling fan blades and on stucco walls inside kitchen cabinets. " Molds produce spores, extremely small particles that float around in the air, " Straus said. " When the spores land on a surface that is wet, they grow. " The key factor is water. If a house is dry and clean, mold will not grow. It can't grow without water. But if there has been water damage from a leaky pipe or a roof leak, mold will grow. " In high concentrations on surfaces or in the air, molds, also called fungi, are health hazards, he added. Potentially dangerous types of mold grow indoors on wet material, including Sheetrock, pressed particle board and ceiling tiles. Straus pointed out that not all mold that appears black in color is stachybotrys, or black mold. " Unfortunately, there are actually lots of mold that are black, " Straus said. " In fact, most molds look black when growing on building material. " Managers of the apartment complex allowed to move to a different apartment within the complex in mid-February, offering to pay moving costs and provide moving assistance. After she changed apartments, she began feeling better, she said. " I go to bed with a headache and wake up with a headache, " said. " I still have fatigue. But the coughing up of blood has gone away. " L. Ehrenfeld can be contacted at 766-8796 or cehrenfeld@... ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 18 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 15:44:10 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: Woman Says House Is Making Her Sick http://www.wdiv.com/det/news/stories/news-83783620010622-150604.html Woman Says House Is Making Her Sick Black Mold At Root Of Problem WARREN, Mich., 6:07 p.m. EDT June 22, 2001-- The signs in the front of the house warn all who pass by: Toxic Home, Black Mold, Do Not Enter. The woman who lives in the Warren house says that the black mold inside is killing her. " I've got asthma, " Cheri Brunner said. An environmental specialist from Sanit Air came to check Brunner's home for testing because she was experiencing such health problems. They cut into her walls and found bacteria and mold so dangerous that they recommended she immediately evacuate the home. It all started a year and a half ago when her house flooded while she was on vacation. Brunner's insurance company brought in contractors to fix the mess, but a lawsuit against the insurance company and contractors claims the work wasn't done right. Brunner knew that she was getting sicker but didn't know why. She now has a lawyer who says the mold is responsible. They want the house torn down and a new home built for Brunner, plus money for her pain and suffering. " She has a myriad of problems, all related to mold, " Brunner's attorney Dodd Fisher said. Stachybotrys is toxic. And if the spores are inhaled they can lead to a variety of ailments and even death. Experts say that it sometimes takes years before the effects of black mold exposure are detected. Stachybotrys information: Stachybotrys, or black mold, thrives in moisture and grows well on wood, paper or cotton surfaces. When wet, the mold looks black and slimy and often has white edges. It's less shiny when dry. If you find black mold, contact a home inspector, who should be able to locate the source of moisture. Moldy surfaces can normally be cleaned with bleach and water, but usually require remediation if the mold is extensive in carpeting, insulation or drywall. Is The Mold In Your House Dangerous? Center For Disease Control Copyright 2001 by ClickOnDetroit.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 19 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 17:05:35 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: on practicing mold avoidance and PTSS ----- Original Message ----- From: " " <erikj6@...> " bherk " <bherk@...> Sent: Monday, June 25, 2001 11:52 AM Subject: ABX : I took 300 mg. Doxycycline a day for a year and it helped, as I say, a : little bit. I had to stop because yeast got out of control. I think it was : worth it though. Dr. Cheney thinks that the Immune pro alone can get rid of : mycoplasma. (yes, that's what I'm taking) No, it didn't work for me. Garth : Nicolson says the ABX are just bacteriostatic and it takes a healthy immune : system to get rid of them. Absolutely nothing that I have done compares to : the results I get by avoiding mold. I taught my girlfriend to do it and she : has the identical response. People " know " that stress caused their onset in : the same way they " knew " that stress caused ulcers. They felt the stress : first so they think that's the predisposing factor. If you have bacteria : boring a hole in your guts, it's just conceivable that you might have an : inflammatory response. As you read in " A mind under siege " it seems that a : hyperinflammatory response can be directly responsible for a depression : response. When you try to rationalize the reason for your depression, you : always find something in your life that could be responsible... you burnt : the cookies, or you just broke up with your derelict " insignificant other " : (should be cause for celebration) or whatever. I noticed that my depression : was the first indicator of a toxic exposure and use it as a guide for : avoidance. If I wait until I feel like shit, it's way to late and I'll : suffer for hours. By consistently doing this I gradually started feeling : better and better. I know that any toxic exposure that you happen to be : sensitive to can set off the response, but avoiding paint, perfume and : petroleum products never lessened my reactivity to mold, but avoiding mold : decreased my reactivity to everything else. That still might be considered : just my own personal fluke except I noticed that almost everybody with CFS : that I talk to complains about the same things that led me to suspect that : mycotoxins were my primary reactor. And then, of course, repeating my : experiment with a girl I met who complained of similar problems and getting : identical results, reinforced my concept in a big way. I asked Garth : Nicolson if constant low level exposure to mycotoxins might not have the : same effect on mycoplasma as giving somebody Penicillin. He agreed that that : might certainly be the case. We are all infected with something that hates : mold. PTSD is right, Perpetual Toxic Shock Syndrome! - : ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 20 Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 17:18:45 -0400 From: " bherk " <bherk@...> Subject: Breathe Free Coupon officer Coupon at: http://www.dealofday.com/sys/deal?6497 code to enter " CHERRY " $10 off on a $35 order at Breathe Free. Use it before 7/31. They sell a variety of clean air products so check out replacing the filter in your air cleaners or adding a piece of equipment you need to breathe better. Those of you who NEED a mask and haven't gotten one yet - check them out. Those of you who have a mask or respirator - let us know how it's working, how often you have to change the cartridges, etc. I have survived without one - but if I planned on traveling by airplane - it would be at the TOP of my list. http://www.breathefree.com/cgi-bin/beacon7/BreatheFree ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 21 Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2001 00:39:29 +0000 (UTC) From: Angel MCS <jap2bemc@...> Subject: Re: Can anyone recommend Michigan doctor? Try: R. Harbut, MD, MPH, FCCP Diplomate, ABPM, Occ Med Center for Occ/Env Medicine Southfield, Mi. I have corresponded with him and beleive he can assist you Angel " If having endured much, we at last asserted our 'right to know' and if, knowing, we have concluded that we are being asked to take senseless and frightening risks, then we should no longer accept the counsel of those who tell us that we must fill our world with poisonous chemicals, we should look around and see what other course is open to us. " Carson " My toxicasa (world) is your toxicasa (world). " Judith Goode On Mon, 4 Jun 2001, JB wrote: > Can anyone recommend a good Michigan doctor experienced in mold > poisioning, MCS, Immunotoxocologist/neurologist? There is no doctor > familiar with any of this within my health care system. Any help > greatly appreciated. > jb > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 24, 2003 Report Share Posted December 24, 2003 In a message dated 12/24/03 3:19:27 AM Mountain Standard Time, SSRI medications writes: > this article they spoke of drug compaines making > up 'social anxiety disorder' and others... Im pretty certain that it > is listed in the DSM-IV. > Half the disorders in the DSM are made up, for God's sake. How else could they sell all those billions of dollars worth of psycho drugs???? Blind Reason a novel of espionage and pharmaceutical intrigue Think your antidepressant is safe? Think again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 24, 2003 Report Share Posted December 24, 2003 Good point. If they make up a disorder then only their drugs will appear to treat that one, making them look better. Sorry for being so silly....drug is affecting memory problems making me extremely distressed i am willing to die over it. lol. Yeah...mood stabilisers are working! Jeni (sending love to all) > Half the disorders in the DSM are made up, for God's sake. How else could > they sell all those billions of dollars worth of psycho drugs???? > > Blind Reason > a novel of espionage and pharmaceutical intrigue > Think your antidepressant is safe? Think again. > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 24, 2003 Report Share Posted December 24, 2003 Good point. If they make up a disorder then only their drugs will appear to treat that one, making them look better. Sorry for being so silly....drug is affecting memory problems making me extremely distressed i am willing to die over it. lol. Yeah...mood stabilisers are working! Jeni (sending love to all) > Half the disorders in the DSM are made up, for God's sake. How else could > they sell all those billions of dollars worth of psycho drugs???? > > Blind Reason > a novel of espionage and pharmaceutical intrigue > Think your antidepressant is safe? Think again. > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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