Note – The study of government official’s mold susceptiblity is fictitious. Other information including direct quotes are real.

By Sharon Kramer

Excerpts from the article –

As if government officials did not have enough to worry about in these days of allegations of rampant corruption, a new study finds they may be more susceptible to toxic mold exposure than their constituents.

While the average citizens of New Orleans are being encouraged to return to the city with little warning of potential health hazards from breathing mold and the toxins they produce, Governor Kathleen Blanco has been residing outside of the Governor’s mansion. The mansion has been undergoing an $800,000 renovation, $500,000 of which is for mold removal.

In 2003, Bryan Brown, who leads the consumer protection division for Kansas State Atty. Gen. Phill Kline, sued Kansas Republican Party Chairman Tim Shallenburger over the home Brown purchased from Shallenburger, which was reported to have mold. Brown said things started falling apart in the house and that his children became ill because of mold.

After a $5.6 million dollar renovation of the South Carolina Governors Mansion three years earlier, First Lady Jenny Sanford said stachybotrys was causing health problems with her family. Stachybotrys is a known toxin producing mold. According to Mike Sponhour, spokesman for the South Carolina State Budget and Control Board which oversees maintenance on the building, “We understand the concern the first lady has for the health of her family and children. We take that very seriously. We’re committed to doing everything we can to fix the problem and make sure it doesn’t happen again.?

North Carolina Governor Mike Easley and his family were forced to move from the governor’s mansion because of mold. This is the second time in four years that the 114 year old mansion has been invaded by mold. According to Secretary of Administration Gwynn Swinson, the governor and his family needed to clear out for health reasons.

Although the government officials study was massive in the number observed to have required extensive mold remediation for the protection of their families that average citizens did not, including George W. Bush and the Governor of Mississippi, it was inconclusive in establishing if these government positions made officials more susceptible to mold illnesses than their constituents, or if their positions might actually have served to benefit the health of they and their families.

Full article – http://www.mold-help.org/content/category/92/

The news about the mold in the Louisiana governor’s mansion came out a couple of days after I had spoken to an attorney about the mold in our apartment (which was showing up just 3 months after moving in) and if we could get out of the lease and get our deposits back because it was so horrible there. The attorney called me and asked if I had seen the news about the governor’s mansion on TV. We were on the phone when the story came on cable news again. Mold growth on the vents was being shown and I told the attorney the mold growth covering our air vents was much worse and that happened in just 3 months. This massive amount of mold infestation had been hidden over and over again (and still is) by Riverstone Residential with paint and too many documented air and dryer duct cleanings on a regular basis.

3 years later the same state government that saw the importance of remediating the governor’s mansion (mold in the HVAC system can cause serious health conditions) was involved in the sale of the complex I was in (Jefferson Lakes). A mold inspection report was done during that sale documenting visible mold growth and mold in the HVAC systems (I have a more detailed one for the apt. we were in). This was ignored probably for financial reasons (greed). The state and Riverstone Residential allow people to continue living there and allow more to move into these very toxic apartments. Better yet – the state will even give some families a section 8 voucher so they can better afford to be poisoned. We paid the full cost of the rent to be poisoned. katy