Email from The Center for School Mold Help
Dear Friends of The Center for School Mold Help (SMH),
This is an URGENT notice to alert you to additional changes (in Jan. ’10) about the Mold and Health info on the CDC website, due to SMH influence. I just learned of these this AM and wanted to share the news.
I am writing to bring a major development to your attention: in direct response to The Center for School Mold Help’s year long campaign of communications with the CDC and Obama administration, the CDC has finally admitted in its public information on the CDC Mold and Health section http://www.cdc.gov/mold/dampness_facts.htm, online, that both mold and/or dampness (even indoor dampness alone) can be associated with the development of respiratory health problems such as new asthma and hypersensitivity pneumonitis in previously healthy/susceptible individuals. This is a brand new pronouncement, as the findings of the IOM in 2004 were not readily found on the CDC website previously. (see below).
Now, there is a link to the IOM Damp Indoor Spaces and Health (2004) study in the Key Resources section, found on http://www.cdc.gov/mold/, as well as to the WHO Guide to Indoor Air Quality: Dampness and Mould (2009), also directly in response to SMH’s strongly worded request. The next piece (for now) is to have the CDC summarize the WHO findings and place them in this section. I have no doubt this will be accomplished within a very short time, with SMH continuing to insist on these areas, on behalf of the public, who deserve accurate, current information about Mold and Health from our primary United States health agency, in the interest of warning the general public, accomplishing prevention, and implementation of medical strategies for diagnosis and treatment that all physicians may be trained on. With the CDC now admitting that some of the health problems we know are caused by mold and dampness exist, this opens the door to improved health for a vast number of Americans.
With the US GAO Workgroup (under CIAQ) meeting in Jan, 2010, to further address how to be consistent and warn the US public about mold’s health effects, this is a very timely change, as all US agencies may be anticipated to adopt this – and future – CDC information about mold and health. That is why it is so important for it to be accurate. Eventually, we anticipate that public health departments will be a resource for accurate mold information and preventative actions, through these changes.
Click here: CDC – Mold – General Information – Facts About Mold and Dampness
In 2004 the Institute of Medicine (IOM) found there was sufficient evidence to link indoor exposure to mold with upper respiratory tract symptoms, cough, and wheeze in otherwise healthy people; with asthma symptoms in people with asthma; and with hypersensitivity pneumonitis in individuals susceptible to that immune-mediated condition. The IOM also found limited or suggestive evidence linking indoor mold exposure and respiratory illness in otherwise healthy children.
In addition, in 2004 the IOM found sufficient evidence to link exposure to damp indoor environments in general to upper respiratory tract symptoms, cough, and wheeze in otherwise healthy people and with asthma symptoms in people with asthma. The IOM also found limited or suggestive evidence linking exposure to damp indoor environments in general to shortness of breath, to respiratory illness in otherwise healthy children and to potential development of asthma in susceptible individuals.
We are not done, and will not be, until dampness and mold in our school buildings are a thing of the past. Not till the American public is fully educated, with resulting laws in place to protect children and school staff from dangerous, damp buildings. We know that there are more health effects not mentioned by the IOM and WHO, but this is a foundation that all else will be built on.
The reason SMH has been able to have this type of influence is because of our nonprofit status and high level of credibility. Our board is comprised of educators, scientists, and community members who are committed to the improved health of our children and ultimately, all Americans.
We ask for your support, as the work is not yet done, but we anticipate that in 2010 more vital results will occur through SMH influence – the door is wide open, now, for the desired change.
We ask that everyone receiving this email send a fully tax-deductible donation of $1 or more to The Center for School Mold Help, P.O. Box 655, La Mesa, CA 91944-0655, or visit our Donation page http://www.schoolmoldhelp.org/content/view/184/205/ to make an online donation. Please consider sending that amount monthly, if you can afford to do so. We need your help to continue these accomplishments that will help protect your family’s health now and in the future. We are a 501c3 nonprofit, listed with the IRS (visit http://www.irs.gov/app/pub-78/ and search on Center for School Mold Help).
I wanted to share this news, as it may help with current efforts to have the effects of mold recognized in your local communities. Please share the CDC info with your family, friends, physicians, attorneys, school administrators, school boards, and more…
This truly is a day when I can wish you a Happy New Year, with anticipation of more good news to come, finally!
Sincerely,
Susan Brinchman
Director, The Center for School Mold Help
PO Box 655
La Mesa, CA 91944-0655
www.schoolmoldhelp.org
director@schoolmoldhelp.org
nomoreschoolmold@aol.com
“Changes in construction methods have caused US buildings to become perfect petri dishes for mold and bacteria to flourish when water is added. Instead of warning the public and teaching physicians that the buildings were causing illness; in 2003 the US Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform, a think-tank, and a workers comp physician trade organization mass marketed an unscientific nonsequitor to the courts to disclaim the adverse health effects to stave off liability for financial stakeholders of moldy buildings. Although publicly exposed many times over the years, the deceit lingers in US courts to this very day.” Sharon Noonan Kramer
Information on Riverstone Residential knowingly exposing tenants to extreme amounts of mold toxins at Toxic Mold Infested Jefferson Lakes Apartments in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Toxic Mold Infested Jefferson Lakes Apartments managed by Riverstone Residential
Katy's Exposure 