Air News Release (HQ): Obama Administration [sic, CLAIMS TO BE] Working to Close Racial, Ethnic Gap on Asthma/Asthma disproportionately affects minority children, children living below poverty level Reply-To: “U.S. EPA” <usaepa@govdelivery.com>

Although we feel certain there are many honorable employees in the Federal government who really would like to make a difference over this matter, we at Katy’s happen to know the below is a crock of PR and more wasted tax dollars.  They don’t want to talk about how damp indoor enviornments CAUSE asthma and the role the Federal Government has played in keeping this on the QT while leaving children, tenants and workers nowhere to turn for viable medical care.

According to a MAY 2007 REPORT  by Berkeley Lab, “EPA Studies Confirm Large Public Health And Economic Impact of Dampness and Mold: They estimate that number of asthma cases attributable to exposure in home is 4.6 million, at $3.5 billion annual cost”

In December of 2011, citizens sent letters to EPA and to OSHA requesting they put out a Federal health advisory to the public regarding this known cause of illness. Read Letters Sent To EPA & OSHA HERE From Concerned Citizens of the United States 

We received reply letters from the EPA and OSHA in January of 2012 stating that they will not put out a joint Federal agency  health advisory regarding damp indoor environments being a causation of asthma and even more serious systemic and life threatening illnesses.  MORE detail on our request and why the need.  

As a result of this gamesmanship, not only do many children’s lives remain at risk, our own lives are in EMINENT DANGER  for speaking the truth of the massive fraud behind how it became a false concept in US public health policy that it was scientifically proven moldy buildings do not harm; what the courts have done to aid the false concept to continue to harm the lives of tens of thousands  – while the government feigns action & ignorance of the underlying problem. 

For good cause, it looks to us like all they are intending to do is give more children more useless inhalers and other expensive medicine – as the doctors are taught to do – while leaving them in harms way of a known cause of their illnesses and while using tax dollars to do it.

Do you see anything in this EPA press release about training physicians how to recognize causation of illness from water damaged buildings even though they know it is a major cause of illness?  We sure don’t.

CONTACT: Molly Hooven hooven.molly@epa.gov 202-564-2313 202-564-4355FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMay 31, 2012 Obama Administration Working to Close Racial, Ethnic Gap on Asthma Asthma disproportionately affects minority children, children living below poverty level  WASHINGTON – Today U.S. federal agencies unveiled the Coordinated Federal Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Asthma Disparities. White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chair Nancy Sutley, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Shaun Donovan discussed the new plan during an event at Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC), which houses The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington along with other community groups. Nearly 26 million Americans are affected by this chronic respiratory disease, including 7 million children, especially minority children and children with family incomes below the poverty level. Asthma rates of African American children are currently at 16 percent, while 16.5 percent of Puerto Rican children suffer from the chronic respiratory disease, more than double the rate of Caucasian children in the United States. The annual economic cost of asthma, including direct medical costs from hospital stays and indirect costs such as lost school and work days, amounts to approximately $56 billion. “Across America we see low-income and minority children and families at a disproportionately higher risk for asthma and respiratory illnesses. Air pollution and other challenges are having serious health effects, which compound economic challenges through medical bills and missed school and work days,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “As the mother of a child with asthma, I know what it means for our children to have clean and healthy air to breathe. This Action Plan enables federal agencies and our partners to work more collaboratively and comprehensively on tackling a major health threat, so that we can protect all Americans, no matter what community they call home.” “Low-income and minority communities often face an unacceptable burden of pollution in this country, diminishing their economic potential and threatening the health of millions of American families,” said Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. “As we close National Asthma Awareness Month today, the President’s Administration is standing behind his commitment to integrating environmental justice into the missions of federal agencies, promoting clean air and healthy communities, and ensuring this really is a country of equal opportunity for all.” “The report is a blueprint for how we can work together to reduce asthma disparities and help ensure children with asthma get the right care with the right support,” said Secretary Sebelius. “One key factor that is so critical to controlling a child’s asthma is access to health care. Uninsured people with asthma are less likely to take the preventive medicine they may need to keep their condition under control, making them more likely to suffer an attack. That’s why we are focused on expanding access to care.” HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said, “The numbers don’t lie: Asthma disproportionately impacts low-income minority families which is why we must do everything we can to ensure all children have a healthy place to call home. Today’s announcement will help the federal government support the development of innovative new approaches to improve and control asthma.” The action plan will coordinate efforts to improve asthma management and prevention:  Reduce barriers to asthma care: Ensure that the populations most severely impacted by asthma receive evidence-based comprehensive care, which includes access to medical services, education and environmental interventions. Build local capacity: Enhance capacity to deliver integrated, community-based asthma care systems.   Target services: Identify the children, families and communities most impacted by asthma disparities. Accelerate prevention efforts: Increase understanding of the cause or causes of asthma and test interventions that may prevent the onset of asthma. More on the ‘action plan’: http://www.epa.gov/childrenstaskforce“

TELL OBAMA WE WANT REAL HEALTH CARE AND TRUE INFORMATION.

 

The next meeting of the Federal Interagency, Committee on Indoor Air Quality “CIAQ” will be Wednesday, June 6, 2012 from 1-4:30 p.m. EDT in Room 152, 1310 L St., NW, Washington, DC.   All CIAQ meetings are open to the public and can be attended over the Internet. 

 

A report is to be given at the meeting of the progress of their Mold Work Group.  Please plan on attending either in person, by phone or over the Interent and tell them that we want an honest and comprehensive health advisory from our Federal Government.