Local woman’s fight over mold-related illnesses gets exposure

[Guest guest]

The Bulletin Newspapers, Inc.

Corporate Offices:  850 Washington Street, Norwood, MA  02062

Letters and comments can be sent to:  info@...

 

Local woman’s fight over mold-related illnesses gets exposure

 

LeAnne Gendreau

Bulletin Newspapers staff

February 5, 2004

 

Mulvey son was sick for about 11 years before she knew the cause.

One doctor told her the cause was toxic encephalitis due to fungus in the office. Another doctor told her that she was definitely having problems, but the reason was unknown.

Since 2000, son has conducted her own research on how mold can affect a person’s health. She has testified before Congress on the issue.

Last Thursday, son appeared on a segment of Chronicle on Channel 5, which focused on mold, families suffering from health problems and a medical community divided on the links between mold and illnesses ranging from rashes to neurological problems.

Clint Conley, a field producer for Chronicle, came up with the idea for the segment while working on an asthma segment a few months ago. Mold was a contributing factor and he thought the issue deserved its own show.

“I was bumping against troubling stories of mold,†Conley said. “I knew it deserved its own show, so I held some of my files and started on the mold thing.â€

Conley noticed similarities with a story he did on chemical sensitivity several years ago.  “Some of the symptoms are similar - feeling sick and no one would listen,†Conley said.

“I’d sort of hear these crazy stories,†he said. One was of a family in Abington that destroyed its house because people were getting sick.

It was while talking to that family from Abington that Conley believes he found out about son, a Jamaica Plain resident and president of the West Roxbury Business and Professional Association, who is fighting for people who had been exposed to toxic mold.

son said exposure to mold has “completely devastated my health and put me in horrible financial straits,†but the reason she is fighting is because many are afraid to.

Conley said son is a reliable source because she has her feet on the ground and is an achiever, Conley said.

“The fact is that she was  successful in the world of politics and knows her way around in terms of how to advocate for herself,†Conley said.

son was Chief of Staff for City Councilor Maura Hennigan and the building that she said made her sick is City Hall.

“Instead of being helped and people taking it seriously, they are turning a blind eye. It’s infuriating because we all know it’s a problem,†son said. “It’s an absolute nightmare and I am still afraid for people I worked with and I know they are afraid.â€

Mulvey’s story falls into the “toxic workplace category,†Conley said. One of her concerns is “Why isn’t government paying more attention to this?†he asked.

son’s interest is policy.

“Maybe if more people join forces and say they won’t take it anymore, they don’t have to be afraid,†son said. “No one has the right to take your health away from you.â€

son said she always had Alka Seltzer Plus for Colds and an industrial sized bottle of Tylenol in her desk. Problems of migraine headaches and dizziness were prominent, she said.

“One time, I even fell into the elevator, I was so dizzy,†she said.

But doctors are divided on the link between toxic mold exposure and illness.

“The scientific community and medical communities are very reluctant to accept some of the more radical health claims of people who say mold has been a problem for them,†Conley said.

One skeptic Chronicle spoke with is Dr. Camrago of Mass General Hospital, president of the American College of Epidemiology.

“He has read scores of studies and the evidence just isn’t there yet that people should be afraid (of mold exposure),†Conley said.

But son maintains there are many doctors who do acknowledge what she said is making her and others sick and there is a link.

“There is enough science showing that exposure to these molds... is harmful and people are also being exposed to...  yeast in homes and offices. Having too much yeast in your system can make you very, very sick,†she said.

son said Mayo Clinic papers coming out supporting her claim but the problem is deeply rooted in what the medical society is willing to accept.

One of the problems, son said is diagnosing illnesses due to exposure.

“Basically people are going to doctors complaining about these medical problems, but people are not tying them together,†son said.

Government agencies are not in complete agreement on the dangers of mold exposure. Federal Emergency Management Agency information about mold differs by region. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cites mold is usually not a problem indoors unless spores land on a wet or damp spot and then start growing.

“Molds have the potential to cause health problems,†the EPA wrote in ‘A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture, and Your Home,’ a report published in 2003. “Molds produce allergens (substances that can cause allergic reactions), irritants, and in some cases, potentially toxic substances (mycotoxins).â€

The report continues to say, “Research on mold and health effects is ongoing.â€Â Â  What the medical community seems to agree on is that mold is a factor in asthma.

“It is widely accepted that mold can cause asthma,†Conley said.

Chronicle also spoke with Dr. Eckhard Johanning, in Albany, NY, at Mt. Sinai, who is more convinced that people should be more convinced about the connection.

He has been working on this issue since 1992, son said. “His research has clearly shown there is a problem here.â€

son said one of the major problems with medical professionals not recognizing a link is “we are not getting the treatment we should be getting.â€

The insurance industry is also skeptical.

“It is sometimes a little startling to realize that insurance is a business,†Conley said. “It’s easy to assume that insurance is there to take care of you when things go wrong (but) it is a business.â€

Conley’s goal with this piece was to answer some questions.

“I would say, the people we talked to were very credible, and appeared to be suffering greatly from something, and had been in environments where mold had been a problem,†he said. “But mainstream medicine says there have not been clinical studies†that prove a connection between mold and cognitive or neurological problems.â€

Yet, Conley said we are hearing more about mold - which raises another question.

“Is this the crisis du jour?†he asked. He wonders if this issue will disappear after a few months or if it is like asbestos and dangers of tobacco.

“I think it is for the general public, but not for us who are going through these problems,†son said.

But son said this is coming around. For instance, she recently saw a commercial for a bathroom cleaner, claiming it kills mold.

“That is the first time I have ever heard that!†son said. “It just seems like people are beginning to see that this is really a problem. It is not going to go away. It is going to take an effort to stop it.â€

“I think this is just the beginning of people understanding this and people getting to the point where they are not going to tolerate it anymore,†son said. “I can see every day, there is more and more validity to this issue... It signals to me that more and more people are having question about the mold in their homes and their workplaces.â€