Boston City Council Hearings on Mold - Summary 12-9-04

[Guest guest]

Greetings,

Just wanted to share a summary and some of my comments about the

Boston City Council Hearings Thursday night (12-9-04).

Councilors Maura Hennigan and Chuck have stepped up to the

plate forthe City of Boston schools and public buildings regarding

mold and indoor air quality. Segal, Senior Legislative Aide

for Health Care for Congressman Conyers, Jr., addressed points

of HR. #1268, The U.S. Toxic Mold Safety and Protection Act which

include specific federal funding aimed to help cities with issues

of mold in schools and public buildings. It was proposed that Boston

will become part of a pilot program launching this bill forward.

The first speaker Stutman, President of Boston Teachers

Union and Joe O'Sullivan, President of Brockton Teachers

Association. Two courageous Union Leaders tirelessly working for

the help of children and teachers. Their commitment commendable.

Testimony was given by many in attendance, some so heart wrenching

it brought many to tears. On such story was that of len Lawson,

CT. Foundation for Environmentally Safe Schools, her personal

accounts of students and teachers tragically affected by indoor mold

including her own story. Charlotte , former PTA President of

the contaminated McKinley School in Connecticut. Other school mold

issues were addressed by Byrd who represents The Center for

School Mold Help in California. Also Sherryll Perkins another

teacher who flew in from California. Boston's own Ginny Lane a

former teacher of the School, soon a graduating attorney

spoke of massive contamination at the school.

We also heard testimony from Patrice the mother who lost a 6

month old baby boy due to bacterial meningitis which is believed to

have been causedby faulty construction by a prior owner and a

failure by subcontractor of the town to disconnect a septic system

when the town went on town sewerage. The sewerage backed up into

the house. Her Abington family tore their house to the ground back

in 2002 so as not to further the illness plaguing their family. Her

daughter now suffers from kidney disease, her husband is taking

3 different seizure medications due to frequent brain seizures. They

are very courageous women.

Further testimony was heard from world renowned fungal researcher

Eckhardt Johanning, M.D.,M.Sc, Board Certified Occupational and

Environmental Medicine and Family Medicine who spoke of the study

released by the Institute of Medicine and National Academy of

Science. It was shocking to learn that this study was orchestrated

by reports relied upon primarily by defense attorneys and doctors

associated with them. Simone Sommer, M.D., M.P.H., with further

information on the pathology of mold, mycototoxins including

aflatoxins, her presentation was very impressive done on PowerPoint

display, along with her and her son's story. Sandel, M.D.,

M.P.H. Pediatrician, Boston Medical Center spoke about her young

patients suffering with upper respiratory illness and asthma related

illness due to poor indoor air quality. She told of a child who is

so sickened by mold in the school that the mother had to take

countless days off to deal with her child's illness. She eventually

lost her job.

Matt Mulvey, former Chair of Massachusetts Building Commissioner and

Inspectors Association, who still sits on the board, and serves on

state national and international building code committees spoke

about building codes that are already on the books that address

these issues. Building codes that are not being enforced and the

need for building code changes.

Atty. Doyle of Steinberg Doyle, plaintiff attorney who won

the first toxic mold case, with medicals in Massachusetts last year,

spoke about the marked increase in calls his office receives from

people experiencing problems with exposure to mold.

Mold victim Janet s, traveled from Maine to address her

frustration, after working in a contaminated Naval shipyard, taking

mandatory retirement and was declined Workman's Compensation. She

only wanted it cleaned up so she could get back to work and go on

with her life. She is now virtually housebound due to overwhelming

medical issues.

Carstens, www. traveled from

sville, Georgia to include testimony regarding sick building

syndrome. KC runs one of the nations largest websites with online

support by members to others. He also spoke of his wife Sharon who

suffers a myriad of serious health issues from exposure suffered in

the workplace.

Mulvey son, addressed the council with shock that the

Commonwealth of Massachusetts lists many mycotoxins on the states

" Hazardous Substance List " . It contains a list of chemicals and

biologicals that you are not suppose to expose employees to.

questioned weather these mycotoxins only related to the farming

industry, she commented if that were the case, then we all must be

working and living in " pig sty's " .

We recognize Representavives from MassCosh, Boston Asthma Coalition,

Boston Public Health Commission, Mass. Nurses Association, Ellie

Goldberg, School Advocate, Austin, Certified Industrial

Hygienist from the International Sheet Metal Union, and several

members of Local 17.

I was honored to be a part of this incredible event, where history

was againmade in Boston. Perhaps it's a good omen that the first

public health officer in the United States was Revere.

978-433-0450

davisnewstart@...

[Guest guest]

Eckardt Johannings Mold Timeline;

http://www.leeherndon.com/Articles/MoldTimeline.htm

I keep throwing in dates to show how profound this mold paradigm

shift has been. I've been fighting with doctors and asking them to

investigate mold since the '85 Incline Village CFS epidemic and

virtually all of them refused.

I identified my reactivity to Stachy despite their denials and

contradictions and used my perception to sense " mold hits " from the

clothing and homes of fellow CFS sufferers and told Dr

repeatedly that " I haven't met a person with CFS yet who doesn't have

a SPECIFIC reactivity to Stachy " .

And in 1998 Dr Eckardt Johannings office told me " I've never seen

anybody with the type of reactivity you describe. I've seen Stachy

dripping from the ceiling into babies cribs who don't have the

intensity of reaction that you have. "

Yet all the people with CFS that I've accompanied into contaminated

buildings have this same type of reactivity - they just don't know it

and keep attributing their symptom exacerbation to other chemicals

like formaldehyde. I had one argument with a person who was being

used by real estate agents as a " tester " . (These agents used her

when they wanted to make a personal purchase - not for the benefit of

their clients.) We looked around a house and came to an area that

gave me " Mold Hits " and she suddenly said that she could feel the

walls offgassing formaldehyde. I asked her why she thought it was

formaldehyde and she said " It's something from these walls and it

must be chemical " . So I asked if it didn't seem more probably that

it was mold since we had just encountered an area with water damage.

She replied " I thought it might have been mold but I asked my

doctors and they said this was impossible, so it must be formaldehyde

instead. " And then I asked if it didn't seem a little contrary that

she wasn't responding to all the panels in the house since they were

all the same and were presumably made with the same process - and

that she was only sensitive to the ones with water damage, and she

said " I don't know why some offgas while others don't. I just know

that it must be formaldehyde " .

I find it fascinating that the medical profession been the greatest

obstacle to unveiling the mycotoxin connection to illness instead of

being the inquisitive investigators that we expected them to be.

And I find it incredible that in the space of a few short years, I

have seen this reactivity go from being " unknown and impossible " and

even denied by those who are now famous mold specialists to being a

concept so familiar that it seems totally " self evident " .

It is following the same progression that CFS and Lyme did outlined

by Schopenhauer. Ridiculed, violently opposed, and finally accepted

as being self evident.

It's been a Hell of thing to witness.

-

[Guest guest]

Eckardt Johannings Mold Timeline;

http://www.leeherndon.com/Articles/MoldTimeline.htm

I keep throwing in dates to show how profound this mold paradigm

shift has been. I've been fighting with doctors and asking them to

investigate mold since the '85 Incline Village CFS epidemic and

virtually all of them refused.

I identified my reactivity to Stachy despite their denials and

contradictions and used my perception to sense " mold hits " from the

clothing and homes of fellow CFS sufferers and told Dr

repeatedly that " I haven't met a person with CFS yet who doesn't have

a SPECIFIC reactivity to Stachy " .

And in 1998 Dr Eckardt Johannings office told me " I've never seen

anybody with the type of reactivity you describe. I've seen Stachy

dripping from the ceiling into babies cribs who don't have the

intensity of reaction that you have. "

Yet all the people with CFS that I've accompanied into contaminated

buildings have this same type of reactivity - they just don't know it

and keep attributing their symptom exacerbation to other chemicals

like formaldehyde. I had one argument with a person who was being

used by real estate agents as a " tester " . (These agents used her

when they wanted to make a personal purchase - not for the benefit of

their clients.) We looked around a house and came to an area that

gave me " Mold Hits " and she suddenly said that she could feel the

walls offgassing formaldehyde. I asked her why she thought it was

formaldehyde and she said " It's something from these walls and it

must be chemical " . So I asked if it didn't seem more probably that

it was mold since we had just encountered an area with water damage.

She replied " I thought it might have been mold but I asked my

doctors and they said this was impossible, so it must be formaldehyde

instead. " And then I asked if it didn't seem a little contrary that

she wasn't responding to all the panels in the house since they were

all the same and were presumably made with the same process - and

that she was only sensitive to the ones with water damage, and she

said " I don't know why some offgas while others don't. I just know

that it must be formaldehyde " .

I find it fascinating that the medical profession been the greatest

obstacle to unveiling the mycotoxin connection to illness instead of

being the inquisitive investigators that we expected them to be.

And I find it incredible that in the space of a few short years, I

have seen this reactivity go from being " unknown and impossible " and

even denied by those who are now famous mold specialists to being a

concept so familiar that it seems totally " self evident " .

It is following the same progression that CFS and Lyme did outlined

by Schopenhauer. Ridiculed, violently opposed, and finally accepted

as being self evident.

It's been a Hell of thing to witness.

-

[Guest guest]

I am suprised not to see posts on the Boston City Coucil Hearings. I went and

it was worth it just to have the public acclaim of saying what happened to me

by the federal Government and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

The whole reasoning behind it was the schools. These kids are

getting sick. If I can barely lleave my home, how can these children go to

school?

And so much work was put into this. s my hat is off to you and

and KC , my hats off to you too.

It was worth the trip even though I am still paying for it by mold

symptoms.

Janet

[Guest guest]

I am suprised not to see posts on the Boston City Coucil Hearings. I went and

it was worth it just to have the public acclaim of saying what happened to me

by the federal Government and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

The whole reasoning behind it was the schools. These kids are

getting sick. If I can barely lleave my home, how can these children go to

school?

And so much work was put into this. s my hat is off to you and

and KC , my hats off to you too.

It was worth the trip even though I am still paying for it by mold

symptoms.

Janet

[Guest guest]

I am told that the building it was held in was moldy too but less moldy than

City Hall.

[Guest guest]

It was very moldy Im still sick from it...but it was still worth it.

Janet

[Guest guest]

It was very moldy Im still sick from it...but it was still worth it.

Janet

[Guest guest]

I had a huge headache as the hours went on in the meeting. The

second I walked into the building a foul odor hit me.

> It was very moldy Im still sick from it...but it was still

worth it.

> Janet

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