Regarding the Boston City Council Hearing

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends,

A huge thing that everyone can do to help us raise awareness of the

devastating effects of exposure to mold would be to send your story to the

Boston City

Council to read and include in the official testimony of the hearing.  

Stories can be sent to

Lincoln.@...

and cc me at

MLMJ75@...

Send ASAP as the hearing is December 9th!

We have people coming from all over the country to attend the hearing! If

you can come, if you live close by, please consider attending.

Congressman Conyers Jr. of Michigan, the author of HR1268 " The US Toxic

Mold Safety and Protect Act " will be attending the hearing which is huge and a

first for this country.

Every US Representative in New England (as well as others), every US Senator,

every major media outlet countrywide has been contacted about this hearing.

YOUR STORIES (hopefully several cartons full) of stories will make a big

impact!

All of this activity came out of our years of work on the issue of mold

exposure and the work we all did during Mold Awareness Week in Washington DC in

September! People really can make a difference.

As we look forward to the Boston City Council hearing on December 9th, I

wanted to share with you a very interesting and inspiring fact I learned from

Stutman, President of the Boston Teachers Union in his e-Bulletin to

Boston's teachers.   

In alerting the teachers that the City of Boston's Public Health Commission

just released a long awaited environmental study of all 131 schools in the

system, wished to share a little piece of trivia.

" In reading the Public Health Commission's page, you'll find that Boston had

the nation's first health department, founded in 1799. " You will also find out

That Revere served as Boston's first health officer.

Where else then would we ever find a better place to launch a nationwide push

for HR1268?

The Mold Bill is coming!   The Mold Bill is coming!  

Mulvey son

Boston City Council Hearing on Mold

For Immediate Release

Boston City Councillor Maura A. Hennigan would like to inform the public that

a Boston City Council hearing will be held to address the serious public

health threat of mold and poor indoor air quality, and to learn what Boston can

do, as a city, a state and a region to educate the public and prevent further

contamination.

The date of the hearing is Thursday evening, December 9, 2004 at The Boston

Teachers Union Hall, 180 Mount Vernon Street, Dorchester, MA at 6pm.

This past June, Congressman Conyers Jr. (D-Michigan), the ranking member

of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced the first Toxic Mold and Indoor

Air Pollution Congressional Caucus and hosted a press conference and briefing

on September 22, 2004 in Washington, DC to further raise awareness of this

growing public health hazard. A representative group of people from across the

country, including Massachusetts, traveled to Washington DC during the week of

September 20, 2004 to advocate for immediate Congressional action.

Congressman Conyers, who is sponsoring The U.S. Toxic Mold Safety and

Protection Act, HR1268 will testify at the Boston hearing. This bill would

generate

guidelines for preventing indoor mold growth, establish standards for removing

mold when it does grow, provide grants for mold removal in public buildings,

authorize tax credits for inspection and/or remediation of mold hazards, and

create a national insurance program to protect homeowners from catastrophic

losses. In addition, an Emergency Appropriation Bill is included to help schools

remediate contaminated buildings and improve air quality.

The aim of Hennigan's order is to educate the public about the problem of

indoor mold and poor indoor air quality due to water intrusion in public and

private buildings in the city. Although indoor mold is sometimes invisible to

the

naked eye, the potential health effects and symptoms associated with mold

exposures are very visible and include, but are not limited to, allergic

reactions, asthma, and other respiratory complaints. " This is a serious public

health

risk and I look forward to continuing to raise awareness and educate the public

about this issue by bringing in those who are knowledgeable on this matter, "

Hennigan concluded.

Many local, state and national agencies and organizations have conducted

research and/or have recognized the serious health effects and property damage

caused by indoor mold including: CDC (Center for Disease Control), EPA

(Environmental Protection Agency), FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency),

ASHRAE

(American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers),

ANSI (American National Standards Institute), NIOSH (National Institute for

Occupational Health and Safety), OSHA (Occupational Health and Safety

Administration), AIHA (American Industrial Hygiene Association), WHO (World

Health

Organization), AMA (American Medical Association), American Lung Association,

U.S.

Surgeon General, American Academy of Pediatrics, ACGIH (American Conference of

Governmental Industrial Hygienists), U.S. Army, USDA (US Drug Administration),

Massachusetts Nurses Association, American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and

Immunology, American Agricultural Association, MassCosh (Massachusetts

Coalition

for Occupational Safety and Health), Boston Urban Asthma Coalition, National

Academy of Sciences, IAQA (Indoor Air Quality Association), Silent Spring,

Building Environment and Thermal Envelope Council, HUD (Housing and Urban

Development), Indoor Environmental Standards Organization, Sheet Metal Workers

Union,

American Federation of Teachers, and Indian Health Service, and the

Massachusetts Teachers Association.

Testimony is expected from; Congressman Conyers, physicians currently

treating mold related illness, teachers, including a group from California,

Environmental groups, Mold Advocacy groups, research scientists specializing in

Occupational and Environmental Medicine, nurses, and many others. The general

public

is cordially invited to attend.

For directions, please visit http://www.btu.org/topnavbar/directions.html

For further information, contact

Boston City Councillor Maura Hennigan 617-635-4217

Mulvey son 617-522-1372

978-433-0450

Ginny Tomasini Lane 617-268-6044

Boston City Council

Notice of Public Hearing

November 24, 2004

The Boston City Council's Committee on Environment and Historic Preservation

will hold a public hearing on Thursday, December 9, 2004 at 6:00 P.M. at the

Boston Teachers Union Hall, 180 Mt. Vernon Street, Dorchester, Ma 02125.

The subject of the hearing is:

Docket # 1407 - Order for a hearing on growing concern nationally, statewide

and within Boston, regarding the problem of indoor mold contamination and

poor indoor air quality due to water intrusion in public and private buildings.

This matter was sponsored by Councillor Hennigan and referred to the

committee on October 20, 2004.

Members of the public are cordially invited to attend and testify. If you

have not testified at a Council hearing before, please arrive (5) minutes before

the call of the hearing to sign up and become familiar with the hearing

format, testimony locations and sound system. Please bring fifteen (15) copies

of

any written documentation you wish to present at the hearing. If you know of

others who may be interested in this hearing, kindly notify them.

Written comments may be made part of the record and available to all

Councilors by sending them by fax or mail to arrive before the hearing, please

use the

address below.

For the Committee:

Jerry P. McDermott, Chair

Committee on Environment and Historic Preservation

Mail Address: Docket # 1407 - City Hall, Boston, MA 02201

Fax Number: (617) 635-4203 Attn: Lincoln E. , Docket # 1407

Telephone Number: 635-3043 / E-Mail: Lincoln.@...

Comcast - A-51 / cablecast date: December 10, 2004 @ 10: 00 A.M.

Boston City Council

In City Council

Order of Councillors Maura Hennigan, Chuck , Felix Arroyo,

Yancey, Maureen Feeney, Flaherty, Ross, Scappiccio,

and Tobin

WHEREAS: There is growing concern nationally, statewide and within Boston,

regarding the problem of indoor mold contamination and poor indoor air quality

due to water intrusion in public and private buildings; AND

WHEREAS: EPA, Boston Public Health Commission, Massachusetts Nurses

Association, MassCosh, Boston Urban Asthma Coalition, HUD, Sheet Metal Workers

Union,

National Teachers Association, Indian Health Service, and many other agencies

and organizations have conducted vast amounts of research or have recognized

through this research the known serious health effects and property damage

caused by indoor mold; AND

WHEREAS: The issue of indoor mold contamination in all buildings has been an

issue of concern to residents of the City of Boston; AND

WHEREAS: Potential health effects and symptoms associated with mold exposure

include, but are not limited to, allergic reactions, asthma, and other

respiratory complaints; AND

WHEREAS: That the Boston City Council urges the Mayor and Boston Public

Health Commission to work locally and nationally with the Boston Congressional

Delegation to seek passage of legislation, H.R. 1268 - U.S. Toxic Mold Safety

and

Protection Act, that could offer help to the City of Boston to remediate

public buildings with indoor air quality problems; THEREFORE BE IT

ORDERED: That the appropriate committee of the Boston City Council convenes a

hearing to address this serious public health threat and learn what Boston

can do, as a city, to educate the public and prevent further contamination.