Health and Mold

[Guest guest]

Your article is off base and a disservice to those of us that suffer severe

health problems due to exposure to Toxic Mold. The IOM study that you

reference is considered by many across America to be a shame. The Original

Director

was a paid Court witness for insurance companies being sued for damages from

Toxic Mold. In a case in Canada, this " Medical Expert " was laughed out of

Court.

Many of us asked to testify before the IOM Group and were ignored. I went so

far as to offer my Toxic Mold invested home as a test site for their Study.

I also offered hundreds of pages of Medical Reports and Tests to show what

Toxic Mold had done to my Family. We were ignored. The reason was they didn't

want to hear the truth!

When a study of several dead children, due to Toxic Mold exposure, were

offered they said it wasn't a thorough enough investigation. Did they want more

dead Children to make it an " official " study?

At the request of President Bush, Dr. Gerberding, Director of the CDC,

contacted me in October 2002. In response to her letter, I sent the following

comments,

" I am saddened to hear that the CDC “does not currently have any ongoing

studies of residences or individuals that involve moldâ€.

After reading many Doctors and Medical reports from across the Nation that

have discussed the possibility that Stachybotrys atra may have been

responsible in the death of Children, I thought that the CDC would have begun a

study

some years ago. You mention the CDC is “currently developing an agenda for

research, service, and education related to moldsâ€. While the bureaucracy

expands, Americans continue to suffer.

You further mention that the CDC “is funding the Institute of Medicine (IOM)

to evaluate the relationship between damp or moldy indoor environments and

the manifestation of adverse health effectsâ€. Is this the study that is being

chaired by Dr. Harriet Burge of Harvard University?

It is my understanding that Dr. Burge has been a witness in court cases in

which she has testified that Toxic Mold is no big deal. I understand that she

made these types of statements as a defense witness. Are you aware of these

possible issues? If these statements are correct would she not have to recuse

herself from these studies due to a potential for a conflict of interest? "

I went further with the following comments " If this is the study, I

contacted them several months ago at the site they said to send correspondence

to. I

told them of our health conditions from the Toxic Mold in our home. I asked

that I be allowed to speak when they have open hearings. I offered our

Government our home and our family to use as test subjects of the causes and

effects

of toxic Mold.

Does it surprise you that this group never bothered to respond to me? How

much of our tax dollars are being paid to fund this study? As an American, do I

not have the right to present my comments before this forum? As an extension

of our Government, they are being paid with tax money, do they not owe me a

reply?

Has the CDC discussed the issues of Toxic Mold with Military Doctor’s at Ft.

Dietrich land? It is my understanding that they have already done

clinical research and have determined that Stachybotrys atra is a major health

threat to people. Would not the CDC defer to the study of our Nation’s

Military?

Their only interests is to protect American citizens. The do not play

politics with the lives of Americans. "

I offered more comments " I find hope in your statement that “we do know

that exposure to high levels of mold may cause some illnesses in susceptible

peopleâ€. Your next statement, “because molds can be harmful to some people,

it

is important to maintain buildings, prevent water damage and mold growth, and

clean up moldy materials†is correct.

If we clean up the Stachybotrys atra but fail to stop the issues, materials

or people that have caused it, we are fighting a health battle that cannot be

won. Would you not agree? "

I wrote Toxic Mold Legislation some years ago for Massachusetts. The State

has no interest in this Health Issue or protecting Citizens. I also submitted

the same type of legislation to Washington some years ago and they too have

ignored it. The current Toxic Mold Legislation in Washington is a Citizen tax

bailout for insurance companies.

Perhaps the best witnesses in the Toxic Mold issue and Health are the family

of President Bush. When he was Governor of Texas, his family got sick from

Toxic Mold in the Governor's mansion. Texas paid over 500 thousand dollars to

remove it. According to your article it would seem that you are implying that

millions of Americans, including President Bush and his family, and the state

of Texas are wrong and a group of " Special Interest " Doctors are right.

We Americans that are sick from exposure to Toxic Mold have only our health

and Family. The " Doctors " of the IOM Study are the best that Special Interest

could get to support their views and protect their money. It seems we

Americans lost again but this is a FIGHT we cannot afford to lose for our

Family's!

Ken Moulton

Lawton, OK