I just posted my story to the Boston Globe

[Guest guest]

_Hi KC,

I just finished writing my story to the Boston Globe. I have to say it was

somewhat confusing to do. Must be my moldy brain ,but I had a difficult time

trying to figure out how to get started.

It is a golden opportunity for all of us to be heard so they realize just

how many of us there are!!!!!!!!

Sue

http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2005/09/12/the_next_menace_mold/_

(http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2005/09/12/the_next_menace_mold/)

[Guest guest]

TERRIFIC IDEA!!!! Keep 'em coming!!

Wish we could send hundreds of T-shirts down there with mold info on them!

All those poor people need clothes & would be walking billboards for mold

awareness.

Sue

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 9/14/2005 6:40:02 PM Pacific Standard Time,

myhaze@... writes:

Here, the seller is responsible for disclosing any known major defects - if

you got sick so quickly, I can't imagine how they weren't sick, too. In

California, the liability would be with the seller and the inspector, and you

would be able to recover -if not your health- the money you spent on the home

and what it cost you to address the undisclosed problems.

Hey,

Am a Realtor in California. You are right. That is how it is suppose to

work. Unfortunately, sometimes people don't always do what they are suppose

to...including the courts. Did you know as a Realtor in California, I could

KNOWINGLY sell you a house that has mold in the baby's room. And when the baby

gets sick, I have no obligation to him. Know why? Because the baby was not

party to the contract, therefore not my client and I have no obligation if

he is not my client. Google search " Coldwell Banker vs. Salazar.

Also, you cannot be certain that the prior owners were not sick, yet did not

either connect it with the house or did not disclose it. There are tons of

lawsuits currently in CA regarding real estate transactions.

Sharon

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 9/14/2005 7:16:58 PM Pacific Standard Time,

pushcrash@... writes:

Please do NOT do this on the victim search-related sites and boards! It's

hard enough with all the linked databases. Where searching for missing family

members there. Nobody wants to hear about mold when they're trying to find

their grandmother or their children who've been missing for weeks now.

Or the town-specific sites, for that matter. People are trying to get

information about local conditions, and that is also difficult to do as of yet.

The

same applies.

Hey Serena,

That's good to know. But since you are the one who has the links already

established to these victim sites, we were counting on you, anyway. So, if you

think one post regarding the subject is too much, will follow your advice.

Sharon

[Guest guest]

Hey,

No problem. Makes total sense. I think that Sue's tee shirt idea has some

possiblities because people will donate clothes to the poor. If we could

find a manufacturer to donate say 1000 shirts for the homeless and then find

someone to print on them for a minimal cost or for free, or put a Red Cross

message on it along with a mold message or ????.

The only thing is that it would have to been done tastefully. Because we

wouldn't want to take these poor people and use them for advertising.

Bumper stickers are much cheaper. But I don't think people would donate

those and alot people don't have cars anymore.

How bout " Our Governor is living in a $5000K per month rental house while

the Mansion is being remediated for $500,000 worth of " non-toxic " mold. Is

there any possibility I stand a chance of get a fair shake? "

I don't know!

[Guest guest]

Hello to all,

I just posted my story to the Boston Globe, I also e-mailed the

reporter, whose e-mail

is at the bottom of the story: bdaley@... I also copied my

Senator, and local

Representatives.

Hi Beth,

Thank you for your article " The Next Menace: Mold " . So many of us

have experienced the devastation of toxic mold without the sudden

tragedy of a hurricane, ours was a much slower

catastrophe. Please read our story to better understand what is

happening right here in Massachusetts.

http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2005/09/12/the_next_menac

e_mold/

As worries about mold grow, so do inspection requests

By Ware, Globe Correspondent, 12/28/2003

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2003/12/28/as_worries_about

_mold_grow_so_do_inspection_requests?mode=PFPEPPERELL

They had heard about the family on ee Road who was forced to

vacate the home they had bought the year before because of toxic

mold infestation….

This story ran in 2003,

My name is

from Pepperell, MA. My husband and I purchased our first home

three years ago. We finally felt we had achieved the American Dream

and

moved in to our two family home in November 2002.

Within the first week of moving in I began to get sick. It began

with upper

respiratory infections, coughing and nosebleeds. Then came the

constant

cough that wouldn't go away along with unexplained rashes, eczema and

headaches. We didn't celebrate Thanksgiving that year because I was

too

ill.

Three weeks after moving in we had an energy audit to save money on

our

winter heating bill. The auditor checked the attic for energy

efficiency and

discovered " the worst mold problem he had ever seen " . Not being

familiar

with mold, other than what grows on bread, I really had no idea what

he

was talking about. He suggested I contact my homeowners' insurer

right

away. I took his advice and called. To my surprise, a few days

later, a

team arrived clad in HAZMAT protective suits and respirators to

inspect the

attic.

The entire attic was consumed with mold. A report said the problem

was

pre existing and our insurance was abruptly canceled. After

frantically trying

to get coverage we found that we were listed on the C.L.U.E.

report. This

report is available to insurance agencies on properties at risk.

That being

fire, water intrusion, mold, etc. We never filed a claim, yet our

property was

listed on this report and we were technically " blacklisted " from

getting insurance.

Homeowners insurance is mandatory in the mortgage agreement.

The next step was trying to figure out how extensive the problem was

and

how to fix it. We hired a mold remediating company to do air

quality testing

and assess the damage. Two thousand dollars later, we had a serious

problem

but we didn't have enough money to complete a full assessment. The

roof

had to come off. We had no insurance, I was sick, what could we do?

We now were " celebrating " the New Year. I was diagnosed with sudden

onset asthma, my son was experiencing major behavior issues with a

diagnosis of autism and failure to thrive, we had no money. Where

does

someone go for help?

I called the EPA and the Public Health Dept in Boston trying to get

answers and

help to no avail. We were in this house for 32 days and had no

recourse.

A lifetime dream, $240,000. Down payments, home inspections,

plumbers,

electrical, radon tests, lead, asbestos and we knew nothing about

mold.

Our tenants and friends began looking up information on the

internet. We

began looking for an attorney. This is a very difficult task when

you have

no money or assets. After months of getting our hopes up to find an

attorney to take our case on contingency we found and attorney

willing to

take our case.

In the meantime, we purchased HEPA filters for tenants and our

ourselves,

and we were all well informed by the information from the internet.

The

HEPA air filtration devices we bought for both families were suppose

to

last 3 to 6 months. They lasted approximately 3 weeks. Filters

were so

loaded with black debris they had to be changed every 3 to 4 weeks.

The

cost was $64.00 for 2 filters. We had 6 units to change between the

two

families.

I went to an allergist, after skin testing, I was highly allergic to

mold. My

allergist then sent me to a pulmonary specialist, where I was

diagnosed with

sudden onset asthma. I had a variety of drugs to keep my asthma and

constant

coughing under control. These included nasal sprays, ear drops,

steroids,

Allegra, a nebulizer that I used 4 times a day. I began allergy

shots to try

to help my immune system, by the fourth shot I had a serious

reaction and

the shots were canceled. My health was deteriorating.

I was a very healthy person before buying our " American Dream "

home.

Now my health was failing, we were running out of money and we were

now

coming upon Thanksgiving 2003. Another Thanksgiving that didn't

happen.

What did happen was another set of air quality tests performed by a

local

home inspection and environmental testing company. Barry Peraner

contacted us after reading our story in the local paper. He asked

what he

might do to help. He tested our entire house free of charge. It

was quite a gift.

Unfortunately the tests revealed Stachybotrys was airborne. This

black mold

produces toxins which when inhaled can be a potential danger to

human health.

My doctors recommended I leave my home, it was making me sick. We

began

looking for an apartment immediately.

On December 5, 2003 we left our dream home and all of our

possessions as

everything was contaminated. A decontamination chamber was built in

our

front yard to insure no chance of cross contamination. We walked

through,

removing and throwing away our clothing then walked into an

adjoining chamber

with new clothing all in 17-degree weather. Mold spores that collect

on clothing

can be brought to a new area and if given the right conditions will

continue to

grow and spread.

Our auto insurance adjuster arrived while all was going on, and

proceeded to

" total " our cars due to cross contamination. Every effort was made

by E.J.

O'Dell Water and Fire Restoration and his team to decontaminate them

but

there was no guarantee. Our insurance company needed to protect

themselves against potential liability.

Donations and fundraiser's from the kind people of Pepperell helped

us move

to a new apartment, put food on our table and clothing to wear. Our

new

apartment was decontaminated as well, due to my fear of the

possibility of

mold there. The apartment was empty of course so I called the Red

Cross for

help. And guess what, they couldn't help us because this wasn't

considered

a " disaster " .

The bank began foreclosure proceedings. Our credit card companies

soon

called stating we now had a foreclosure listed on our credit

report. After

my 26 years of perfect credit, my limits were now dropped to what I

owed.

We had nothing to fall back on. We have now lost our home, health,

possessions, credit and cars.

I have spent long hours learning about this horrific problem. It is

happening

nationwide and something has to be done. Our public buildings,

homes,

workplaces and schools are at risk. Water intrusion, mold and

indoor air

quality is affecting us all.

We need standards and legislation; we need to educate each other.

Medical

doctors and clinicians are in need of training to recognize the

effects of

indoor air quality that is hurting our health, our children and our

quality

of life. Please help this from happening to another family.

Most sincerely,

978-433-0450

davisnewstart@aolcom

[Guest guest]

For those that don't know me, I've posted this for a friend

, so no one gets confused with the emails.

I have also posted my wife's story along with some comments to the

Boston Globe. I also feel that this is very important for everyone

that is on this group that is capable of doing the same. Please do.

Our voices must be heard and this may be the beginning, just one

city at a time. The next one could be yours.......

KC

--- In , " tigerpaw2c " <tigerpaw2c@y...>

wrote:

> Hello to all,

>

> I just posted my story to the Boston Globe, I also e-mailed the

> reporter, whose e-mail

> is at the bottom of the story: bdaley@g... I also copied my

> Senator, and local

> Representatives.

>

>

>

> Hi Beth,

>

> Thank you for your article " The Next Menace: Mold " . So many of

us

> have experienced the devastation of toxic mold without the sudden

> tragedy of a hurricane, ours was a much slower

> catastrophe. Please read our story to better understand what is

> happening right here in Massachusetts.

>

>

http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2005/09/12/the_next_menac

> e_mold/

>

> As worries about mold grow, so do inspection requests

> By Ware, Globe Correspondent, 12/28/2003

>

>

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2003/12/28/as_worries_about

> _mold_grow_so_do_inspection_requests?mode=PFPEPPERELL

>

> They had heard about the family on ee Road who was forced to

> vacate the home they had bought the year before because of toxic

> mold infestation….

>

>

>

> This story ran in 2003,

>

> My name is

> from Pepperell, MA. My husband and I purchased our first home

> three years ago. We finally felt we had achieved the American

Dream

> and

> moved in to our two family home in November 2002.

>

> Within the first week of moving in I began to get sick. It began

> with upper

> respiratory infections, coughing and nosebleeds. Then came the

> constant

> cough that wouldn't go away along with unexplained rashes, eczema

and

> headaches. We didn't celebrate Thanksgiving that year because I

was

> too

> ill.

>

> Three weeks after moving in we had an energy audit to save money

on

> our

> winter heating bill. The auditor checked the attic for energy

> efficiency and

> discovered " the worst mold problem he had ever seen " . Not being

> familiar

> with mold, other than what grows on bread, I really had no idea

what

> he

> was talking about. He suggested I contact my homeowners' insurer

> right

> away. I took his advice and called. To my surprise, a few days

> later, a

> team arrived clad in HAZMAT protective suits and respirators to

> inspect the

> attic.

>

> The entire attic was consumed with mold. A report said the

problem

> was

> pre existing and our insurance was abruptly canceled. After

> frantically trying

> to get coverage we found that we were listed on the C.L.U.E.

> report. This

> report is available to insurance agencies on properties at risk.

> That being

> fire, water intrusion, mold, etc. We never filed a claim, yet our

> property was

> listed on this report and we were technically " blacklisted " from

> getting insurance.

>

> Homeowners insurance is mandatory in the mortgage agreement.

>

> The next step was trying to figure out how extensive the problem

was

> and

> how to fix it. We hired a mold remediating company to do air

> quality testing

> and assess the damage. Two thousand dollars later, we had a

serious

> problem

> but we didn't have enough money to complete a full assessment.

The

> roof

> had to come off. We had no insurance, I was sick, what could we

do?

>

> We now were " celebrating " the New Year. I was diagnosed with

sudden

> onset asthma, my son was experiencing major behavior issues with a

> diagnosis of autism and failure to thrive, we had no money. Where

> does

> someone go for help?

>

> I called the EPA and the Public Health Dept in Boston trying to

get

> answers and

> help to no avail. We were in this house for 32 days and had no

> recourse.

> A lifetime dream, $240,000. Down payments, home inspections,

> plumbers,

> electrical, radon tests, lead, asbestos and we knew nothing about

> mold.

>

> Our tenants and friends began looking up information on the

> internet. We

> began looking for an attorney. This is a very difficult task when

> you have

> no money or assets. After months of getting our hopes up to find

an

> attorney to take our case on contingency we found and attorney

> willing to

> take our case.

>

> In the meantime, we purchased HEPA filters for tenants and our

> ourselves,

> and we were all well informed by the information from the

internet.

> The

> HEPA air filtration devices we bought for both families were

suppose

> to

> last 3 to 6 months. They lasted approximately 3 weeks. Filters

> were so

> loaded with black debris they had to be changed every 3 to 4

weeks.

> The

> cost was $64.00 for 2 filters. We had 6 units to change between

the

> two

> families.

>

> I went to an allergist, after skin testing, I was highly allergic

to

> mold. My

> allergist then sent me to a pulmonary specialist, where I was

> diagnosed with

> sudden onset asthma. I had a variety of drugs to keep my asthma

and

> constant

> coughing under control. These included nasal sprays, ear drops,

> steroids,

> Allegra, a nebulizer that I used 4 times a day. I began allergy

> shots to try

> to help my immune system, by the fourth shot I had a serious

> reaction and

> the shots were canceled. My health was deteriorating.

>

> I was a very healthy person before buying our " American Dream "

> home.

> Now my health was failing, we were running out of money and we

were

> now

> coming upon Thanksgiving 2003. Another Thanksgiving that didn't

> happen.

>

> What did happen was another set of air quality tests performed by

a

> local

> home inspection and environmental testing company. Barry Peraner

> contacted us after reading our story in the local paper. He asked

> what he

> might do to help. He tested our entire house free of charge. It

> was quite a gift.

> Unfortunately the tests revealed Stachybotrys was airborne. This

> black mold

>

> produces toxins which when inhaled can be a potential danger to

> human health.

>

> My doctors recommended I leave my home, it was making me sick. We

> began

> looking for an apartment immediately.

>

> On December 5, 2003 we left our dream home and all of our

> possessions as

>

> everything was contaminated. A decontamination chamber was built

in

> our

> front yard to insure no chance of cross contamination. We walked

> through,

> removing and throwing away our clothing then walked into an

> adjoining chamber

>

> with new clothing all in 17-degree weather. Mold spores that

collect

> on clothing

>

> can be brought to a new area and if given the right conditions

will

> continue to

> grow and spread.

>

> Our auto insurance adjuster arrived while all was going on, and

> proceeded to

> " total " our cars due to cross contamination. Every effort was

made

> by E.J.

> O'Dell Water and Fire Restoration and his team to decontaminate

them

> but

> there was no guarantee. Our insurance company needed to protect

> themselves against potential liability.

>

> Donations and fundraiser's from the kind people of Pepperell

helped

> us move

> to a new apartment, put food on our table and clothing to wear.

Our

> new

> apartment was decontaminated as well, due to my fear of the

> possibility of

> mold there. The apartment was empty of course so I called the Red

> Cross for

> help. And guess what, they couldn't help us because this wasn't

> considered

> a " disaster " .

>

> The bank began foreclosure proceedings. Our credit card companies

> soon

> called stating we now had a foreclosure listed on our credit

> report. After

> my 26 years of perfect credit, my limits were now dropped to what

I

> owed.

> We had nothing to fall back on. We have now lost our home,

health,

> possessions, credit and cars.

>

> I have spent long hours learning about this horrific problem. It

is

> happening

> nationwide and something has to be done. Our public buildings,

> homes,

> workplaces and schools are at risk. Water intrusion, mold and

> indoor air

> quality is affecting us all.

>

> We need standards and legislation; we need to educate each other.

> Medical

> doctors and clinicians are in need of training to recognize the

> effects of

> indoor air quality that is hurting our health, our children and

our

> quality

> of life. Please help this from happening to another family.

>

> Most sincerely,

>

>

> 978-433-0450

> davisnewstart@aolcom

[Guest guest]

Hi:

I hate to sound ignorant and all, but in California, a home buyer pays a few

hundred dollars to for an inspection to learn the current condition of the the

property as part of our escrow process. Here, the seller is responsible for

disclosing any known major defects - if you got sick so quickly, I can't imagine

how they weren't sick, too. In California, the liability would be with the

seller and the inspector, and you would be able to recover -if not your health-

the money you spent on the home and what it cost you to address the undisclosed

problems.

But that aside, this state is in as much denial about mold as everywhere else.

Our legislature passed a bill in 2001 that was signed by the governor in 2002

authorizing a committee to determine standards for mold exposure and remediation

and then to require apartment owners to notify future tenants if mold has been

discovered. But the law doesn't go into effect until the standards are set, and

to the best of what I can tell, they haven't yet met to begin discussing

standards.

Blessings to you for regaining your life and health.

-Haley

tigerpaw2c <tigerpaw2c@...> wrote:

Hello to all,

I just posted my story to the Boston Globe, I also e-mailed the

reporter, whose e-mail

is at the bottom of the story: bdaley@... I also copied my

Senator, and local

Representatives.

Hi Beth,

Thank you for your article " The Next Menace: Mold " . So many of us

have experienced the devastation of toxic mold without the sudden

tragedy of a hurricane, ours was a much slower

catastrophe. Please read our story to better understand what is

happening right here in Massachusetts.

http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2005/09/12/the_next_menac

e_mold/

As worries about mold grow, so do inspection requests

By Ware, Globe Correspondent, 12/28/2003

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2003/12/28/as_worries_about

_mold_grow_so_do_inspection_requests?mode=PFPEPPERELL

They had heard about the family on ee Road who was forced to

vacate the home they had bought the year before because of toxic

mold infestation….

This story ran in 2003,

My name is

from Pepperell, MA. My husband and I purchased our first home

three years ago. We finally felt we had achieved the American Dream

and

moved in to our two family home in November 2002.

Within the first week of moving in I began to get sick. It began

with upper

respiratory infections, coughing and nosebleeds. Then came the

constant

cough that wouldn't go away along with unexplained rashes, eczema and

headaches. We didn't celebrate Thanksgiving that year because I was

too

ill.

Three weeks after moving in we had an energy audit to save money on

our

winter heating bill. The auditor checked the attic for energy

efficiency and

discovered " the worst mold problem he had ever seen " . Not being

familiar

with mold, other than what grows on bread, I really had no idea what

he

was talking about. He suggested I contact my homeowners' insurer

right

away. I took his advice and called. To my surprise, a few days

later, a

team arrived clad in HAZMAT protective suits and respirators to

inspect the

attic.

The entire attic was consumed with mold. A report said the problem

was

pre existing and our insurance was abruptly canceled. After

frantically trying

to get coverage we found that we were listed on the C.L.U.E.

report. This

report is available to insurance agencies on properties at risk.

That being

fire, water intrusion, mold, etc. We never filed a claim, yet our

property was

listed on this report and we were technically " blacklisted " from

getting insurance.

Homeowners insurance is mandatory in the mortgage agreement.

The next step was trying to figure out how extensive the problem was

and

how to fix it. We hired a mold remediating company to do air

quality testing

and assess the damage. Two thousand dollars later, we had a serious

problem

but we didn't have enough money to complete a full assessment. The

roof

had to come off. We had no insurance, I was sick, what could we do?

We now were " celebrating " the New Year. I was diagnosed with sudden

onset asthma, my son was experiencing major behavior issues with a

diagnosis of autism and failure to thrive, we had no money. Where

does

someone go for help?

I called the EPA and the Public Health Dept in Boston trying to get

answers and

help to no avail. We were in this house for 32 days and had no

recourse.

A lifetime dream, $240,000. Down payments, home inspections,

plumbers,

electrical, radon tests, lead, asbestos and we knew nothing about

mold.

Our tenants and friends began looking up information on the

internet. We

began looking for an attorney. This is a very difficult task when

you have

no money or assets. After months of getting our hopes up to find an

attorney to take our case on contingency we found and attorney

willing to

take our case.

In the meantime, we purchased HEPA filters for tenants and our

ourselves,

and we were all well informed by the information from the internet.

The

HEPA air filtration devices we bought for both families were suppose

to

last 3 to 6 months. They lasted approximately 3 weeks. Filters

were so

loaded with black debris they had to be changed every 3 to 4 weeks.

The

cost was $64.00 for 2 filters. We had 6 units to change between the

two

families.

I went to an allergist, after skin testing, I was highly allergic to

mold. My

allergist then sent me to a pulmonary specialist, where I was

diagnosed with

sudden onset asthma. I had a variety of drugs to keep my asthma and

constant

coughing under control. These included nasal sprays, ear drops,

steroids,

Allegra, a nebulizer that I used 4 times a day. I began allergy

shots to try

to help my immune system, by the fourth shot I had a serious

reaction and

the shots were canceled. My health was deteriorating.

I was a very healthy person before buying our " American Dream "

home.

Now my health was failing, we were running out of money and we were

now

coming upon Thanksgiving 2003. Another Thanksgiving that didn't

happen.

What did happen was another set of air quality tests performed by a

local

home inspection and environmental testing company. Barry Peraner

contacted us after reading our story in the local paper. He asked

what he

might do to help. He tested our entire house free of charge. It

was quite a gift.

Unfortunately the tests revealed Stachybotrys was airborne. This

black mold

produces toxins which when inhaled can be a potential danger to

human health.

My doctors recommended I leave my home, it was making me sick. We

began

looking for an apartment immediately.

On December 5, 2003 we left our dream home and all of our

possessions as

everything was contaminated. A decontamination chamber was built in

our

front yard to insure no chance of cross contamination. We walked

through,

removing and throwing away our clothing then walked into an

adjoining chamber

with new clothing all in 17-degree weather. Mold spores that collect

on clothing

can be brought to a new area and if given the right conditions will

continue to

grow and spread.

Our auto insurance adjuster arrived while all was going on, and

proceeded to

" total " our cars due to cross contamination. Every effort was made

by E.J.

O'Dell Water and Fire Restoration and his team to decontaminate them

but

there was no guarantee. Our insurance company needed to protect

themselves against potential liability.

Donations and fundraiser's from the kind people of Pepperell helped

us move

to a new apartment, put food on our table and clothing to wear. Our

new

apartment was decontaminated as well, due to my fear of the

possibility of

mold there. The apartment was empty of course so I called the Red

Cross for

help. And guess what, they couldn't help us because this wasn't

considered

a " disaster " .

The bank began foreclosure proceedings. Our credit card companies

soon

called stating we now had a foreclosure listed on our credit

report. After

my 26 years of perfect credit, my limits were now dropped to what I

owed.

We had nothing to fall back on. We have now lost our home, health,

possessions, credit and cars.

I have spent long hours learning about this horrific problem. It is

happening

nationwide and something has to be done. Our public buildings,

homes,

workplaces and schools are at risk. Water intrusion, mold and

indoor air

quality is affecting us all.

We need standards and legislation; we need to educate each other.

Medical

doctors and clinicians are in need of training to recognize the

effects of

indoor air quality that is hurting our health, our children and our

quality

of life. Please help this from happening to another family.

Most sincerely,

978-433-0450

davisnewstart@aolcom

FAIR USE NOTICE:

[Guest guest]

Please do NOT do this on the victim search-related sites and boards! It's hard

enough with all the linked databases. Where searching for missing family members

there. Nobody wants to hear about mold when they're trying to find their

grandmother or their children who've been missing for weeks now.

Or the town-specific sites, for that matter. People are trying to get

information about local conditions, and that is also difficult to do as of yet.

The same applies.

Please remember that the people who were in the storm do not have good phone or

electric service yet (if any at all) in many places. They aren't hanging on on

the boards looking for outsiders to hand them dire warnings. They're trying to

find homes and get clothes and food and figure out what to do. We should NOT

interfere with those efforts to meet their most immediate needs. I'm on the

searches 24/7 right now, except when I look in here. The searches and

home-finding are Job One right now.

We do need to see what we can do to use our mold experience to help, though. Is

there any possibility somebody can put together a brief circular on mold that

would be useful to those intending to re-occupy? They need simple, direct,

truthful info - not the government pap they're being given right now.

Unfortunately, the internet isn't our best means of communicating this

information right now. We probably need to go to hard copy like in the old days

when we always communicated via dead trees and ink (yeah, showing my age.) But

think primitive. That's what's it's like there now.

snk1955@... wrote:

Hey Gang,

What we need to do is post on the Boston Globe site, then go to the Katrina

sites and tell all the hurricane victims to read our stories. We could help

alot of people avoid what we have had to suffer through.

Sharon

[Guest guest]

WOW Sue,

Great Idea such a great Idea.

E

Re: [] Re: I just posted my story to the Boston Globe

TERRIFIC IDEA!!!! Keep 'em coming!!

Wish we could send hundreds of T-shirts down there with mold info on them!

All those poor people need clothes & would be walking billboards for mold

awareness.

Sue

[Guest guest]

Hi Sharon -

Didn't mean to just slam the idea so hard. The problem is that the refugees'

names aren't making it into the databases - of which there are many. Because

some search sites are run like this board, the postings get included when

searching for people. You can imagine what that means to people whose family

names are also common English words, like " Baker " or " Cook " - or, god forbid,

" Black " or " White " or " Bush " . You get not only the legitimate searcher/evacuee

messages, but every lunatic political/racist/religious blog rant by everybody on

the planet who cares to utter an opinion. It's not just that the mold issue is

off-topic at the moment (I know, I know!). It's a very legitimate concern, of

course. Its just that every word you might use to DESCRIBE that concern is prone

to gumming up the search efforts. (And you don't even want to know about the

jerks filling in bogus forms on the Red Cross search site and others! Grrrr)

Anyway - enough rant from me! T-Shirts are cool. But expensive. I had been

thinking handbills and bright bumperstickers in conspicuous places, though we'd

need someone to post them for us. There are zero safe places for any of us to

stay anywhere in the area now, even if we could do the work ourselves. That's

why I was thinking about a possible cooperative activity with Home Depot and

Lowe's, Walmart, or something. They are already there, and already talking to

homeowners all day, every day. And they have those guys at the front door making

sure you don't walk off with any wallboard (8 P A little gallows mold humor for

you there).

Serena

www.freeboards.net/index.php?mforum=sickgovernmentb

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

I'VE SENT MY STORY TO SENATORS, CONGRESSMEN, ETC., AS WELL--WITH NO RESULTS

WHAT SO EVER.

GOOD LUCK.

V.

[] I just posted my story to the Boston Globe

Hello to all,

I just posted my story to the Boston Globe, I also e-mailed the

reporter, whose e-mail

is at the bottom of the story: bdaley@... I also copied my

Senator, and local

Representatives.

Hi Beth,

Thank you for your article " The Next Menace: Mold " . So many of us

have experienced the devastation of toxic mold without the sudden

tragedy of a hurricane, ours was a much slower

catastrophe. Please read our story to better understand what is

happening right here in Massachusetts.

http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2005/09/12/the_next_menac

e_mold/

As worries about mold grow, so do inspection requests

By Ware, Globe Correspondent, 12/28/2003

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2003/12/28/as_worries_about

_mold_grow_so_do_inspection_requests?mode=PFPEPPERELL

They had heard about the family on ee Road who was forced to

vacate the home they had bought the year before because of toxic

mold infestation..

This story ran in 2003,

My name is

from Pepperell, MA. My husband and I purchased our first home

three years ago. We finally felt we had achieved the American Dream

and

moved in to our two family home in November 2002.

Within the first week of moving in I began to get sick. It began

with upper

respiratory infections, coughing and nosebleeds. Then came the

constant

cough that wouldn't go away along with unexplained rashes, eczema and

headaches. We didn't celebrate Thanksgiving that year because I was

too

ill.

Three weeks after moving in we had an energy audit to save money on

our

winter heating bill. The auditor checked the attic for energy

efficiency and

discovered " the worst mold problem he had ever seen " . Not being

familiar

with mold, other than what grows on bread, I really had no idea what

he

was talking about. He suggested I contact my homeowners' insurer

right

away. I took his advice and called. To my surprise, a few days

later, a

team arrived clad in HAZMAT protective suits and respirators to

inspect the

attic.

The entire attic was consumed with mold. A report said the problem

was

pre existing and our insurance was abruptly canceled. After

frantically trying

to get coverage we found that we were listed on the C.L.U.E.

report. This

report is available to insurance agencies on properties at risk.

That being

fire, water intrusion, mold, etc. We never filed a claim, yet our

property was

listed on this report and we were technically " blacklisted " from

getting insurance.

Homeowners insurance is mandatory in the mortgage agreement.

The next step was trying to figure out how extensive the problem was

and

how to fix it. We hired a mold remediating company to do air

quality testing

and assess the damage. Two thousand dollars later, we had a serious

problem

but we didn't have enough money to complete a full assessment. The

roof

had to come off. We had no insurance, I was sick, what could we do?

We now were " celebrating " the New Year. I was diagnosed with sudden

onset asthma, my son was experiencing major behavior issues with a

diagnosis of autism and failure to thrive, we had no money. Where

does

someone go for help?

I called the EPA and the Public Health Dept in Boston trying to get

answers and

help to no avail. We were in this house for 32 days and had no

recourse.

A lifetime dream, $240,000. Down payments, home inspections,

plumbers,

electrical, radon tests, lead, asbestos and we knew nothing about

mold.

Our tenants and friends began looking up information on the

internet. We

began looking for an attorney. This is a very difficult task when

you have

no money or assets. After months of getting our hopes up to find an

attorney to take our case on contingency we found and attorney

willing to

take our case.

In the meantime, we purchased HEPA filters for tenants and our

ourselves,

and we were all well informed by the information from the internet.

The

HEPA air filtration devices we bought for both families were suppose

to

last 3 to 6 months. They lasted approximately 3 weeks. Filters

were so

loaded with black debris they had to be changed every 3 to 4 weeks.

The

cost was $64.00 for 2 filters. We had 6 units to change between the

two

families.

I went to an allergist, after skin testing, I was highly allergic to

mold. My

allergist then sent me to a pulmonary specialist, where I was

diagnosed with

sudden onset asthma. I had a variety of drugs to keep my asthma and

constant

coughing under control. These included nasal sprays, ear drops,

steroids,

Allegra, a nebulizer that I used 4 times a day. I began allergy

shots to try

to help my immune system, by the fourth shot I had a serious

reaction and

the shots were canceled. My health was deteriorating.

I was a very healthy person before buying our " American Dream "

home.

Now my health was failing, we were running out of money and we were

now

coming upon Thanksgiving 2003. Another Thanksgiving that didn't

happen.

What did happen was another set of air quality tests performed by a

local

home inspection and environmental testing company. Barry Peraner

contacted us after reading our story in the local paper. He asked

what he

might do to help. He tested our entire house free of charge. It

was quite a gift.

Unfortunately the tests revealed Stachybotrys was airborne. This

black mold

produces toxins which when inhaled can be a potential danger to

human health.

My doctors recommended I leave my home, it was making me sick. We

began

looking for an apartment immediately.

On December 5, 2003 we left our dream home and all of our

possessions as

everything was contaminated. A decontamination chamber was built in

our

front yard to insure no chance of cross contamination. We walked

through,

removing and throwing away our clothing then walked into an

adjoining chamber

with new clothing all in 17-degree weather. Mold spores that collect

on clothing

can be brought to a new area and if given the right conditions will

continue to

grow and spread.

Our auto insurance adjuster arrived while all was going on, and

proceeded to

" total " our cars due to cross contamination. Every effort was made

by E.J.

O'Dell Water and Fire Restoration and his team to decontaminate them

but

there was no guarantee. Our insurance company needed to protect

themselves against potential liability.

Donations and fundraiser's from the kind people of Pepperell helped

us move

to a new apartment, put food on our table and clothing to wear. Our

new

apartment was decontaminated as well, due to my fear of the

possibility of

mold there. The apartment was empty of course so I called the Red

Cross for

help. And guess what, they couldn't help us because this wasn't

considered

a " disaster " .

The bank began foreclosure proceedings. Our credit card companies

soon

called stating we now had a foreclosure listed on our credit

report. After

my 26 years of perfect credit, my limits were now dropped to what I

owed.

We had nothing to fall back on. We have now lost our home, health,

possessions, credit and cars.

I have spent long hours learning about this horrific problem. It is

happening

nationwide and something has to be done. Our public buildings,

homes,

workplaces and schools are at risk. Water intrusion, mold and

indoor air

quality is affecting us all.

We need standards and legislation; we need to educate each other.

Medical

doctors and clinicians are in need of training to recognize the

effects of

indoor air quality that is hurting our health, our children and our

quality

of life. Please help this from happening to another family.

Most sincerely,

978-433-0450

davisnewstart@aolcom

FAIR USE NOTICE:

[Guest guest]

I wasn't thinking about putting bumper stickers on bumpers. Because - you're

right. No bumpers. I was thinking about other surfaces. Although, some of the

worst-hit towns don't even have any surfaces left standing. The worst problem

areas for mold aren't going to be the towns that were entirely flattened. Those,

they have no choice. They have to rebuild entirely. (This would be the beach

towns in MS., like Long Beach and Pass Christian.)

Likewise, those that remain under water (like Delacroix) aren't an issue,

because they aren't coming back at all.

Certain towns that were not down in the bowl that is New Orleans or in the

wetlands are big problem areas. They got flooded, but the water has gone down. A

very good example of this would be Slidell, LA. Some areas are low, some high.

The lower areas got flooded and the water sat, but the water has receded, or is

in the process of doing so. Some people stayed there, some are in the process of

returning now. They are most clearly at risk. The insurance companies have

already begun the game-playing. They claim the flooding (NOT covered) wrecked

the homes. The owners claim the winds blew them away (COVERED). A lot of people

will go back into the damaged places because they will have neither cash nor

coverage to do otherwise. And we're not just talking poor people, like the news

reporters do. This will be middle-class families and the formerly well-off, as

well.

I'm drawing no conclusions here. I'm just trying to make the point that the

areas most in need of the information are going to be fairly predictable. We

should make it a point to target them in particular, so as not to waste

resources. It would be helpful if anyone else here who knows the area would help

keep track of which communities we could be most useful to. I know most of the

towns, but not all, and not much about towns west of Harahan, LA. We're talking

thousands of square miles, so it's really more than I can do without help.

The shelters are already beginning to empty out, so they are not going to be a

great point for distribution of anything we want to do for long. I still think

we're going to do best with the home maintenance and construction retailers,

because they will just naturally draw the target audience to themselves. The

second-best points of contact in that area would be the churches. They still

hold a level of value as community centers well beyond what is seen in most

other parts of the country. (Also, many children, especially in the New Orleans

area, are educated in the parochial schools rather than the public schools,

regardless of a family's denomination.) Using either of these paths, all we'd

have to do is pick off the right towns.

Serena

www.freeboards.net/index.php?mforum=sickgovernmentb

---------------------------------

for Good

Click here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

[Guest guest]

Unless you are a constituent you will most likely not get a response. If

you are, then usually it takes a while for the CLERK to tyope your name

into their template letter. My dear friend is my congresswoman and I am

not in her district, but, I do use her over my rep in DC. I know that

there is a legisltaive aide for every issue and its how fast they get to

your letter.

I have never had a problem, but I know from others experience, unless you

are a potential voter....you can forget it. Best case they send you a

letter, thank you for your concern but they only attend to their people.

On Thu, 15 Sep 2005, wrote:

> Date: Thu, 15 Sep 2005 07:54:57 -0400 From: <toria@...>

> Reply- To:

> Subject: Re: [] I just posted

> my story to the Boston Globe

>

> I'VE SENT MY STORY TO SENATORS, CONGRESSMEN, ETC., AS WELL--WITH NO RESULTS

> WHAT SO EVER.

>

> GOOD LUCK.

> V.

> [] I just posted my story to the Boston Globe

>

>

> Hello to all,

>

> I just posted my story to the Boston Globe, I also e-mailed the

> reporter, whose e-mail

> is at the bottom of the story: bdaley@... I also copied my

> Senator, and local

> Representatives.

>

>

>

> Hi Beth,

>

> Thank you for your article " The Next Menace: Mold " . So many of us

> have experienced the devastation of toxic mold without the sudden

> tragedy of a hurricane, ours was a much slower

> catastrophe. Please read our story to better understand what is

> happening right here in Massachusetts.

>

> http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2005/09/12/the_next_menac

> e_mold/

>

> As worries about mold grow, so do inspection requests

> By Ware, Globe Correspondent, 12/28/2003

>

> http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2003/12/28/as_worries_about

> _mold_grow_so_do_inspection_requests?mode=PFPEPPERELL

>

> They had heard about the family on ee Road who was forced to

> vacate the home they had bought the year before because of toxic

> mold infestation..

>

>

>

> This story ran in 2003,

>

> My name is

> from Pepperell, MA. My husband and I purchased our first home

> three years ago. We finally felt we had achieved the American Dream

> and

> moved in to our two family home in November 2002.

>

> Within the first week of moving in I began to get sick. It began

> with upper

> respiratory infections, coughing and nosebleeds. Then came the

> constant

> cough that wouldn't go away along with unexplained rashes, eczema and

> headaches. We didn't celebrate Thanksgiving that year because I was

> too

> ill.

>

> Three weeks after moving in we had an energy audit to save money on

> our

> winter heating bill. The auditor checked the attic for energy

> efficiency and

> discovered " the worst mold problem he had ever seen " . Not being

> familiar

> with mold, other than what grows on bread, I really had no idea what

> he

> was talking about. He suggested I contact my homeowners' insurer

> right

> away. I took his advice and called. To my surprise, a few days

> later, a

> team arrived clad in HAZMAT protective suits and respirators to

> inspect the

> attic.

>

> The entire attic was consumed with mold. A report said the problem

> was

> pre existing and our insurance was abruptly canceled. After

> frantically trying

> to get coverage we found that we were listed on the C.L.U.E.

> report. This

> report is available to insurance agencies on properties at risk.

> That being

> fire, water intrusion, mold, etc. We never filed a claim, yet our

> property was

> listed on this report and we were technically " blacklisted " from

> getting insurance.

>

> Homeowners insurance is mandatory in the mortgage agreement.

>

> The next step was trying to figure out how extensive the problem was

> and

> how to fix it. We hired a mold remediating company to do air

> quality testing

> and assess the damage. Two thousand dollars later, we had a serious

> problem

> but we didn't have enough money to complete a full assessment. The

> roof

> had to come off. We had no insurance, I was sick, what could we do?

>

> We now were " celebrating " the New Year. I was diagnosed with sudden

> onset asthma, my son was experiencing major behavior issues with a

> diagnosis of autism and failure to thrive, we had no money. Where

> does

> someone go for help?

>

> I called the EPA and the Public Health Dept in Boston trying to get

> answers and

> help to no avail. We were in this house for 32 days and had no

> recourse.

> A lifetime dream, $240,000. Down payments, home inspections,

> plumbers,

> electrical, radon tests, lead, asbestos and we knew nothing about

> mold.

>

> Our tenants and friends began looking up information on the

> internet. We

> began looking for an attorney. This is a very difficult task when

> you have

> no money or assets. After months of getting our hopes up to find an

> attorney to take our case on contingency we found and attorney

> willing to

> take our case.

>

> In the meantime, we purchased HEPA filters for tenants and our

> ourselves,

> and we were all well informed by the information from the internet.

> The

> HEPA air filtration devices we bought for both families were suppose

> to

> last 3 to 6 months. They lasted approximately 3 weeks. Filters

> were so

> loaded with black debris they had to be changed every 3 to 4 weeks.

> The

> cost was $64.00 for 2 filters. We had 6 units to change between the

> two

> families.

>

> I went to an allergist, after skin testing, I was highly allergic to

> mold. My

> allergist then sent me to a pulmonary specialist, where I was

> diagnosed with

> sudden onset asthma. I had a variety of drugs to keep my asthma and

> constant

> coughing under control. These included nasal sprays, ear drops,

> steroids,

> Allegra, a nebulizer that I used 4 times a day. I began allergy

> shots to try

> to help my immune system, by the fourth shot I had a serious

> reaction and

> the shots were canceled. My health was deteriorating.

>

> I was a very healthy person before buying our " American Dream "

> home.

> Now my health was failing, we were running out of money and we were

> now

> coming upon Thanksgiving 2003. Another Thanksgiving that didn't

> happen.

>

> What did happen was another set of air quality tests performed by a

> local

> home inspection and environmental testing company. Barry Peraner

> contacted us after reading our story in the local paper. He asked

> what he

> might do to help. He tested our entire house free of charge. It

> was quite a gift.

> Unfortunately the tests revealed Stachybotrys was airborne. This

> black mold

>

> produces toxins which when inhaled can be a potential danger to

> human health.

>

> My doctors recommended I leave my home, it was making me sick. We

> began

> looking for an apartment immediately.

>

> On December 5, 2003 we left our dream home and all of our

> possessions as

>

> everything was contaminated. A decontamination chamber was built in

> our

> front yard to insure no chance of cross contamination. We walked

> through,

> removing and throwing away our clothing then walked into an

> adjoining chamber

>

> with new clothing all in 17-degree weather. Mold spores that collect

> on clothing

>

> can be brought to a new area and if given the right conditions will

> continue to

> grow and spread.

>

> Our auto insurance adjuster arrived while all was going on, and

> proceeded to

> " total " our cars due to cross contamination. Every effort was made

> by E.J.

> O'Dell Water and Fire Restoration and his team to decontaminate them

> but

> there was no guarantee. Our insurance company needed to protect

> themselves against potential liability.

>

> Donations and fundraiser's from the kind people of Pepperell helped

> us move

> to a new apartment, put food on our table and clothing to wear. Our

> new

> apartment was decontaminated as well, due to my fear of the

> possibility of

> mold there. The apartment was empty of course so I called the Red

> Cross for

> help. And guess what, they couldn't help us because this wasn't

> considered

> a " disaster " .

>

> The bank began foreclosure proceedings. Our credit card companies

> soon

> called stating we now had a foreclosure listed on our credit

> report. After

> my 26 years of perfect credit, my limits were now dropped to what I

> owed.

> We had nothing to fall back on. We have now lost our home, health,

> possessions, credit and cars.

>

> I have spent long hours learning about this horrific problem. It is

> happening

> nationwide and something has to be done. Our public buildings,

> homes,

> workplaces and schools are at risk. Water intrusion, mold and

> indoor air

> quality is affecting us all.

>

> We need standards and legislation; we need to educate each other.

> Medical

> doctors and clinicians are in need of training to recognize the

> effects of

> indoor air quality that is hurting our health, our children and our

> quality

> of life. Please help this from happening to another family.

>

> Most sincerely,

>

>

> 978-433-0450

> davisnewstart@aolcom

>

>

>

>

>

>

> FAIR USE NOTICE:

>

>

>