Re: “THE TRUTH ABOUT MOLDS

[Guest guest]

Thank you Doug H.--- In

, " douglasrhaney " <_Haney52@...>

wrote:

>

> " THE TRUTH ABOUT MOLDS? Fungi (Mycotoxins) Can, and Do Cause

> Disease! "

>

> R. Haney (Author: " Toxic Mold Toxic Enemy! " )

> Copyright© 2007

>

> A January 9, 2007, a front page Wall Street Journal article

> titled " Court of Opinion: Amid Suits Over Mold, Experts Wear Two

> Hats " authored by Armstrong has rekindled a longstanding

battle

> over the American College of Occupational and Environmental

Medicine

> society's solicitation of a document titled " Adverse Human Health

> Effects Associated with Molds in the Indoor Environment " authored

by

> a former high-ranked government health official. People who have

been

> suffering from what they say are health issues caused by indoor

mold

> exposures, and several of the medical doctors who treat them are

> upset, indicating that this document, now used as the

> ACOEM's " Position Paper " is " seriously flawed. "

>

> In response to the Wall Street Journal article, on January 13,

> 2007, Tee L. Guidotti, M.D., MPH, current President of the ACOEM

> issued the following statement: " What is lost in the WSJ article is

> the technical accuracy of the statement. The contentious issue at

> hand is not damp spaces or the association of mold and mold spores

> with allergic, infectious, or irritating conditions. It is whether

> the metabolic products of mold known as mycotoxins, absorbed

through

> biological particle inhalation in indoor air, is responsible for

> systemic human disease under conditions encountered in normal life,

> an unproven theory called " toxic mold " in the vernacular. The

weight

> of evidence to date, despite years of investigation, does not

support

> that it is and seems unlikely to shift with new findings. "

>

> Unfortunately, Dr. Guidotti fails to comprehend the objective of

> the WSJ article. It has little to do with scientific findings, and

a

> great deal to do with the perceived impression that the ACOEM is,

in

> effect, using perceivably contrived and distorted facts of " rat

> study " on " consensus-based acceptance " and not on sound scientific

> research. The ACOEM official position on molds and health is

> potentially full of alleged ethics violations, conflicts of

interest,

> and selective manipulation and promotion of flawed research

activity

> on a grand scale! This act threatens to destroy ACOEM's integrity,

> and gravely harm many victims of such exposures living and working

in

> unhealthy mold infested and contaminated homes, schools, and office

> buildings. For the president of the ACOEM to blatantly offer that

the

> science is not there to support current medical knowledge, is to

> claim absolute ignorance of the facts! The fact is that apparently

> the medical community has chosen to ignore the facts that hospital

> environments have been treating and recording for nearly 100 years.

> In highly " controlled " hospital environments there is enough

patient-

> monitored and recorded epidemiological evidence to support a

literal

> landslide of facts that some medically-important micro fungi

species

> are deadly.

>

> One has to question, where does disease caused by molds normally

> occur; in a hospital environment? The answer is " no! " People

normally

> go to hospitals because molds have gained enough strength

chemically

> to disrupt and begin decomposing a live cells one or more at a time

> after initial exposure in a home, school, or office environment.

> Medical doctors then send people to the hospital as a consequence

of

> diagnosing a disease that has reached a stage to where it needs

> special disease control protocol… normally. There are millions more

> people living in an uncontrolled fungal infested and contaminated

> home, school, office environment than are observed in a hospital

> allergen-free " controlled " environment.

>

> Doctors also seem to have trouble referencing the

> words " infestations " and " contaminants, " separately. Simply

> stated " infestations " represent the growth and binding into

colonies

> or life-forming groups (e.g., live-celled organisms) for the

purpose

> of strength, territorial gain, and species survival. Live-cell

> species can apply to anything from bees, bacteria, and molds to

fish

> and humans, among the many life-forms existing on

> earth. " Contaminants " are the chemicals that live, dying, or dead

> species release as a mechanism for defending their survival, or

> defeating their enemies after they have died. However, when people

> who are protecting their own interests, or are hired to protect the

> interests of others in American enterprise system observe molds, it

> is fairly easy to understand why they might want to advertise molds

> as " contaminants " instead of live-celled " infestations. " Bacteria

are

> not recognized as contaminants, and neither are viruses.

>

> Why would it be desirable to classify the Aspergillus,

Alternaria,

> Stachybotrys, and other live-celled, contaminate mycotoxin-

excreting

> molds as simply " contaminates, volatile organic compounds (VOC),

> airborne particulates? " Let spell it out like this. Molds and

> mycotoxins, unlike bacteria and viruses, are massively used in

> producing products that keep Americans working and products

selling.

> Molds and mycotoxins are used in the formulation of thousands of

> products for their odors, coloring, and taste (i.e., foods, drinks,

> etc.). Molds and their mycotoxins are used in the manufacture of

> alcohol, tobacco, and even cleaning and/or bleaching products.

Molds

> and the mycotoxins they excrete are used in everything from

medicines

> to natural supplements. In other words, there is a real beneficial

> purpose in the American economy for molds and yeasts as opposed to

> other competing microbes.

>

> The problem is that molds compete in nature with almost all other

> forms of live-celled life, and can remain dormant and live in

harmony

> until it is time to perform their natural decomposing tasks.

> Sometimes, these harmless-appearing ugly microbes found on blocks

of

> cheese and breads are far more deadly than we as humans, give them

> credit for. There is a good reason for the classification

> of " opportunists " that medical doctors refer to in identifying

molds

> and yeasts living within the human body!

>

> Even the infamous 107-yearold Merck Manual commonly used as a

> medical reference guide states as to Aspergillus (the most abundant

> micro fungi species on planet Earth, found indoors) and

> Aspergillosis, a respiratory disease it is specifically recognized

as

> causing: " Opportunistic infections caused by Aspergillus sp and

> inhaled as mold conidia, leading to hyphal growth and invasion of

> blood vessels, hemorrhagic necrosis, infarction, and potential

> dissemination to other sites in susceptible patients… Aspergillus

sp

> are among the most common environmental molds, found frequently in

> decaying vegetation (compost heaps), on insulating materials (in

> walls or ceilings around steel girders, in air conditioning or

> heating events, in operating…. " And the list on page 1222 of

Chapter

> 158, Section 13, goes on and on. And according to this same Merck

> Manual, 17 Edition, 8 of the 11 diseases presented are directly

> related to inhalation! So, either most medical doctors registered

as

> members of the ACOEM are unable to read, or something is wrong in

the

> philosophies endorsed by the ACOEM as a " college " of medical

> practitioners.

>

> Another question that begs an answer is why was the primary

author

> of the ACOEM Position Paper, Harding, PhD (a Principal of

> Veritox, Inc. (formerly GlobalTox, Inc.) principal author of the

> ACOEM Position Paper provided with a free membership in the ACOEM

in

> 2002? Prior to 2002, it is my understanding that all registered

> members of the ACOEM had to be medical doctors,

> exclusively.

>

> Recalling a recorded statement of Ruth Etzel PhD, M.D., in

parting

> ways with her prestigious position within the Centers for Disease

> Control as one of its most highly-respected medical researchers in

> Environmental Medicine, that, " The CDC has sought to bury the

> connection between mold and disease… " (Ref. Mark Moran, WebMed

> Medical News Interview. July 26th 2000. Titled: " Answers Prove

> Elusive in Mold-Linked Deaths " ) is extremely important! Why?

Because

> Dr. Etzel's statement offers a direct link to one of the

> primary " defense experts " of VeriTox, Inc., and ACOEM Position

Paper

> author Hardin, PhD., who it seems was a high-ranking official

> with NIOSH (with direct working connections with the CDC). Along

with

> Bruce Kelman, PhD, in conjunction with Saxon, M.D., of the

> UCLA Medical Center, Dr. Hardin authored the ACOEM's Position

Paper.

> Dr. Saxon's connection with government is that he receives grants

> from federal entities such as the National Institutes of Health,

> which the CDC falls under. To think that this activity is simply

> going to be put to rest without critical legal analysis is to be

> totally oblivious to potential civic and penal ramifications for

> dealing with such unorthodox activities.

>

> According to information on the VeriTox, Inc. website (a company

> with litigation experts known for their defense antics in providing

> expert testimony for the purpose of dissuading juries from

accepting

> the idea that exposures to indoor molds infestations and

contaminants

> lead to serious human health problems), Hardin, PhD, FATS, " …

> was commissioned into the US Public Health Service and began his

> public health career with the National Institute for Occupational

> Safety and Health (NIOSH) in 1972, where he served in research,

> policy, and management roles, culminating as Deputy Director of

NIOSH

> and Assistant Surgeon General in the Public Health Service. " To

say

> that Dr. Hardin does not have intimate connections at high levels

of

> government including the CDC, would be a gross misstatement. To

> believe that many of the medical doctors most influential in

> processing the ACOEM position paper do not also have similar

> political connections, would perhaps also fail a scrutiny test.

>

> Many Americans who are seriously ill have been putting their

faith

> in an American medical system that is failing them, and

unfortunately

> until there is a major change the mindset of the medical community

> the American Justice system has to step up to the plate and protect

> the health and safety of all its American citizenry.

>

> R. Haney, Maridea EnviroHealth Research & Consulting, Inc.,

> _Haney52@...

>

> PLEASE FEEL FREE TO OFFER ANY PHYSICIAN YOU COME IN CONTACT WITH AS

A

> PATIENT OR KNOW PERSONALLY, A COPY OF THIS IMPORTANT ARTICLE. D.

Haney

>