Studies Confirm Large Public Health and Economic Impact of Dampness and Mold

[Guest guest]

The article below written by co-author Fisk out of Berkeley

has been involved with the indoor environment for 25 years. I spoke

to him in the very early stages about my wife's condition, he seemed

to be very nice but also seemed to be afraid to eleborate the

effects of a contaminated building on ones health. Like he was

afraid to cross the line.

He also was interviewed for our story in Reader's Digest in

Novemeber of 04. This was their expert and the reason for not

mentioning in the article the serious human health affects of mold

exposure. I can not find anywhere, where he has the credentials of

MD or Ph.D. But I did find that he had worked for the Tobacco Task

Force. hmmmm, another conflict of interest.

I don't think professionals of his stature should comment on such a

broad scale to the general public and in the long run very

misleading. This just adds to the confusion for those that are not

educated concerning this condition within the general public.

I am tired of these so-called " experts " having their word taken

as " gospel " when they haven't spoken to the " general public " or even

the physicians who are treating this condition.

KC

......

Studies Confirm Large Public Health and Economic Impact of Dampness

and Mold

http://eetdnews.lbl.gov/nl26/eetd-nl26-2.html

EETD scientists estimate that number of asthma cases attributable to

exposure in home is 4.6 million, at $3.5 billion annual cost

Scientific studies show that mold in the walls and ceiling of homes

substantially raises the risk of a asthma and other respiratory

problems and adds $3.5 billion to the annual national health bill.

Photo credit: Mike McNickle.

A pair of studies published in the journal Indoor Air have

quantified the considerable public health risks and economic

consequences in the United States from building dampness and mold.

One paper by J. Fisk, Quanhong Lei-Gomez and Mark J.

Mendell, all with the Environmental Energy Technologies Division of

the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), concludes

that building dampness and mold raised the risk of a variety of

respiratory and asthma-related health outcomes by 30 to 50 percent.

" Our analysis does not prove that dampness and mold cause these

health effects, " says Fisk. " However, the consistent and relatively

strong associations of dampness with adverse health effects strongly

suggest causation by dampness-related [pollutant] exposures. "

The second paper, by Mudarri of the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) and Fisk uses results of the first paper

plus additional data on dampness prevalence to estimate that 21

percent of current asthma cases in the U.S. are attributable to

dampness and mold exposure.

" Of the 21.8 million people reported to have asthma in the U.S.,

approximately 4.6 million cases are estimated to be attributable to

dampness and mold exposure in the home, " says the study. In

addition, this paper estimates that " the national annual cost of

asthma that is attributable to dampness and mold exposure in the

home is $3.5 billion. " The paper also summarizes the considerable

evidence of adverse health effects from dampness and mold in offices

and schools, and suggests that exposure to dampness and mold in

those venues appear to have similar health impacts on those exposed.

Mudarri and Fisk suggest that " a significant community response " is

warranted given the size of the population affected and the large

economic costs. Preventative and corrective actions include:

better moisture control during the building's design;

moisture control practices during construction;

improved preventive maintenance of existing buildings to include a

comprehensive moisture control program including control of water

intrusions from outside, plumbing leaks, condensation and humidity

control, and other causes of moisture accumulation or mold growth.

J. Fisk, Acting Division Director of Berkeley Lab's

Environmental Energy Technologies Division, was head of EETD's

Indoor Environment Department when this study was conducted.

The Berkeley Lab paper provides quantitative estimates of the

increased risks of having current asthma, being diagnosed with

asthma, and having related health effects when people live in homes

with visible dampness or mold problems. These estimates are based on

a statistical analyses of a large number of previously published

studies, none of which by themselves are a suitable basis for

overall risk quantification.

The EPA paper's results are based on the analyses of studies of this

health issue cited in a 2004 report released by the Institute of

Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences and more recently

published studies. The IOM report, which is considered the current

consensus of the U.S. scientific community, concluded that excessive

indoor dampness is a public health problem but did not offer any

overall quantitative assessment.

Fisk is Acting Division Director of Berkeley Lab's Environmental

Energy Technologies Division. When writing these papers he was head

of the division's Indoor Environment Department. Mudarri was a

senior economist and research program manager in the Indoor

Environments Division at the U.S. EPA and has recently retired.

These studies are part of the Indoor Air Quality Scientific Findings

Resource Bank project, funded by the Indoor Environments Division,

Office of Radiation and Indoor Air of the EPA. The project is a

cooperative venture between EPA and Berkeley Lab to quantify the

health and productivity impacts of indoor air exposures and make

those data publicly accessible.

The papers are available from the web site of the Indoor Air Journal.

— Allan Chen

For more information, contact:

Bill Fisk

(510) 486-5910; Fax (510) 486-6658

WJFisk@...

For more about the research of Bill Fisk.

This research is supported by the Indoor Environments Division,

Office of Radiation and Indoor Air of the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency.

[Guest guest]

When the LBNL paper came out last summer, I made an effort to find it

online and I eventually did.

Its available for free, you don't have to pay for it. You just have to

look for it.

Google the authors names.