Guest guest Posted January 18, 2002 Report Share Posted January 18, 2002 http://www.sacbee.com/content/business/story/1468899p-1366955c.html Two new laws attack ill effects of toxic mold Lesli A. Maxwell BEE CAPITOL BUREAU Published 1:55 p.m. PST Monday, Dec. 10, 2001 Discoveries of toxic mold in Valley courthouses, schools and a state prison in Corcoran have inspired tough new laws to regulate the slimy, greenish-black fungus blamed by some for causing breathing troubles, headaches and other ailments. Gov. signed the Toxic Mold Protection Act during the weekend, which directs state health officials to set exposure limits for homes, schools, businesses and other public buildings. also signed a second measure by Assembly Member Hannah Beth , D-Santa Barbara, that requires state officials to study the health effects of mold and report their findings to the Legislature by 2003. Both bills will take effect in January. hailed the legislation as setting the most stringent standards for toxic mold in the nation. The Toxic Mold Protection Act, written by Sen. Deborah Ortiz, D-Sacramento, directs the state Department of Health Services to set permissible exposure limits and requires real estate owners and landlords to disclose to sellers and tenants when mold limits exceed the standards that the state will set. Toxic mold first generated headlines in the Valley when Tulare County Superior Court Judge beth Krant took medical leave in January 2000 because of a multitude of symptoms she traced to a mound of stachybotrys mold discovered in her chambers at the Visalia courthouse. Stachybotrys grows in damp areas. It has been linked to coughing, wheezing, memory loss, runny nose, burning nose, eyes and throat, skin rash, diarrhea, fever, headache and fatigue. Dozens of courthouse workers followed in Krant's footsteps and took medical leave. Others filed worker compensation claims they linked to sickness caused by the courthouse mold. More than 100 employees also hired the same lawyer to sue Tulare County, claiming exposure to the mold caused rashes, headaches, breathing problems and memory loss. Krant also has sued the county over the matter. Both lawsuits are pending. Krant has since returned to the bench, hearing cases at a courthouse in Tulare. In September 2000, Clovis Unified School District officials shut down Buchanan High School for more than a week after discovering mold on the campus. Experts hired to test the mold determined that it was not the harmful variety. And news last spring that stachybotrys mold had been found at Addams Elementary School in Fresno upset teachers who said they had been complaining to administrators about the fungus since at least 1994. Stachybotrys also was found at Corcoran State Prison in the past year, prompting two employees to file claims saying they had been sickened by the patches of mold discovered in classrooms where inmates take computer and electronics repair courses. The reporter can be reached at lmaxwell@... or (916) 326-5541 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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