Re: Toxic mold causes family to become ill and drives them from

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Is there any way you can only send me the stories that pertain to toxic mold, and homes with toxic molds? If not, that is ok, just delete me from the list. thank you. ----- Original Message ----- From: Barbara Herskovitz Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2002 9:17 PM Sick Buildings Subject: [] Toxic mold causes family to become ill and drives them from their Inverness home http://news.mywebpal.com/partners/577/public/news253106.htmlHousehold of MoldToxic mold causes family to become ill and drives them from their Invernesshome02/13/02Jan WitherspoonThree years ago when Morelli bought a home for her family, she had noidea it would turn into a nightmare.Mold - toxic mold - is pervasive throughout the house and yard, an expertsays. The Morelli family had to leave their life and personal belongingsbehind when they left the house in September. The beds, television andclothes are still in the charming 1920s cottage in Inverness.Dr. Lipsey, a consulting toxicologist in ville, took samplesfrom the yard and house for testing."It looks like the situation in her back yard where the plumbing wasn'tinstalled properly caused a buildup of toxic mold and bacteria," Lipseysaid. "It invaded her home, and they had to move out. I took environmentalsamples and found high levels of pathogenic mold."Those molds, Lipsey said, attack mainly the immune and respiratory systems.The three children and Morelli all have a chronic cough. For 47-year-oldMorelli, the problems started with a rash on her hands, but it soon spreadto the rest of her body. Morelli, 13, missed 20 days of school thefirst year they lived in the house and since then she continues to missschool because of respiratory problems. Morelli, 11, also has healthproblems as well as Morelli's 27-year-old son.Morelli said the problems originated in the back yard where the plumbingfrom a washer in an outside shed drained toward the house and some of thewater remained standing under the house."The plumbing from the washer was illegally connected to the sewer system,"Morelli said. "It did this for maybe 15 years. It wasn't until the shed anddeck were removed that we found the problem."Although Morelli was given a clear title to her home and property. There wasa problem with the edge of the shed and deck encroaching on the neighbor'sproperty. According to city code, the shed and deck should have been 7½ feetaway from the property line.Morelli believes if the encroachment situation had been taken care of, herfamily's health would not be in jeopardy.The water from the washing machine drained and remained under a bedroom,which Morelli and her kids have dubbed the "black hole." She said it seemsto be the room that is the major source of their illness. Each family memberhad taken turns sleeping in that room during the past three years. But it isMorelli's son, Jimmie White, who slept in the room for the longest period oftime. Since then he has made several trips to the emergency room with chestpains. He too has a chronic cough."For the last three years I've been putting my kids to bed in this and didn't know it," she said.Lipsey discovered 15 different toxic molds on the premises of Morelli'shouse."Mycotoxin is a chemical produced by mold to kill other molds," Lipsey said."It protects the mold's territory, but it's many times more toxic than themold itself. Some of the mycotoxins can be hundreds of times more toxic thanthe mold itself."The level of mycotoxins found in blood tests on each family member is high,according to the test results."Her house is heavily contaminated," Lipsey said, "and not safe for herfamily. They have a significantly suppressed immune system."The symptoms that may be caused by a toxic level of molds in the bodyinclude any of the following: skin infections and flu symptoms, intermittentlocal hair loss, chronic fatigue, respiratory infections, malaise,suppressed immune system and pulmonary hemorrhage in infants.The Morelli family has seen doctors in Citrus County, Boca Raton and NewMexico. It took four months to get an appointment with a doctor in Arizona,who Morelli said is the only doctor who treats mold poisoning. The family'sappointment is next month, and they will have brain, lung and heart tests tosee what the mold has done.Lipsey is the only consulting toxicologist in the United States who has aPh.D. in mold poisoning. He serves as an expert witness in his field.To clean up a toxic-mold-infected area, Lipsey said whoever does it mustwear biohazard suits, rubber gloves and a high efficiency filter thatremoves irritants and allergens.Molds are common in the environment, Lipsey said, but not at the levelsfound in the Morelli home. He said he thinks the county health departmentshould probably get involved in this case."Their home needs remediation (decontamination)," Lipsey said. "Molds haveairborne spores and if it hits a dry, cool area, spores won't germinate. Butif there's leaks or moisture, you can get rapid reproduction."Lipsey has about 200 sick building cases he is handling currently and about40 percent are mold related. New buildings can also have cases of toxic moldif there is poor construction with cracks or pipe areas that are notcaulked.Improperly sealed windows can also be a source of mold buildup. Lack ofproper drainage and water buildup, lack of sunlight and a nutrient base likepaint or wallpaper can create a condition for mold buildup."If you suspect or visibly see molds - black molds are the worst - and ifeverybody in the house has upper respiratory problems, it wouldn't do anyharm to have the home tested," Lipsey said.FAIR USE NOTICE:This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. 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