The Center for School Mold Help

Yesterday, Liberty, NY disabled teacher, Angela Page, whose personal school mold testimony appears on The Center for School Mold Help (SMH) website, appeared before the NY State Toxic Mold Task Force, given limited time for public input, following a several hour drive to get there.

Watch the video of her NYS task force testimony, and read her testimony, below. We applaud Angela, who has worked with SMH for four years to bring attention to the problem of mold in schools, despite severe health problems that include Multiple Chemical Sensitivities. (SMH)

(NYSUT Photo) 

Mold-Sick Teacher presents at New York State Toxic Mold Task Force Meeting 

Video:
Angela presenting before the NYS Mold Task Force Meeting, April 22, 2008 Angela begins by identifying her four main doctors in her path to healing after serving over 13 years in a leaking library. She ends with five points for change.

Full version of the video:

Click to view video of her speech: http://pagewebberink.com/~angie/videos/MoldTaskForceVideoApril22-150.wmv (13.8 Megs)
 

YouTube version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYYrY0QkFIA

----------------------------- 

Text of Angela's speech to the NY State Toxic Mold Task Force:

April 21, 2008
Presented to New York State’s Mold Task Force

I am here today as someone who was poisoned by a damp moldy school.  I was a School Librarian.

I worked 13 years in a toxic environment with constant water infiltration. For over five of those years, I worked without ceiling tiles, as custodians were tired of replacing them.

In the spring of 2004 I began fainting at work. After 13 years of promises that leaking would stop, the school custodians attempted “renovations”. They tore up the often-wet carpeting and carried out particleboard shelving and 14,000 books. They used no negative air machines and no containment. They put down tile and then brought back the same shelving and books that had been in the room all those years.

Following the “renovations” I worked 7 am-9 pm for roughly two weeks trying to put 14,000 books back in order virtually by myself. This plunged my already poor health into a severe downturn. Those last months of that school year I was constantly coughing, had difficulty focusing, had numbness in extremities, dizziness, and finally my body collapsed.

The Workers Comp Courts, including the appellate division upon appeals, found me disabled due to “occupational presence of fungi.” I have gone from an involved parent and community member, to almost a recluse.

Now I suffer from multiple organ chemical intolerance and I cannot process petroleum byproducts nor chemical synthetic fragrances; and this room is loaded with both.

I used to enjoy fun times up close with my children and my partner John, as the photos indicate. I used to work at the Sullivan county community college on night shifts once a week. I attended family reunions, weddings, and school functions for my kids, was in equity theatre productions, sang in area clubs, introduced nationwide musical acts in huge outdoor festivals.

Now I am pretty much housebound. When I got ill my partner and my tenth-grader moved out.   When my family comes to see me, in order to maintain the best health, they put on clothing I’ve washed and cover their hair to avoid my lung pains from breathing in the petrochemicals and synthetic fragrances, as in the photo. My kids leave clothing with me that I wash, as theirs is coated in the dryer sheet chemicals from their dorm laundries.

I have dropped my two girls now at Columbia and Syracuse University from my health plan. My salary was $84,000 a year, now I get $400 a week. On that $1600 a month, I cannot afford to pay the $1200 family health premium, so I only pay $600. My health bills are so high I cannot afford to drop myself

I come here today at great physical and financial cost. I do it to give you a visual to a life totally altered by unabated mold infiltrations over many years. I am the victim of negligence, greed and  ignorance. My current condition was preventable brought on by a series of mistakes. 

I don’t know who chose you for this panel, but I do hope you don’t feel overqualified to ignore the stories of those of us coping with this illness daily. This is only a tiny peek into the life I’ve lived for years, totally ruined by mold.


The first mistake that occurred in my downfall was the school design. My school was built with a flat roof, on a wetland, and into a hill. The back wall was buried 14 feet deep and seeped water on the first floor. The library was partially under a greenhouse, which created humidity and random leaking down structural posts. There was a skylight that leaked. Architects, who were called in later, found that the flashing on the library roof was put in backwards. In short, the design was faulty.

Workers quit as the building site kept taking on water. The week before the school opened, board minutes quoted the superintendent as saying that the library was leaking. But the brand new school, already leaking, opened anyway in the fall of 1991. This was their second mistake.

Spackle buckets were placed under leaks and above ceiling tiles. These would overflow over the next 13 years. The head custodian stayed for almost 10 years but left with multiple myeloma. He gave me a master key to the school to come in on weekends to dump buckets if there was substantial rain. The particleboard shelving began to buckle. It was bolted into place where it would no longer fit.

When NIOSH finally came, 13 years after my library opened, and after I had left due to illness, the same spackle buckets were in the ceiling. The negative health assessment by NIOSH is on their website still today, complete with some pictures.

But – so what?

NIOSH has no clout. There was no penalty to the school district that neglected to maintain a safe working environment for me. Not only were they not penalized; they were actually rewarded, as my replacement is making $30,000 a year less than I would be making now.  Mold exposure should not be an inventive way of skimming off the most experienced and higher paid employees of any work force.

Here is the bible for mold abatement. [ACGIH’s Bioaerosols: assessment and control.]
 Here is what section 15.5 says about judging proper remediation effectiveness.
“ Ultimate criterion for the adequacy of abatement efforts for treating biological contamination is the ability for people to occupy or re-occupy the space without health complaints or physical discomfort”

No health assessments were done, ever. There were no preventative mechanisms in place and there has been no accountability. Period.

Although I must accommodate myself in all facets of daily life in this new physical condition I have, my employer would not accommodate me.  They expected me to occupy the library space and because I could not without accommodations I was fired.

In the past four years of court hearing delays due to constant appeals of my wins, I have lived over 11 months, twice now, with NO income. Nothing. How long would you last?

I have an exposure driven illness. The only way I don’t suffer is to control my environment. It is no surprise that I have lived mostly housebound for over three years.

I stand before you with a drastic life change, on public assistance and hoping to get disability now to pay bills, instead of being the productive worker in society that I was.



THERE WILL BE NO CHANGE UNTIL:

1.    There are regulations and fines for schools regarding safe breathing conditions. Children are mandated to go to school yet no one is mandated to make sure that they are breathing safely. They breathe much faster that we do, and have growing organs. The tools for schools kits are like a protective order for an abused wife. Schools with budget restraints are not going to voluntarily spend any money without mandates, inspectors or lawsuits. There is no change without a fiscal threat.

2.    Laws begin to protect workers and not the employers.

3.     Industrial hygienists should be bound professionally to give the best assessment possible and speak directly to those affected, following AGCIH’s rule of proper abatement, and not just disappear with school cover-up money.

4.     Experts need to study affects of mycotoxins, and if not directly testing for these, using intelligent analytical basis for determining probable exposures. This goes beyond sinus infections and watery eyes, to toxic poisoning. Systemic toxic poisoning weakening the blood brain barrier etc.

5.     Doctors need to admit they have little training in this area and be willing to read and retrain, to listen to mold victims, to document and begin to learn about the existing body of knowledge on these exposures. 


Angela Page
Liberty, NY 12754
LibertySchoolMold.com
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Read the statements by The Center for School Mold Help and Dr. Raymond Singer, sent to Gregg Recer, of the NY State Dept of Health, Bureau of Toxic Substance Assessment, Center for Environmental Health, to enter into the public record and provide to the NY State Toxic Mold Task Force.  The NYS Toxic Mold Task Force will convene early on Tues., April 22nd, for their second meeting.  

Dear Members of the New York State Toxic Mold Task Force,

I am writing to you as the Director and Founder of The Center for School Mold Help, an educational, national, 501c3 nonprofit, to ask that you investigate and make strong recommendations to the NY State legislature regarding the need to ensure healthy, dry, and non-toxic school environments. Our nonprofit, established in 2004, informs the public about the effects of mold in schools, through an informational website located at www.schoolmoldhelp.org.

We are very pleased that the New York State Toxic Mold Task Force has been established and would like to bring to your attention the urgent state and national health crisis fueled by unprecedented, excessive dampness in schools. This is a new and growing problem that begs for the application of one of the basic concepts of the Precautionary Principle, “a willingness to take action in advance of scientific proof [or] evidence of the need for the proposed action on the grounds that further delay will prove ultimately most costly to society and nature, and, in the longer term, selfish and unfair to future generations” [1]. We need strict government oversight and regulations, as we have in place for other types of public health threats.

The very unfortunate case of Angela Page, of Liberty, New York, a school librarian and teacher, poisoned and profoundly disabled by toxic mold in the leaky middle school where she worked, is just a small part of the extensive injustices and health threats that are underway with our current misunderstanding of the impact of fungi on health.[2][3] Our building and maintenance practices have encouraged the growth of mold in our residences, schools, and commercial buildings, increasingly, for over 60 years. The energy efficiency attempts of the 70’s, incorporated into our building designs have led to disastrous health effects, with very poor ventilation and trapping of moisture. The average school was built in that period and is at a point of decay, and along with the tightly-built newer schools, results in many unhealthy campuses. Schools are most heavily impacted, as they are, additionally, sited on wetlands, built and designed poorly, and not maintained properly. Government reviews of our aging school buildings show a very high number have leaks and indoor air quality problems (50%).[4][5][6]

 At The Center for School Mold Help, we find at least several schools per day, nationwide, that emerge in media articles due to mold problems. Some days produce 5-10.[7] Each school impacts  thousands of citizens and students throughout their region. This is the tip of the iceberg, as many moldy, damp schools take years to emerge in the media and some never do. 20% of the American population occupies schools each week as students or staff, cycling through the entire population over time.[8] The unhealthy condition of these buildings, the lack of requirements that these be healthy environments, and the lack of help for those trapped in unhealthy schools is appalling and must be addressed. These schools are the vectors of disease for millions[9][10], ultimately, with no resort for those inside. Leaving this problem to the local school boards, school districts, towns, and even many state and federal authorities hasn’t worked, to date, and cannot work, at the local level. I know we, collectively, can do better.

The state of the science on fungi and health is such that clear associations can now be made with the exposure to toxin-producing fungi and a multitude of severe health problems, including those that impact the respiratory and immune systems, brain and learning, in previously healthy children and adults.[11][12] Due to the emergence of these unprecedented environmental problems in our buildings, we find ourselves in great need of strong government leadership in addressing these preventable health threats. At this writing, the public, most health authorities, our physicians and medical personnel remain grossly uninformed about the known effects of damp buildings and mold on health, with millions sickened through everyday, preventable exposures they and their physicians do not recognize or understand. Misinformation abounds, that does not reflect even what is known, with most of it traced to myths or financial conflicts of interest, compounding the problem, even at the healthcare and government levels.

The bulk of the most revealing research has been conducted in the past five years. The Mold Research and Sick Building Symptoms pages on www.schoolmoldhelp.org, list hundreds of studies (a mere sampling of those that now exist) that support the devastating impact of mold on health. We have sought out and are in contact with premiere researchers in fungi and Sick Building Syndrome, who can shed light directly on the impact of mold on previously healthy children and adults. We have enough research and information to ask that our health authorities and legislatures, on an urgent basis, take very strong action to protect the public health with regard to prevention of excessive dampness in our schools and other buildings, while recognizing and proactively educating the public and health providers on the health impacts of damp buildings.

An alarming, recent development, related to the lack of regulation in remediation techniques and school environmental exposures, has been the use of registered pesticides, bleach, ozone, and enzymes, heavily promoted as cheap solutions to school mold. School districts can do as they wish, it seems, with regard to mold problems. Our children and school workers, as a result, are increasingly exposed to thousands of chemical concoctions that do not solve the overall dampness and/or school mold problem but these can and do often sicken the occupants.  Some companies that promote these even encourage the fogging of the building with their touted “non-toxic” solutions, covering every square inch inside the rooms and walls with chemicals that have no proof of long-term or short-term safety for the occupants. Unsuspecting school occupants, with fragile immune systems, already sickened by their damp schools, are then subjected to these solutions and pesticides, often compounding their illnesses. Federal government guidelines on how to remediate school buildings are ignored in these cases, as there is no mandate. The source of the moisture is very often not identified or corrected and the contamination is not removed, with the toxins and soggy materials left in the building.

I expect you will be contacted by a myriad of concerned scientists, citizens, and activists on the mold issue. Millions of people have been harmed and find themselves confused and outraged that they are not protected by public health authorities, yet frequently lose their health, jobs, homes, and health insurance with no assistance, while experiencing a very uncomfortable syndrome with scores of alarming symptoms and a much higher mortality rate. They are desperate for answers and help. School dampness, with its toxin-producing molds, bacteria and associated unhealthy conditions is impacting students’ ability to learn, enjoy lifetime health, and become independent and productive. This, in turn, severely impacts the economy and productivity of the entire region and ultimately, the state and nation. The association between dampness, mold and health is clearly established, as is its impact on our economy. [13]

As Global Warming scientists continue to predict more severe storms and flooding in the coming decades, we must be prepared for conditions to worsen in our buildings and become proactive, to prevent the public health impacts from worsening. With mandated changes in building siting, design and practices, this can be accomplished.

Perhaps this Toxic Mold Task Force might usher in the watershed moment for recognizing and publicizing the known dangers of mold exposure for infants, children and adults and its documented impact on the economy. The task force would then provide informed recommendations to the legislature that might assist health authorities, physicians and medical personnel to utilize the state of the science (2008) regarding toxin-producing fungi and health. This can then lead directly to aggressive, mandated prevention and science-based correction of damp, unhealthy buildings, with provision of appropriate medical and other types of comparable assistance, so state and federal policy and laws may develop that will truly and pro-actively protect the public health and welfare from this widespread and growing threat.

Then, perhaps, the turning of the tide might begin, whereupon New York State might provide this urgently-needed public health protection, addressing and preventing these devastating damp building health effects that are damaging the health of its citizens and its economy. A healthy citizenry with a good education, provided in healthy buildings, will make New York and the nation stronger. Without these, both will decline. 

Sincerely,

Susan Brinchman
Founder and Executive Director,
The Center for School Mold Help
P.O. Box 3422
La Mesa, CA 91944-3422 
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www.schoolmoldhelp.org  

Letter from Dr. Ray Singer to the New York State Toxic Mold Task Force, April, 2008:

Dear Gregory Recer, NY State Health Dept., Bureau of Toxic Substance Assessment,
 
I am a nationally recognized expert regarding mold neurotoxicity.  I am Board-certified in neuropsychology by the American Board of Professional Neuropsychology, With Added Qualifications in Forensic Neuropsychology.  I am a full member of the Society of Toxicology and the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology.  I have testified in court regarding mold neurotoxicity.  I am a licensed psychologist in New York state.
 
The toxic products of repeated water intrusion include mold and other substances, which I will refer to as mold in this letter.
 
Similar to many other neurotoxic substance, mold is an insidious, occult [hidden] poison. Being mold poisoned is not like being hit by a truck, as there may be little external signs of poisoning.  However, brain damage and neuropsychological decline from mold poisoning is similar to brain-damage resulting from being hit by a truck.  The brain is very sensitive to the effects of poisons, as it is an exquisitely tuned biochemical living machine.
 
Unfortunately, there are a number of public schools with mold problems, ultimately degrading the state's intellectual capacity.  Also unfortunately, most doctors and psychologists have little or no training in neurotoxicology and the identification of neurotoxicity.  As was the case before bacterial causes of disease were discovered, and before allergy incitants were discovered, people suffering with neurotoxicity rarely get properly diagnosed, and instead may be ridiculed as being hypochondriacs.
 
The following shows some of my work since 2001 regarding mold neurotoxicology:
 
Singer, R. (2005). Clinical evaluation of suspected mold neurotoxicity. Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Bioaerosols, Fungi, Bacteria, Mycotoxins and Human Health, Albany, New York: Boyd Printing.

Singer, R. and Gray, M. (2007). Neuropsychological evaluation of a practicing physician with mold exposure. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, Volume 22, Issue 7, September, p 892.

Singer, R. (2005). Forensic evaluation of a mold (repeated water intrusions) neurotoxicity case. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, Volume 20, Issue 7, p. 808. Selected for Forensic Grand Rounds, Forensic Evaluation of a Mold (Repeated Water Intrusions) Neurotoxicity Case. National Academy of Neuropsychology, 25th Annual Meeting, Tampa, Florida, October 22, 2005.

Forensic Evaluation of a Mold (Repeated Water Intrusions) Neurotoxicity Case. Third Annual Mold Conference: Mold, Mycotoxins, and the Current State of Science. Hosted by Medical Center for Immune and Toxic Disorders. The Woodlands, Texas, April 1st, 2006.

Junk Science, Manufactured Doubt, and Disinformation versus Science in Litigation. Instructor, Summer Meeting of the Roundtable of Toxicology Consultants (a sub-group of members of the Society of Toxicology), Gaithersburg, MD, August 27th, 2005.

Clinical and Forensic Mold Neurotoxicity Case Report. Second Mold Conference. Hosted by Immunosciences Lab., Inc., Beverly Hills, California, October 16, 2004.

Forensic Evaluation of Mold Neuropsychological Toxicology. 20th Annual Symposium of the American College of Forensic Psychology, April 1-4, 2004, San Francisco.

Forensic Evaluation of Mold Neurotoxicity. Speaker, Environmental Issues of the 21st Century. American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants, Greater Sacramento Area Chapter, October 20, 2001, Sacramento, California.

Note that I have done some studies of manufactured scientific doubt.  Because mold poisoning is occult; poorly studied by most doctors and psychologists, therefore rarely diagnosed; highly damaging; and can result in personal injury lawsuits, scientific spokespeople become available who manufacture doubt concerning the existence of mold neurotoxicity.  This can be confusing to the layperson who assumes that scientists are objective and reliable.
 
It would be easy for the task force to shirk its duty to the citizens of New York and kowtow to the economic and academic status quo, members of which may be more interested in protecting their own turf than in actual scientific truth and the public welfare.  I urge the task force to truly consider the paramount importance of the neuropsychological health of its citizens, and employ scientists and doctors familiar with mold neurotoxicity to assist in your making processes.
 
Thank you for considering my sentiments and opinions.

--
Raymond Singer, Ph.D.
Forensic Neuropsychologist and Neurotoxicologist
Board Certified, American Board of Professional Neuropsychology, with Added Forensic Qualifications
Member, Society of Toxicology, American Academy of Clinical Toxicology
Member, American Industrial Hygiene Association
www.neurotox.com
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(505) 466-1100 

 (reproduced on the SMH website, with permission of Dr. Singer)
 

Yet, the CA Research Bureau did find this, to their credit:

"All authorities, including those who question the evidence for health damage from exposure to mold and to water-damaged environments, recommend avoidance of such environments, correction of the causes, and remediation of indoor mold and other microbial growth."(Umbach and Davis, CA Research Bureau, 2006)

Indoor Mold: A General Guide to Health Effects, Prevention, and Remediation. Report in Response to A.B. 284, Chapter 550, Statutes of 2001. -- PDF version Part 1 of 1(971kb) is available online