Good Morning,

This week's photo is of Stachybotrys spp. by Dennis Kunkel. Click here for gallery prints of this photo, unframed and framed, are available beginning at $27.95.

Hot tips on mold? Please let me know. Send information to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , Cynthia Coulter Mulvihihll, Esq Hyde Mulvihill APC 216 W. Foothill Boulevard Monrovia CA 91016.

"I have not seen a building with readings so high," Summers said. "I wouldn't live there." He has run tests in connection with a Pinellas County lawsuit brought by tenants who rented the three units.

Click here for: Lawsuits seize on new culprit: mold. Litigants blame mold for severe health problems. But it is uncertain how harmful the fungus really is. (St. Petersburg Times, FL - Sep 17, 2005)

According to Mike McDaniel of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, what they're seeing is what they expected. "We see elevated levels of bacterial contaminants, some hydrocarbon, and most everything else we're seeing - whether it's pesticide or metals - aren't giving us chief concern," he said.

Click here for: Bacteria biggest New Orleans water problem, mold next - Dr. Sue Bailey talks about the results of the latest water tests New Orleans (MSNBC - Sep 14, 2005)

Here are some things we learned.

• Check your insurance policy for flood insurance, dwelling, personal property, and loss of use (to cover rent, moving expenses, etc. while you are displaced). If you belong to a homeowners association, check your policy for coverage of maintenance fees (while displaced) and coverage of assessments resulting from a hurricane.
• Set up a system to keep every receipt and all info you get from here forward. You'll have lists of lists. Files of files. Piles of piles.
• Create a telephone log. Write down the date, agency, name and phone number/extension of the person you talked with, and what transpired. Why? Because if you have to call again, that's the first thing you'll be asked - and you always have to call again.

Click here for: Advice from hurricane survivors (SunHerald.com, MS - Sep 17, 2005)

The discrimination lawsuit alleges that after Gatsas was turned down for the job, she complained to the N.H. Commission for Human Rights about being the victim of gender discrimination. She alleges her superiors then retaliated against her by sticking her in mold-filled basement classrooms, knowing she had a mold allergy, and subjecting her to "rude and hostile behavior."

Click here for Manchester teacher alleges retailiation by mold (The Union Leader, NH - Sep 17, 2005)

Ultimately, however, the bare boards must be left to dry completely, which can require several weeks, before new walls go up.

Click here for: Getting rid of mold - Cleaning, drying will fix problem (SunHerald.com, MS - Sep 17, 2005)

Immunologist Gary Huffnagle and colleagues are the first to demonstrate in a mouse model that the disruption of beneficial intestinal bacteria by antibiotics allows yeast to take hold and flourish. They developed their mouse model specifically to study the relationship between antibiotic use and allergies. When mice inhale fungal spores known to trigger allergies in people, the allergic reaction is more potent in mice with an overgrowth of yeast in their guts.

Click here for: Overuse of Antibiotics as a Cause for Mold Problems (Food Consumer, IL - Sep 16, 2005)

RESULTS: Of 50 reference sera with IgE greater than 500 IU ml and positive against different mold extracts used in this study, significant elevation in IgG or IgE antibodies against S. chartarum extract was present in 25 and 21 specimens. Of these specimens 20 (80%) and 10 (40%) were positive for IgG anti- Stachybotrys hemolysin and anti-Stachyrase-A, while 8 out of 21 sera (38%) and 17 out of 21 (81%) specimens were positive for IgE anti-Stachybotrys hemolysin and anti-Stachyrase-A respectively. Inhibition studies using Stachybotrys hemolysin and Stachyrase-A at a concentration of 50 microg/ml prevented binding of anti-Stachybotrys to S. chartarum extract. CONCLUSIONS: Detection of IgG as well as IgE antibodies against Stachybotrys hemolysin and Stachyrase-A and inhibition of anti- Stachybotrys binding to Stachybotrys antigens indicate that Stachybotrys hemolysin and Stachyrase-A are two major antigenic components of S. chartarum extract, which can be used in antibody assays. Measurement of antibodies against these characteristic components of S. chartarum may be considered for demonstration of exposure and possibly allergy to the fungus.

Click here for Mold Education: Antibodies against Stachybotrys chartarum extract and its antigenic components, Stachyhemolysin and Stachyrase-A: a new clinical biomarker. (Vojdani A. - Immunosciences Lab, Inc, Beverly Hills, CA 90211, USA. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it )

Water trickling down from the hills behind the school most likely spawned the mold concentrations that reached up to four times the federally recommended limits in the building, officials have said. The discovery prompted school administrators to postpone the start of school for three days.

Click here for School Mold: Toxic wing of Tamalpais High School will be torn down and replaced (NapaNet Daily News, CA - Sep 17, 2005)

Three years earlier, the city of Hazleton closed the social room of the Pioneer Fire House because of mold and eventually moved apparatus from there to the enlarged Southside Station. Only snowplows are stored in the Pioneer now.

Click here for Court Mold: Annex employees prepare for move (Standard-Speaker, PA - Sep 15, 2005)

"When disaster strikes, there is a lot of work to be done, and many business owners may not know where to begin," said Steven D. Hernandez, senior vice president of Chubb & Son and worldwide loss control manager for Chubb Commercial Insurance. "Returning to work after a major disaster requires considerable thought. If business owners are not prepared for the potential risks, they could be creating a crisis within a crisis."

Click here for Mold & Insurance: Chubb Provides Businesses with Crisis Guidance and Resources - Chubb Provides Businesses with Crisis Guidance and Resources (PR Newswire, NY - Sep 16, 2005)

As the Category Four storm pulverizes the Crescent City with winds in excess of 120 mph and floodwaters spill over the levees from Lake Pontchartrain, most people are just looking to survive. When its residents resurface, they may be faced with the monumental task of having to rebuild their city, the price tag for which could easily leap into the billions of dollars.

Click here for Mold & Insurance: The Most Expensive States To Insure Your Home 2005 (Forbes - Sep 13, 2005)

Childers, 48, isn't sure where she got it or how long she's had it. "Was it your mother's? Was it your mother's?" asks her husband, James, softly. Katherine doesn't answer.

Click here for Mold & Insurance: Insurance adjusters tackle Katrina claims (USA Today - Sep 11, 2005)

The program qualified for one CE credit and covered forward looking infra-red technology and the cost saving benefits of identifying early water detection and validation of the drying process to prevent mold growth.

Click here for Mold Technology Seminar: Infrared Detection September 22, 2005 @ Lake of the Ozarks (1 Unit CE for Agents and Claims Reps)

Some of the nearby studs had a blackish coloring, a sign of building mold that if left untreated and sealed behind a wall could fester and cause thousands of dollars in dam-age for the homeowner later on, and perhaps even endanger his or her family’s health.

Click here for Mold & Technology: Foster 42-42 Sealant as a Mold Inhibitor During Construction (USA Today - Sep 11, 2005)

Witness the stock surge at Flir Systems (FLIR) after it was named one of the suppliers in a new contract with the Army. On July 29, the Army handed Bell Helicopter Textron a $3 billion contract to build 368 armed reconnaissance helicopters. Bell in turn placed an order for infrared imaging equipment from Flir.

Click here for Mold & Technology: Forward Looking Infrared Radar and Mold Detection (Investor's Business Daily - Sep 14, 2005)

As a result of the increase in work, which will initially involve removal of debris at many of the hurricane-affected locations prior to commencing restoration services, the Company today announced that it would discuss any impact on 2005 full-year guidance when it reports third quarter results for the period ended September 30, 2005 in early November. The Company previously expected to generate record 2005 full-year revenue of $57.0 to $61.0 million, EBITDA of $9.0 to $9.9 million, and fully-diluted earnings per share of $0.18 to $0.20

Click here for Mold Investments: Home Solutions' Subsidiary Signs Agreement to Mobilize Workers to Participate in Hurricane Clean Up Effort (PR Newswire, NY - Sep 15, 2005)

Sometimes the identification is relatively easy. When black stains appear in an unventilated, humid bathroom, the cause is probably mold. If the occupants are cigar smokers who never open their windows and burn candles every night, the stains are most likely soot. But home performance specialists are sometimes confronted by stains with no obvious cause and no simple cure.

Click here For Fun: Sampling Stains for Fun and Profit

Moisture Control is the key for microbial management. Moisture in buildings can be in the form of water vapor or as a liquid. The presence of moisture on the surface of building materials or inside structural components is the primary factor in sustaining microbial growth, which may lead to exposure to microbial emissions of spores and their metabolites, such as particle-containing mycotoxins and microbial Volatile organic compounds (mVOCs).

Click here for Mold Investigation: Clark Seif Clark, Inc.