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Monday Morning Mycology - November 28, 2005
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Monday Morning Mycology November 28, 2005
Mycology in the Media November 28, 2005
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Mycology Stories - from Cynthia A. Coulter (Mulvihill) of Hyde Mulvihill, APC
-- $750,000 Federal (9th Circuit) Mold suit ends in failure (Conroe Courier, TX - Nov 13, 2005)
-- Top Medical Group: Katrina Shows U.S. Public Health Care in Danger (ILCA Online, Washington D.C. - Nov 22, 2005)
-- Experts Sort Fact from Fiction on Health Effects of Mold (Newswise - Nov 8, 2005)
-- New Orleans Mold (Living on the Earth, MA - Nov 25, 2005)
-- Aspergillus Spread by Clothing (United Press International - Nov 15, 2005)
-- Finding the source of mold requires meticulous search (San Francisco Chronicle, United States - Nov 23, 2005)
-- Mold Education: Genetically Altered Aspergillus nidulans Used to Modify Plant Biological Processes (Checkbiotech.org, Switzerland - Nov 3, 2005)
-- School Mold: Teacher recounts Katrina's toll (St. Cloud Times, MN - Nov 23, 2005)
-- Court Mold: St. Lucie clerk building to be gutted for courtrooms - The $450,000 demolition work on the Fort Pierce building is expected to begin soon. (Fort Pierce Tribune, FL - Nov 26, 2005)
-- Mold & Insurance: Retroactive Flood Insurance? (Longview Daily News, WA - Nov 27, 2005)
-- Mold & Insurance: Higher Municipality ISO Rating Can Lower Homeowners' Insurance Costs (Waco Tribune Herald, TX - Nov 26, 2005)
-- New chlorine dioxide technique to remove mold (KATC, LA - Nov 22, 2005)
-- For Fun: Los Angeles Coroners' Website, 'Skeletons in the Closet'
-- Mold Seminars: PIA Hosts Seattle Mold/Moisture Management Summit Jan 12, 2006 (Insurance Journal - Nov 23, 2005)
-- Mold Professionals: Mold Litigation Consulting
-- Mold Professionals: Har-Bro
-- Mold Investigation: Clark Seif Clark, Inc.
Good Morning,
This week's photo is of Aspergillus nidulans, from the Australian Biotech website, www.biotech.at.
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. |
$750,000 Federal (9th Circuit) Mold suit ends in failure (Conroe Courier, TX - Nov 13, 2005)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Peggy Dentler and her husband Ronald moved into a home in Oak Ridge North at 26922 Maplewood in 1998 that previously had flood damage. After living in the home four months, it flooded. When filing their insurance claim, they discovered the home had flooded several times previously, Peggy Dentler said. The couple sued the previous owner for not disclosing the history.
For other commentary, see the Midwest Construction Law Blog, the ToxLaw.com Black Mold Chatboard, the North Houston Community Chatboard, and Homeowners for Better Building.
Click here for $750,000 Federal (9th Circuit) Mold suit ends in failure (Conroe Courier, TX - Nov 13, 2005) |
Top Medical Group: Katrina Shows U.S. Public Health Care in Danger (ILCA Online, Washington D.C. - Nov 22, 2005)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  WASHINGTON (PAI)–Hurricane Katrina shows the U.S. public health care system, which in the widest sense of the words is supposed to handle milllions of people in event of a calamity, is in great danger, a top medical group leader says. Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association and a former Maryland Secretary of Public Health, issued dire warning at a health care symposium sponsored by the AFL-CIO Department for Professional Employees on Nov. 9. And he challenged unions–and indeed the entire country–to do something about it.
Katrina’s devastation left millions of people homeless, jobless or both, literally wrecked Louisiana’s public hospital system, actually leveled at least one New Orleans hospital and left tens of thousands of residents of Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama without basic health care services and with few ways to get them.
Click here for Top Medical Group: Katrina Shows U.S. Public Health Care in Danger (ILCA Online, Washington D.C. - Nov 22, 2005) |
Experts Sort Fact from Fiction on Health Effects of Mold (Newswise - Nov 8, 2005)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Newswise — Distinguishing fact from fiction, leading experts gathered to discuss the most recent scientific evidence on health effects of mold at the Annual Meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) in Anaheim.
“Fungi, including molds, are spore-producing organisms that comprise some 25 percent of the earth’s biomass and function as decomposers of organic material,†said Richard W. Weber, National Jewish Medicine & Research Center in Denver. “Only about 80 of the 1.5 million species of fungi are known to be allergenic.
Click here for Experts Sort Fact from Fiction on Health Effects of Mold (Newswise - Nov 8, 2005) |
New Orleans Mold (Living on the Earth, MA - Nov 25, 2005)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, mold spore levels in many parts of New Orleans are two to four times normal levels. Despite government safety warnings, residents are being allowed back into parts of the city with unsafe mold contamination counts. Many locals are complaining of runny noses, sore throats and a persistent cough. Host Steve Curwood talks with Dr. Gina Solomon, senior scientist for NRDC, which conducted independent mold measurements, and Dr. Dick Jackson, former head of the Center for Environmental Health at the Centers for Disease Control.
Many people returning to New Orleans have reported sore throats, runny noses, and a nagging hack that has been coined the "Katrina cough." Some experts are linking the cough to extremely high levels of mold coming from the soggy wreckage left behind by the extensive flooding of the city. With city officials authorizing return to some areas the government is recommending that people use inexpensive face masks to keep from inhaling mold spores. But so far there have been no official counts of mold levels.
Click here for New Orleans Mold (Living on the Earth, MA - Nov 25, 2005) |
Aspergillus Spread by Clothing (United Press International - Nov 15, 2005)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Clothing worn by both visitors and patients in hospitals are a leading source of transmission of spores of Aspergillus fungus, a common fungus long known to pose a potentially deadly threat of infection in hospital patients with damaged or impaired immune systems.
Kay Obendorf, professor of textiles and apparel at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., said that by simply walking into a patient's room one can easily dislodge the spores from clothing.
Click here for Aspergillus Spread by Clothing (United Press International - Nov 15, 2005) |
Finding the source of mold requires meticulous search (San Francisco Chronicle, United States - Nov 23, 2005)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Mold thrives in damp places. Often, health experts say, ideal breeding grounds are the insides of walls and ceilings exposed to a recurrent source of moisture from a roof or plumbing leak.
So how do you know if you have mold in your house, and what do you do if you do? "Not all mold is the same, and different people respond to mold differently," said Dr. Eckhardt Johanning, an occupational and environmental physician with offices in Albany, N.Y., and Manhattan.
Click here for Finding the source of mold requires meticulous search (San Francisco Chronicle, United States - Nov 23, 2005) |
Mold Education: Genetically Altered Aspergillus nidulans Used to Modify Plant Biological Processes (Checkbiotech.org, Switzerland - Nov 3, 2005)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Transgenic technologies enable the generation of primary, protein, or secondary, metabolite or trait, gene products. When expressed constitutively some gene products are deleterious to general plant growth whilst others are unstable. These problems could be alleviated, with associated improvements in yield, by the use of gene switches.
Conditional gene expression systems allow a given gene to be turned on or off at will and, in the research lab, have become important tools for analyzing gene function. Outside the lab, gene switches also have great potential.
Click here for Mold Education: Genetically Altered Aspergillus nidulans Used to Modify Plant Biological Processes (Checkbiotech.org, Switzerland - Nov 3, 2005) |
School Mold: Teacher recounts Katrina's toll (St. Cloud Times, MN - Nov 23, 2005)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  When Natalie Persons flew to Minnesota on Monday and drove to St. Cloud to spend Thanksgiving with her family, she was struck by how clean the streets were.
No refrigerators or broken appliances line the curbs and no spray-paint marks were on buildings — all sights she's become accustomed to in New Orleans, where she lives.
Click here for School Mold: Teacher recounts Katrina's toll (St. Cloud Times, MN - Nov 23, 2005) |
Court Mold: St. Lucie clerk building to be gutted for courtrooms - The $450,000 demolition work on the Fort Pierce building is expected to begin soon. (Fort Pierce Tribune, FL - Nov 26, 2005)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  FORT PIERCE — For more than a year, the former clerk of courts building has been a vacant shell sitting next to the St. Lucie County Courthouse.
That's all about to change in the next few weeks, as crews begin removing asbestos, mold and other hazardous materials from the structure in preparation for turning the clerk's old home back into what it originally was: a courthouse. Although plans to build a new clerk of courts building have been stalled by litigation, the county is only one last commission vote away from giving the demolition company the go-ahead to gut the building.
Click here for Court Mold: St. Lucie clerk building to be gutted for courtrooms - The $450,000 demolition work on the Fort Pierce building is expected to begin soon. (Fort Pierce Tribune, FL - Nov 26, 2005) |
Mold & Insurance: Retroactive Flood Insurance? (Longview Daily News, WA - Nov 27, 2005)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Gov. Haley Barbour (R) has asked FEMA to let Gulf Coast area residents buy flood insurance retroactively if they pay 10 years of premiums, or about $3,000. But FEMA lacks the money even to pay existing claims. It is waiting for Congress to appropriate more.
Two weeks ago, FEMA officials began releasing guidelines that will require most coastal houses to be built on stilts. That is perhaps advisable in a hurricane zone, but it will add tens of thousands of dollars per house to construction costs.
Click here for Mold & Insurance: Retroactive Flood Insurance? (Longview Daily News, WA - Nov 27, 2005) |
Mold & Insurance: Higher Municipality ISO Rating Can Lower Homeowners' Insurance Costs (Waco Tribune Herald, TX - Nov 26, 2005)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  It's too easy to take fire departments for granted. Then something happens like Sept. 11, and everyone realizes how crucial it is to be ready for the unthinkable. And the fact is, Waco isn't. Waco's fire-fighting infrastructure is behind the times. One important area of town has no fire station at all. The fire-fighting force is stretched thin to staff additional fire stations that have been added to accommodate annexation.
Nine years ago Waco received an ISO rating of 4, with 1 being the best and 10 the worst. Johnston said boosting Waco's rating up a notch could save a typical homeowner between $15 and $45 a year on insurance. Johnston has listed about $2.7 million in improvements that could achieve such a bounce, including buying two new engine trucks and hiring six new engineers.
Click here for Mold & Insurance: Higher Municipality ISO Rating Can Lower Homeowners' Insurance Costs (Waco Tribune Herald, TX - Nov 26, 2005) |
New chlorine dioxide technique to remove mold (KATC, LA - Nov 22, 2005)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Getting rid of mold is a critical step for thousands of evacuees before they can move back into flooded out homes and businesses along Louisiana's coast. But, do you have to tear a place apart to get rid of the dangerous fungus?
"If you look down here you can see how the mold has taken over" New Orleans restaurant owner Bob Defelice thought he'd have to spend weeks ripping out walls and rebuilding to get rid of this mold. Then he heard about another option to sterilize his restaurant.
Click here for New chlorine dioxide technique to remove mold (KATC, LA - Nov 22, 2005) |
For Fun: Los Angeles Coroners' Website, 'Skeletons in the Closet'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Looking for a really unique Christmas present for someone who has it all? The Los Angeles County Coroner's on-line store, Skeletons in the Closet has it.
Shop here for towels with Body Outlines, a "Body Bag" that doubles as a suit travel bag, toe tag key chains . . . dedicated to "Those of us with dubious distinctive taste . . . "
Click here For Fun: Los Angeles Coroners' Website, 'Skeletons in the Closet' |
Mold Seminars: PIA Hosts Seattle Mold/Moisture Management Summit Jan 12, 2006 (Insurance Journal - Nov 23, 2005)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The PIA Western Alliance is hosting a summit on moisture management/mold control from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Jan. 12, 2006, at the Doubletree Suites Southcenter in Seattle. The goal is to build awareness and policies within the insurance industry, realtors, contractors and lenders that preventative steps can be taken to reduce their exposure to losses resulting from moisture damage, according to PIA.
PIA said the technology, when used to guide the moisture management evaluation, provides a understandable assessment of a property in terms of existing problems and identifies issues that -- if addressed immediately -- will normally not become a claim in the future. When builders implement this moisture management system, liabilities claims will decline and health claims associated with mold exposure can be reduced, PIA said.
Click here for Mold Seminars: PIA Hosts Seattle Mold/Moisture Management Summit Jan 12, 2006 (Insurance Journal - Nov 23, 2005) |
Mold Professionals: Mold Litigation Consulting
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Some people already know this, but if you don't, here it is. For quite some time, I have been acting as a mold litigation consultant on various matters. I consult with Plaintiffs and Claimants - or potential Plaintiffs and Claimants; Defendants and potential defendants; attorneys; and expert witnesses.
Depending on who retains me, and when, I will:
- Analyze a person's property damage and personal injuries
- Conduct a property inspection
- Review medical records
- Determine if there is a causal link between the property damage and personal injuries
- Research what needs to be done to prove -- or disprove -- the property damage, the personal injuries, and any causal link
- Determine what entity or entities might have caused property damage
- Review insurance policies to determine if insurance coverage is available for the claims
- Determine what kind of experts need to be retained to prove or disprove a case
- Provide referrals to experts
- Prepare expert witnesses for depositions
- Prepare written discovery
- Prepare attorneys for questioning of expert witnesses
Keep in mind that in doing this, I am retained as an attorney. What I do is attorney-client and attorney work-product privileged.
Click here for Mold Professionals: Mold Litigation Consulting |
Mold Professionals: Har-Bro
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ HAR-BRO is the largest and most experienced disaster restoration company in California and Nevada. With seven offices strategically located in Southern and Northern California, Nevada and Arizona. HAR-BRO can respond immediately to any disaster with the appropriate, experienced personnel, state-of-the-art equipment and materials. More than 200 experienced employees are dedicated to the company’s number one goal: Customer Satisfaction.
Har-Bro work around the clock to be there when you need us. For emergency services, take comfort in knowing that you can rely on HAR-BRO.
Click here for Mold Professionals: Har-Bro |
Mold Investigation: Clark Seif Clark, Inc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  CSC, Inc. is an environmental consulting firm headquartered in Chatsworth CA with a staff of engineers, geologists, certified industrial hygienists and other technically-trained professionals has investigated and managed hundreds of sites. We have a full understanding of the requirements outlined in CERCLA, RCRA, NEPA, TSCA, AHERA and HUD, as well as other federal, state and local environmental regulations.
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. |
Monday Morning Mold Archives
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