Good Morning,

This week's BLOG is called Stachybotrys, Fusarium and Trichothecene Mycotoxins. Trichothecenes are a type of mycotoxin created by various kinds of mold, including the indoor mold Stachybotrys chartarum and several Fusarium spp.

This morning's photo is of aBed Bug, by Dennis Kunkel, from the www.astrographics.com website. Prints are available starting at $27.95

Hot tips on mold? Please e-mail them to Cynthia A. Coulter at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Supreme Court in Manhattan, alleges the employees fell ill in the building where "The O'Reilly Factor" and "At Large with Geraldo Rivera" are produced, as well as "Hannity and Colmes" and "Dayside." It seeks unspecified damages from Fox News and the building's management company.

Click here for Fox News Employees Sue Over Alleged Mold (Washington Post, United States - Jan 27, 2006)

The indictment alleges that Schongar's companies, Microb Phase Inc., Microb Phase Environmental and Air Tech Services (collectively referred to as "Microb Phase"), deceived the Easton, Manchester and Bristol school systems, all of which hired him for mold remediation services between 2001 and 2004.

Click here for Mold 'expert' indicted on new charges - A grand jury has indicted the man school officials have accused of fraudulent mold remediation work in the former Staples School building. (Easton Courier, CT - Jan 27, 2006)

The rooms were shut down by hospital officials la
The state health department also ordered the rooms shut Tuesday after it received both an anonymous complaint and a call from hospital administration, department spokeswomen Leah Brooks and Norma Arceo said. The anonymous complaint was about possible mold and that the two remaining delivery rooms at the hospital may not be properly licensed, Brooks said.

Click here for Anonymous call closes moldy delivery rooms in Murrieta, CA (North County Times, CA - Jan 27, 2006)

The three students who live in Bushnell apartment 216 are Adam Marcoux, junior class vice president, junior Josh Smith, and sophomore Marc Pellerin. "I was watching a movie when I heard a pop in the bathroom," said Marcoux. "The light fixture was on fire. I called Campus Safety and told them what happened and they said they would be right over."

Click here for Mold contributes to fire incident in Bushnell (Keene Equinox, NH - Jan 25, 2006)

By manipulating a single fungal protein, the team, led by professor of plant pathology and medical microbiology Nancy Keller, pinpointed the genes responsible for creating dozens of secondary metabolites, a class of compounds that make good drug candidates. Already, analysis of one subset of these genes has revealed that they encode proteins required to produce an anti-tumor agent.

Click here for Mining for gems in the fungal genome (Biology News Net, Canada - Jan 24, 2006)

Jones separates home pollutants into three basic categories, the first of which consists of small, airborne particles. Lint, dust mites, human skin, pet dander -- these toxins are more dangerous than they sound. Why? Their small size enables them to travel into the lungs, where they lodge themselves, too deep to be coughed up.

Click here for Unsafe home environments: How unseen toxins in your home can affect your family's health (Newstarget.com, Taiwan - Jan 23, 2006)

The researchers examined 36 children and 29 adults thought to have toxic mold syndrome. About half turned out to be allergic to molds.

"Our patients assumed that they were experiencing toxic mold syndrome when, in fact, most were experiencing [allergic] reactions to various antigens in their environment," Edmondson and colleagues write.

Click here for Mold Education: Allergy Major Cause of 'Toxic Mold Syndrome', But Many Cases of Mold-Linked Illness Not Allergy (WEBMD)

According to the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s Web site‚ a General Accounting Office report released in 1995 found more than 50 percent of schools have indoor air quality problems.

“It’s a growing problem that researchers have noticed‚” said Susan Brinchman‚ founder and executive director of The Center for School Mold Help‚ a California nonprofit organization.

Click here for School Mold: Growing problem - The recent discovery of mold and bacteria at West Broad Street Elementary School reveals that indoor air quality in public schools falls into a bit of a regulatory no-man’s land. (Lansdale Reporter, PA - Jan 24, 2006)

Court was held Thursday evening while a typed memo taped to the entrance said that court would soon move "due to repairs."

The most serious kind of mold, Stachybotris, was discovered in "very high levels" in the upper-floor room, near the offices of the Monticello police youth officer, according to a Dec. 6 inspection report by Anthony Hibbert of Perfect House Home Consultants.

Click here for Court Mold: Toxic mold present in New York Court (Times Herald-Record, NY - Jan 28, 2006)

• The insured building and its foundation.
• The electrical and plumbing systems.
• Central air conditioning equipment, furnaces, and water heaters.
• etc.

What is insured under personal property coverage:

• Personal items such as clothing, furniture, and electronics.
• Curtains.
• Portable and window air conditioners.

Click here for Mold & Insurance: Guidelines on Flood Insurance Coverage

The Asthma Initiative of Michigan (AIM) reports that asthma is a disease that affects the lungs and the airways that deliver air to the lungs. It causes periodic attacks of wheezing and difficult breathing. An asthma attack occurs when the airways become inflamed in response to a trigger, such as dust, mold, pets, exercise, or cold weather. However, some attacks start for no apparent reason.

Click here for Mold & Medicine: Asthma attacks: Preventable? (myDNA.com, TX - Jan 27, 2006)

For example, the thousands of homeowners who lost their homes in Hurricane Katrina and Rita due to flooding, but who didn't have flood insurance, will be able to deduct most of their losses on their income tax returns.

Click here for Mold & Taxes: Can you deduct for uninsured casualty losses? Last year, hurricanes, floods and other events caused millions of dollars of uninsured losses. (Miami Herald, FL - Jan 29, 2006)

PDSC announced an initiative, establishing distributorships and dealerships, domestic and international, for its patented and EPA-registered Spherequat product line, including the Medic-Kleen, RTU 2525-200 and the Spherequat 1000, 6400, and 8600. Once in place, PDSC believes the annual revenues for the distribution program products to be valued at $ 9,875,000.

Click here for Mold & Technology: EPA-registered Spherequat products remove Bacteria, Black Mold and Food Borne Illness Carriers from fresh produce. (Market Wire - Jan 27, 2006)

Recently, two Swiss women sued a swanky Manhattan hotel, where according to their lawyer “they were eaten alive” with bedbug bites over their torsos, arms, legs, cheeks, and necks. A Las Vegas motel’s bedbug infestation caused its closing for extermination while mattresses, curtains, and carpet were replaced. The National Pest Management Association reports a 500 percent increase in U.S. bedbug incidents in the last few years, and infestations have risen tenfold since 1996 in parts of London.

Click here for Mold & Technology: Bedbugs Eradicated by New Non-Chemical, Non-Toxic ThermaPure Treatment (The Open Press - Jan 23, 2006)

Ms. Mulvihill's confidential services include, depending on who she is retained by, and when:

• Analysis of property damage and personal injuries
• Conducting a property inspection
• Reviewing medical records
• Determination of the potential for a causal link between mycological issues and personal injuries
• Research of what needs to be done to prove -- or disprove -- property damage, personal injuries, and their causal links
• Determination what entity or entities might have caused property damage
• Reviewing insurance policies to determine if insurance coverage is available for the claims
• Determination what kind of expert or experts need to be retained to prove or disprove a case
• Preparation of expert witnesses for depositions
• Preparation of written discovery
• Preparation of attorneys for questioning of expert witnesses

Click here for Mold Professionals: Cynthia Coulter Mulvihill (Mold Litigation Consulting)

Here are some false stories:

Microwaving foods in plastic containers releases cancer-causing agents;

Life Savers Inventor's Daugther Died from "non-holed" mint;

The FBI's "Department for Illegal Internet Downloads" is sending out automated warning messages via e-mail.


and here are some true stories:

A flashing Instant Message is a sign that someone is trying to steal your password.

Baker & McKenzie Attorney Leaves Firm after E-mail Demanding Payment of Cleaning Bill

; Disneyland has stopped providing Special Assistance Passes to special needs guests.

The state of Missouri named a stretch of highway adopted by the Ku Klux Klan the "Rosa Parks Highway."

Click here For Fun: Snopes.com -- Find Out if that Internet Rumor is True!