Good Morning,

This week's photo is of a Fusarium spp. culture from the Bio-imaging and Sensing Center of the North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota.

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

Dear A.K.: If ever there were a fungus that fit the saying "there's a fungus among us," it has to be Aspergillus. It's everywhere -- in decaying vegetation, in soil, in food, in water and in the air. No one on planet Earth escapes contact with it. However, it causes trouble only in a very few.

Click here for Fungus leads to coughing up blood (Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL - Feb 8, 2006)

Their lawsuit against the two Realtors involved in the sale of the allegedly mold-infested duplex and the realty firms they work for will go before a 10- to 14- person Lowell Superior Court jury on that date, said Nancy Davis.

Click here for Nancy Davis Follow Up: Mold house survivors to get their day in court on April 5 (Nashua Free Press - Feb 3, 2006)

For more than a decade, scientists have been trying to determine the cause of the surge of infants born with damaged or missing brains. No chemical links to the affected babies were ever proven.

Click here for Corn Mold Toxin (Fumonisins) Linked to Birth Defects (HealthCentral.com - Feb 9, 2006)

Greta Schuster, Texas Cooperative Extension plant pathologist, explained the situation at the High Plains Grain Elevator workshop here.

Click here for Aflatoxin, Fumonisins Awareness Helps Prevent Future Problems (AgNews, TX - Jan 24, 2006)

Black mold is a heavy producer of mycotoxins (toxins created by a fungus). These mycotoxins cause a wide range of symptoms from headaches to flu-like symptoms, and chronic illnesses. The mycotoxins created by black mold are numerous, but fall into 3 main categories: Macrocyclic Trichothecenes, which inhibit protein synthesis; Phenylspirodrimanes and Cyclsporine, which are strong immunosuppressive agents; and Stachylysin, which can lyse erythrocytes (destroy red blood cells). With all three groups present there is little wonder why mycotoxicosis (mycotoxin poisoning) caused by black mold can lead to severe degradation in human health.

Click here for Mold and Illness (DailyIndia.com, NY - Feb 8, 2006)

After adjusting for confounders, moderate (301-400) compared with low (¡Ü 100) consumption of tortillas during the first trimester was associated with increased odds ratios (ORs) of having an NTD- affected pregnancy (OR = 2.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-5.3). No increased risks were observed at intakes higher than 400 tortillas (OR = 0.8 for 401- 800, OR = 1.0 for > 800). Based on the postpartum sa:so ratio, increasing levels of fumonisin exposure were associated with increasing ORs for NTD occurrences, except for the highest exposure category (sa:so > 0.35). Our findings suggest that fumonisin exposure increases the risk of NTD, proportionate to dose, up to a threshold level, at which point fetal death may be more likely to occur. These results also call for population studies that can more directly measure individual fumonisin intakes and assess effects on the developing embryo. Key words: case-control study, corn, fumonisins, Mexican Americans, mycotoxins, neural tube defects. Environ Health Perspect 114:237-241 (2006).

Click here for Mold Education: Exposure to Fumonisins and the Occurrence of Neural Tube Defects along the Texas-Mexico Border (Environmental Health Perspectives Volume 114, Number 2, February 2006)

An audience of about 50 listened as they said this at Monday night's school board meeting, but many in the crowd viewed the report - ostensibly good news - with suspicion.

Click here for School Mold: Liberty, NY school mold problem not severe, experts say (Times Herald-Record, NY - Feb 15, 2006)

Hilton is scheduled to appear in state court today to seek approval of a settlement with the Erection Co. Inc., which was involved in the construction of the tower, including steel construction in the stairwells.

Click here for Mold Litigation: Settlement reached in Hilton mold suit - Hilton is settling with one of the builders of the Kalia Tower

The Tudor-revival style Tower Building is a Riverside landmark, receiving that designation from the village’s board of trustees in 1993.

Click here for Mold & Litigation: Riverside sues to clean up building - Arcade Antiques flood at root of controversy (Riverside Brookfield Landmark, IL - Feb 14, 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? (Miami Herald, FL - Jan 29, 2006)

"Insurers don't mind risk as long as they can predict it," he pointed out. "The thing about mold is it's been very unpredictable . . . We give (insurers) the stability in the market."

Click here for Mold Certification: SPECIAL REPORT: New Certification Aims to Reduce Risk from Mold (Commercial Property News - Feb 6, 2006)

No Burn of California, based in Rowland Heights, offers fire and mold retardants that deprive wood from igniting and keep mold from getting the food it needs to grow. The company has a line of products that can be sprayed onto the wood during the framing phase of new construction or renovation. There also are products that may be applied to drywall or other surfaces that can accept paint.

Click here for Mold, Technology & Investment: Chase Home Finance Teams with Safety Experts to Offer Incentive-Based Home Developer Loan Programs for Builders Using Mold Retardents (RisMedia.com, CT - Feb 2, 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)