Building Mold Dispute

The following news story makes me think of the Department of Motor Vehicles building we talked about recently on this blog. The issue here is a Social Security Administration office in Rapid City, South Dakota. According to the Rapid City Journal,

An air quality study of the building at 605 Main St., conducted after second-floor employees there expressed health concerns, found evidence of mold in the basement and frayed fiberglass insulation in the air ducts.

Workers from the Social Security Administration office in the building say their managers have not taken their concerns seriously. They have written a letter they plan to send to the state's Congressional delegation seeking help.

"Throughout the past two months the employees of the Rapid City Social Security office have voiced major concerns regarding the air quality in our building due to the chronic symptoms that arise when entering the building and dissipate upon leaving work," the letter says.

The employees say they are concerned for their own health and for the health of the approximately 130 clients who come into their office daily.

The study does not reach a conclusion about the cause of the workers' symptoms, however, saying "minimal air movement" between the basement and the Social Security Administration office via stairwells and an elevator shaft "indicated that the basement was not the most probable source of the symptoms," the report said. "The presence of the mold cannot be eliminated as a source of the complaints based on these observations, however."

Nine of 20 Social Security employees discussed health symptoms with the Federal Occupational Health office during the office's July 15 inspection, according to the report dated Aug. 3. Of those, six reported itchy, watery or dry eyes, seven reported sneezing and six reported nasal or sinus congestion. In their letter to the elected officials, the employees say the symptoms are so severe some have had to use personal sick leave.

The letter continues: "It is extremely disheartening that this letter and these steps have to be taken. However, the concerns of the employees are obviously not reciprocated by SSA management, as they persistently do nothing, providing no plans or updates, and continue to knowingly and negligently endanger the health of all employees and public clients."

For more on this story, click here.

Chemical-Free Laundry Option

We've started using a non-toxic laundry detergent that is 100% chemical-free. We've done fine with the fragrance-free/non-toxic options like 7th Generation, so I didn't feel pressed to try anything different. But when I read about a nut that transforms into laundry detergent, I just had to try it!

Soap nuts have been around for centuries. According to the website Green Virgin Products, "Soap Nuts are the fruit of the Chinese Soap Berry Tree. These amazing berries are harvested and then dried in the sun. No chemicals of any kind are added to our soap nuts. Laundry detergent with heavy chemicals is replaced with something all natural and totally organic. The soap nut contains a natural soap called saponin. Saponin has cleaning abilities equal to toxic chemical detergents. Soap Nuts are extremely hypo-allergenic and can be used by people who are allergic to all other detergents. They are completely green and don't pollute our planet. Soap Nuts go by many names, such as soap berries, wash berries, wash nuts, Ritha, Reetha, Aritha, Dodan, Doadni, Doda, Kanma, Thali."

Here is a picture of the nuts stirred in some water. They really do lather!

A small muslin drawstring bag comes with the nuts. You simply put 5 or so nuts in the bag and put in the washing machine. Remove the bag before switching to the dryer. I have to say our laundry is as clean as ever! I still add white vinegar and baking soda for added anti-fungal properties, but evidently the soap nuts have anti-fungal properties of their own.

Each set of 5 nuts can last through 6 or so cycles, so the soap nuts are economical, too!

Katrina Health Concerns

Mold has played a significant role in the rise of respiratory illness in the city of New Orleans in the five years since the Katrina tragedy. According to Fox News and Robert Chugden, medical director for emergency services at West Jefferson Medical Center:

Chugden. . . saw an initial increase in respiratory illnesses, which he attributed to significantly higher mold and mold spore counts in the flooded areas. An ongoing study of children with asthma in post-Katrina New Orleans has found that nearly 80 percent — three times the national rate — were sensitive to mold. The next highest rate was 50 percent, found in seven other cities where similar studies have been conducted.

“The mold spore count went up quite high in New Orleans and was able to sensitize kids who would not have been sensitized under normal conditions,” said Dr. Floyd Malveaux, executive director of Merck Childhood Asthma Network (MCAN) and former dean of the College of Medicine at Howard University.

MCAN partnered with the National Institutes of Health to launch a program addressing childhood asthma in post-Katrina New Orleans, which began in 2007 and concluded last September. The program involved 184 children recruited from schools in New Orleans, pairing them with case managers to help them manage their asthma, who would also make home visits to identify risk factors and environmental triggers – such as mold – which can exacerbate a child’s asthma.

Children who participated reported fewer days of symptoms and emergency room visits to manage their chronic condition.

On Thursday, MCAN pledged $2 million to Xavier University in New Orleans to resume a second phase of the case management and environmental mitigation program over four years.

“We have heard a lot about how Katrina changed the city of New Orleans, but very little about how the city’s post-Katrina environment changed health outcomes,” Malveaux said. “There is an undeniable connection between the environment and the health of children with asthma.”

Further health implications involve the elevated levels of poisonous chemicals:

A recent study published in a special issue of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry found elevated concentrations of lead, arsenic and other toxic chemicals were present throughout New Orleans, particularly in the poorer areas of the city. It suggested that widespread cleanup efforts and demolition had stirred up airborne toxins known to cause adverse health effects.

A team of researchers led by Dr. George Cobb from Texas Tech University sampled 128 sites throughout New Orleans and combined their findings with data gathered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

"Our evaluation of contaminants in New Orleans was critical in determining whether storm surges and resultant flooding altered chemical concentrations or distribution," concluded Cobb. "Our results show how long-term human health consequences in New Orleans are difficult to attribute to chemical deposition or redistribution by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, yet reveal how chemical contamination is a historical problem for old cites in the U.S. Our results and the data from coastal ecosystems reveal the value of long-term monitoring programs to establish baseline concentrations and distributions of contaminants in the environment."

The levels of lead found in the samples taken by Cobb and his team exceeded the threshold for safety in the United States. Lead exposure has been linked to brain and nervous system damage, developmental delays and hearing impairment in children. In adults, it has been linked to reproductive issues, miscarriage and birth defects, nerve damage, cognitive impairment, high blood pressure, joint pain and digestive issues.

The results of the study also suggested that floodwaters carried toxic sediment containing arsenic to other areas of the city where they were deposited in the soil.

More research is needed as to the long-term effects of the hurricane on the people of New Orleans.

To read the entire article, click here.

Family Experiment

We’ve been conducting a family experiment this month. It’s a dietary experiment. The experiment involves a no grain/no fruit eating plan drawing on such diets as GAPS, SCD, BED, Paleo, Phase 1 Antifungal, and Bee's, as well as other candida diets.

We’ve been following a diet free of sugars and processed foods for quite some time now. One of my daughters and I tried a hard-core version of GAPS (Gut and Psychology Syndrome) several months ago. Her digestive tract was severely hit by the mold, and GAPS offers a way to slowly heal and rebuild the gut flora and cellular structures surrounding the lining. The diet revolves around homemade bone broth, vegetables, and probiotic foods such as sauerkraut, kefir, and fermented vegetables.

I noticed an immediate improvement for myself. The increase in energy was followed by a severe period of die-off. This occurs when the fungi/viruses/bugs, etc. die and leave the body. It is common to feel much worse. (See this previous post.) My daughter noticed improvement in her brain/gut connection, but also experienced intense die-off.

The diet felt too restrictive for the others in our family. Suggesting it to the remaining 9 members seemed out of the question.

Until my friend’s 5-year-old son had open heart surgery. He came through the procedure well, and in the hours following the surgery he could not drink water. I watched as his mom painfully dabbed water onto his thirsty lips.

Then it happened. I had an awakening. Water is a good thing. For the sake of her child and his fresh incisions, however, she held back until he was healed enough to drink.

I thought of my 10-year-old son with type 1 diabetes. What if we removed sugar in the form of fruit and grains for a period of time? What if this gave his body the opportunity to heal and stabilize in a way mold avoidance and whole foods has not?

If a doctor told me to take sugar out of his diet, I would listen. I decided to listen to my instincts.

My husband, my 10-year-old, and the remaining members of the family agreed to a one-month trial. Some had already experienced the healing benefits of the bone broth and were eager to move forward. Removing the food source for our fungus-infested bodies made sense.

We began the experiment on Sunday, August 1. We fasted on chicken soup for 24 hours. Nothing but soup for 11 of us!

Several members of the family had severe die-off response immediately. One even vomited. Others felt intense sugar cravings. There were fits of rage. High levels of irritability. Rashes appeared in the days following the fast.

I kept picturing our little friend in the hospital. "Do the hard thing," I told myself. My husband and older kids agreed.

Then something amazing happened. For the first time in the three years since Colin was diagnosed, he went an entire day without a shot. His blood sugar stayed in range all day.

We’ve added more foods since that day. Some of our family members are sensing the need to stay with the limited bone broth/probiotic foods, adding avocado, different vegetables, specific oils, and wild-caught salmon. Others have graduated to seeds and salads. All of us are refraining from fruit and grains.

This week our acupuncturist commented on the improvement he has seen in us. Specifically he noted the change in me. "I can see evidence that the lining of your digestive tract is indeed healing," he said.

I cannot believe the change in my energy level. My skin is much softer.

I’m grateful for the extra energy, because the demands of this diet are enormous and the expected time frame for healing the gut flora is two years or more. For some of my kids I can see that it will take at least this long.

I have been in tears numerous times in the kitchen this month just trying to keep up. I’ve questioned and doubted. Wondered what mistakes I’m making. I cut my finger severely two weeks into the diet and felt defeated.

Somehow we’ve made it through. Everyone has become an expert on cutting vegetables and creatively using them in recipes. The behavior of our two youngest has improved dramatically. (Though I’m not suggesting they’re angels.)

Colin’s insulin use has decreased by 70% since the fall of 2008 when we left the home. His blood sugars are the most stable we’ve seen. He still experiences sugar cravings but loves to make his vegetable stir-fry snack.

We’ve decided to continue with the no grain/no fruit for two more months. A three-month period makes sense because of the nature of healing and regeneration in the body.

Three months puts us at Halloween. A perfect time for a treat. Like a strawberry fruit smoothie.

Toxic DMV

I heard from a friend this week who had an eventful trip to a suburban Chicago branch of the Department of Motor Vehicles. This friend lost her home to toxic mold several years ago. She and her family members continue to experience health ramifications from the exposure. She has trouble any time she encounters damp, toxic indoor environments. In her words,

I got to the window and the woman helping me was coughing pretty badly. She had to excuse herself and went to get hand sanitizer. She said she had a tickle in her throat so I wouldn't think she was contagious. Then I noticed the woman next to her coughing and I turned around to see the other employees and there was a man sniffling. I told her, "I am not feeling well from being here." She said, "Yeah, it's this building," and then the other woman working there said, "They just keep coming in to clean the vents, but that doesn't help." I then said, "I noticed all the stained ceiling tiles here and I am now having trouble writing and I'm dizzy; this place must have mold." I knew it did for sure. The woman helping me said, "There are so many people that have developed cancer, lung diseases, etc. from working here." I told her, "Yes, I believe mold can do that to you." I told her about the website TruthAboutMold. My lymph nodes in my neck are swollen from being in there for 20 minutes, my ears hurt, and I was coughing (which isn't normally a symptom for me), I was having trouble reading the form to fill out and calculating a simple figure, and I was shaking uncontrollably.

Yet again, another illustration of the importance of connecting the dots between our environment and our health.

Back to School

As summer vacation winds down, school mold problems have been reported in several states across the country. The following four news stories demonstrate the increasing awareness of the importance of air quality in schools.

---

Mold to Delay Opening of Elementary School

GILLETT, Wis. (AP) -- An elementary school in eastern Wisconsin will have its start date pushed back after mold was found throughout the building.

School was scheduled to start Sept. 1 for the Gillett School District in Oconto County. But mold has taken hold in nearly every room.

The district says it was apparently caused by the humid summer. It's mainly on the carpeting and isn't believed to be airborne.

It was discovered last week just before summer school ended. There haven't been any reports of illnesses.

Secondary school principal Jeremy Pach tells WLUK-TV the district is working with the Department of Public Instruction to determine a start date.

---

Mold Delays Start of School

ROSSVILLE, Kansas -- A mold problem is causing one school in the Kaw Valley school district to delay its start date.

According to Superintendent Jim McDaniel, mold was discovered at the Rossville Junior and Senior High School building, and while clean up and restoration is continuing on getting rid of the mold, it means that school for those students won't start until August 26th.

---

Mold Found in More Iowa Schools

SPRINGVILLE, Iowa (AP) -- Mold has delayed the start of class in more Iowa schools.

Officials in Springville, near Cedar Rapids, say mold has been found in an elementary school. The mold was found on Thursday, and students were sent home early.

No classes were being held on Friday.

There was no immediate word from school officials on how bad the mold problem is and how long it would take to clean it up.

Mold has also delayed classes at West Branch Middle School in West Branch and at Regina Catholic Education Center in Iowa City.

Both schools postponed the start of classes from this week until Monday.

---

Mold Delays School for W.B. Students

WEST BRANCH, Iowa -- Students at West Branch Middle School have been getting a few more days of summer vacation this week after mold was found at the school, delaying the start of the new year.

Superintendent Craig Artist said the mold was found in a couple of classrooms earlier this week, but spread rapidly to other parts of the building as workers tried to clean it up. That prompted him and other district officials to delay the start of school, originally scheduled for Wednesday, until at least Monday, he said. Students at Hoover Elementary in West Branch and West Branch High started on schedule Wednesday, he said.

Artist said the mold is not toxic, but could cause problems for anyone with allergies or asthma. Teachers have remained on the job, either subbing in other district buildings or wearing masks and gloves as they work in the middle school, he said.

Non-Toxic Back-to-School Supplies

The Environmental Working Group has published a list of 11 tips for keeping our kids away from harmful chemicals, solvents, and other toxins. A list like this can seem overwhelming, but every little bit helps, and every small change can make a difference in the life of a child. The website offers helpful links along with these 11 tips. The full article can be viewed here.

1. Art supplies. Many contain toxic chemicals that are not suitable for children -- especially younger ones. Pay special attention to these: Paints should be water-based to avoid solvents and colored with natural, non-metal pigments. Don't buy polymer clays that stay soft at room temperature or can be hardened in a home oven -- they're made from PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and often contain phthalates. Consider making your own "clay" out of common baking ingredients instead. Note: A label that says "Conforms to ASTM D-4236" simply means the product is labeled as required, not necessarily safe.

2. Hand washing. Choose sanitizers with ethanol (ethyl alcohol) but no fragrance, and liquid hand soaps without triclosan, triclocarban or fragrance. And remember: Plain soap and water is often just as effective!

3. Backpacks. If it's time for a new one, look for natural fibers and skip those made with PVC. If natural fibers aren't an option, polyester and nylon are better than PVC. (Check the label for #3, the symbol for PVC, or look for "no PVC" on the label.) Labels don't always list the material, so you may need to contact manufacturers or visit their websites.

4. Lunch boxes. Because they hold food, it's especially important that lunch boxes be made from non-toxic materials with NO lead paint, PVC, BPA and antimicrobial chemicals. Some options are: cotton lunch bags, BPA-free plastic or unpainted stainless steel. Reuse utensils from home and pack food in reusable, rather than disposable, containers (such as lightweight stainless steel or #1, 2, 4 or 5 plastics).

5. Beverage bottles. Skip commercial bottled water -- it's expensive, wastes resources and the water quality isn't necessarily better than tap. Instead, send your child to school with filtered water and other beverages in a reusable bottle made from BPA-free plastic, BPA-free aluminum or stainless steel, such as Klean Kanteen.

6. Markers. Common crayons often contain paraffin wax, which is made from crude oil. Look for alternatives like soy and beeswax. Don't buy dry-erase and permanent markers, which contain solvents. Be wary of plastic-encased crayons or scented markers -- scents encourage kids to sniff them, and the chemicals used in the fragrances are not listed on the label. Try a pencil highlighter instead of the familiar plastic ones.

7. Pencils and pens. Pick plain wooden pencils (no paint or glossy coating) made from sustainable wood or recycled newspaper. Skip the scented ones. Try to use recycled ballpoint pens.

8. Notebooks and binders. Avoid plastic covers on binders and spiral notebooks; they're usually made from PVC (#3 plastic). Opt for recycled cardboard or natural fibers instead, or look for "no PVC" on the label.

9. Paper products. Look for recycled paper made from at least 30 percent post-consumer waste (PCW) that isn't whitened with chlorine bleach. Or consider virgin paper made from alternative fibers or sustainably managed forests. Choose 100 percent recycled tissues and paper towels made with PCW and without chlorine bleach. Avoid added lotion, fragrance and dyes.

10. Glue. Try to minimize kids' exposures to extra-strong or instant adhesives like epoxies, model and "super" glues; they contain toxic solvents. Water-based glues are safer bets, though most are made from petrochemicals. Some better options are: glue sticks, white/yellow/clear "school" glue. Children should not use rubber cement.

11. Cell phones. A lot of kids have cell phones. If purchasing a new phone, choose one with lower radiation ("SAR" value) by searching EWG's cell phone database. Teach your child that when she's not using it, she should turn it off, store it in her backpack or somewhere else away from the body, and text instead of talking.