Allergy and Immunology News

In May, President Obama nominated a renowned scientist known as the "father of green chemistry" to head the EPA's Office of Research and Development. For an administration that supports ambitious climate change legislation and stresses the importance of sustainability, the nomination of Paul Anastas, director of Yale's Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering and a former White House environment director, was very much in keeping with its broader agenda. Anastas' nomination was unanimously approved in committee in July, and his confirmation seemed all but assured. Yet six months later Anastas still isn't confirmed. Standing in his way is Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), whose block on Anastas' nomination raises questions about Vitter's close ties to the formaldehyde industry.

So why is Vitter so sympathetic to the formaldehyde industry? Campaign finance records show that many of Louisiana's big formaldehyde polluters happen to be—you guessed it—Vitter campaign donors. He's received $9,000 from Dow Chemical's PAC, $5,000 from Monsanto's, $5,000 from ExxonMobil's, and $2,500 from the American Forest and Paper Association's. The American Forest and Paper Association is also a member of the Formaldehyde Council, an industry group whose views align with Vitter's (it's lobbied for an NAS review, too).

Conclusions: The results indicate that there is a significant positive association between formaldehyde exposure and childhood asthma. Given the largely cross-sectional nature of the studies underlying this meta-analysis, there remains a need for well-designed prospective epidemiologic studies.

American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) - Damp environments, poorly maintained heating & air-conditioning systems & carpeting may contribute to poor indoor air quality

"If there was just one thing I could do to fix buildings, it would be to change the relative humidity," said Doug Garrett, CEM, CDSM, building scientist and president of Building Performance and Comfort, Leander, Texas.

"Moisture leads to conditions that are conducive to dust mites and mold, as well as bacteria, yeast and other living organisms."

Garrett pointed to dust mites and mold as particularly worrisome.

A damp building with high humidity may lead to increased levels of dust mites and mold, leading to increased allergic respiratory symptoms, as well as the worsening of asthma. And even if someone is not allergic, molds may produce mycotoxins and volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) that smell bad and may cause respiratory irritation, he said.

One thing is for sure: if you live in a humid climate, or if you have ever had water damage to your home, you’re going to want to watch this film.

After all, this black mold is a living organism, and might just as easily eat away at a human’s health as it eats away at concrete and thrives within old carpeting. Common sense dictates that this nasty, stinky, vile, living thing just couldn’t possibly be anything other than harmful if it should find its way to the interior of a human being.

Unfortunately, several groups of people who have a vested financial interest in proving otherwise - insurance companies, politicians, construction contractors, and even some doctors - have done their very best to claim that people whose lives have been devastated by the black mold are unworthy of compensation or treatment. Even worse, some of these same powerful forces won’t even acknowledge that black mold is a serious problem. It seems obvious that breathing in black mold spores can have negative health effects, and it seems absurd that even the CDC (Center for Disease Control) denies the existence of some fairly blatant symptoms of mold exposure.

Once again, greed trumps humanity, dollars trump suffering, the guy with the worst lawyer is wrong, and the little guy loses. This is the thesis of “Black Mold Exposure,” a documentary by Michael Williams.

The university is relocating College of Engineering employees who work in a suite on the first floor of Hitchcock Hall, said Amy Murray, an OSU spokeswoman. And the university is bringing in a contractor that specializes in testing for the disease, called histoplasmosis.

Olga Stavridis, 42, the college's associate director for career services, said she recently paid to have a ceiling tile from her office tested for the fungus that causes histoplasmosis. "It was detected," she said

She said she gave Ohio State the results on Oct. 13.

Stavridis said she contracted the disease after her office and adjacent offices flooded on March 13. University maintenance workers and a cleaning contractor opened up the ceiling tiles and ran box fans for the next several weeks to make sure everything dried.

The scientists looked at two different fungal pathogens: Alternaria brassicicola, which causes widespread damage in crops like canola, cabbage and broccoli, and Aspergillus fumigatus, a human pathogen that often leads to fatal disease in immunocompromised patients. Infection with A. fumigatus can lead to invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, the leading cause of death due to invasive fungal infections in humans.

The current study shows that TmpL is essential for both types of fungi to cause disease in their host cells.

Lawrence said: "In this study, we provide the first evidence that a certain type of disease-related protein from both a plant and animal fungal pathogen is critical for protecting the pathogen and for causing infection of healthy host tissue. As such, this protein represents a good starting point as a potential target for the development of efficient and novel therapeutics for both plant and animal fungal diseases."

We hope that this is an inspiration to parents and activists throughout the 50 states and beyond, that we need not tolerate a system that produces ill health – through education, there is power. With persistence, there are results. Share this law with your state legislators to see if they, too, can craft legislation to protect children in school environments. (SMH)

katy's exposure

STEVE R. JONES, Employee, Plaintiff, v. STEVE JONES AUTO GROUP, Employer, and UNIVERSAL UNDERWRITERS GROUP, Carrier, Defendants. Court of Appeals of North Carolina. Filed November 3, 2009

Dr. Thornton opined that Plaintiff’s prolonged exposure to the combination of stachybotrys, aspergillus, and penicillium “perpetuated and established in [Plaintiff] an immunologic state that perpetuated a very serious illness” and that Plaintiff’s symptoms and problems “were significantly aggravated if not caused completely” by his exposure to mold in the workplace. Dr. Thornton explained that while “there is not a specific medical test that would clearly demonstrate definitively” that Plaintiff’s exposure to mold caused his illness, based on “the constellation of . . . [Plaintiff's] symptoms, the time course of their onset, [and Plaintiff's] response to therapy[,]” he felt strongly that Plaintiff’s illness was caused by his exposure to mold in his workplace. Thus, contrary to Defendants’ contention, Dr. Thornton’s opinion is not based solely “on the temporal relationship between discovery of mold [in] [P]laintiff’s office and the onset of [P]laintiff’s symptoms.”

We conclude that the testimony of Dr. Thornton and Dr. Kussin is competent evidence to support the Commission’s findings of fact that Plaintiff’s exposure to mold at his place of work caused his illness. This Court is thus bound by these findings. Gilberto, 152 N.C. App. at 118, 566 S.E.2d at 792.