Report from Romy Cochran
Dear Klaus,
In a hurry,
sorry. Cheryl Welsh from the C.A.H.R.A Citizens of Human Rights Abuse
has forwarded papers which have my attentions, all very scientific and
I will devote the coming week to do research at Stanford University. Neurological
research on the pioneering work of Dr. Ross Adey....Dr. Jolly West, Jose
Delgado, Dr. Cameron, all these names are most likely not unfamiliar to
you.
Bref. To
cell phones......I do not own one. Know what the Micro Wave Towers do
and citizens can be targeted individually by them.
The seventh
day Adventist Church which is located within 500 feet of my property line
wanted to add more Sprint antennas to the existing ones. The church is
located across from a high school. The neighbours and myself went to City
hall and contested and we won. The Church lost $1.200 per month from Sprint
Company as rent had the antennas been installed without protest from the
neighbourhood.
This is
all for now, always on the run.
Romy
Cochran
Environmental
impacts of mold
The Impact of Environmental Molds in the Home
Disclosures
(NOTE: The
article's title should also have included the workplace as a source of
exposure to molds. D.M.)
Anthony
Montanaro, MD
Introduction
A fascinating
review of the potential human health impact of environmental molds was
presented during the recent 60th Annual Meeting of the American College
of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. In the initial presentation, undertaken
by Elliott Horner, PhD,[1] Microbial laboratory Director at Air Quality
Sciences, Inc. in Marietta, Georgia, it was pointed out that environmental
molds potentially can result in human illness by the production of allergens,
proteases, beta-glucans, and volatile organic compounds. Dr. Horner further
emphasized that in order for molds to grow, they require moisture. The
temperature tolerance of molds is extremely variable. The ecologic types
of molds are those included in the classes of phylloplane, which are molds
that can grow on leaf surfaces. These molds include Cladosporium and Alternaria.
Soil-based molds are typified by Penicillium and Aspergillus. Typical
molds found in wood decay include the Basidiomycetes. Indoor molds typically
include Alternaria, Cladosporium, and Epicoccum, but Dr. Horner pointed
out that these are typically from outdoor sources. Dr. Horner pointed
out that in interpreting industrial hygiene reports on mold measurements,
colonization vs contamination must be determined. When mold contaminates,
the mycelial elements will actually penetrate the substrate. The mycelium
is connected to the conidiophore, which is the reproductive structure
of the mold. The food source for fungal growth in buildings may include
cellulose, which can be found in ceiling tile, insulation, sheetrock,
as well as wood and dirt.
Biology
of Mold in the Home
Dr. Horner
reviewed potential detection methodology for molds. These include the
use of direct microscopy or culture-based methods. Dr. Horner stated that
use of "settle plates" are no longer considered a reliable methodology.
Dr. Horner further noted the importance of taxa identification, which
is much more important than the absolute number of colony-forming units.
Taxa identification may allow comparisons of indoor vs outdoor taxa.
Doing
an Effective Home Assessment
M. Joseph
Fedoruk, MD,[2] of Exponent and Associate Clinical Professor
at
the University of California, Irvine, California, further elaborated on
the importance of home inspections when evaluating potential mold contamination.
Dr. Fedoruk pointed out that the home inspection industry is essentially
unregulated. He noted that many home inspectors for mold contamination,
in fact, are qualified only by attending a meeting without any subsequent
testing. Dr. Fedoruk noted the importance of visual inspection of potential
moisture intrusions, including inspection for the presence of staining
or discoloration. He also pointed out that odor detection can be quite
important and noted that "if you can smell mold, you have a problem."
Dr. Fedoruk also reviewed air testing methodology surface dust analysis
and noted that, in many cases, "destructive testing" is necessary.
He pointed out that this destructive testing requires actual destruction
of walls or floors.
Dr. Fedoruk
also highlighted the importance of measuring both indoor and outdoor levels
of molds as has previously been noted. He further pointed out that both
complaint and noncomplaint areas of homes must be evaluated. He re-emphasized
that both direct microscopy as well as culture identification must be
undertaken. Dr. Fedoruk also mentioned that a specific number of colony-forming
units are rarely of any benefit.
Evaluating
Patients for Mold Exposure
Emil J.
Bardana, Jr., MD,[3] presented the Jean S. Chapman Keynote Lecture on
the potential human health effects of mold contamination. Dr. Bardana
presented the historical background of mold sensitivity by pointing out
that indoor air quality problems had actually begun in approximately 1973,
following the oil embargo and subsequent efforts to conserve energy. Subsequently,
in 1994, a paradigm shift had occurred in which individuals who had previously
been diagnosed with "sick building syndrome" were subsequently
informed that they were potentially suffering from "toxic mold syndrome."
Dr. Bardana
highlighted the fact that in any well constructed home without evidence
of water contamination, significant levels of airborne fungi can be measured.
Dr. Bardana noted that these airborne fungi typically reflect outdoor
levels of fungi. Furthermore, it was noted that fungi are ubiquitous and,
in fact, account for at least 25% of the earth's biomass. Dr. Bardana
again emphasized that while there were guidelines for the assessment of
mold contamination in homes, there had been no uniformity or agreement
of any specific level that could potentially result in human disease.
In addition, there has been no established dose-response relationship
between mold levels and human disease. Dr. Bardana gave examples of sawmills
that had been evaluated that revealed workers without symptoms exposed
to 1.5 M cfu/m3. In addition, there have been studies of farmers without
symptoms who were exposed to 120 M cfu/m3.
Dr. Bardana
reviewed the 6 types of human responses associated with mold exposure.
These responses include:
Potential
irritant effect, which at best is mild and transient and may be associated
with exposure to beta-1,3 glucans or volatile organic compounds; Nonspecific
respiratory symptoms, which are poorly correlated to airborne fungal levels;
Allergic sensitization, which is usually not considered to be severe and
is usually not considered to be a major problem and is more problematic
with outdoor exposures; Fungal infections, which mostly arise from outdoor
sources and may occur from exposure to soil-based saprophytic fungi; Exposure
to mycotoxins, which have recently been described. There are currently
more than 300 mycotoxins that have been described that are low in molecular
weight and nonvolatile in nature. Dr. Bardana highlighted the fact that
all species of fungi are capable of producing mycotoxins; and psychogenic
effects, which can occur when an individual perceives that he or she is
being harmed by the effects of fungal exposure. These potential health
effects of indoor fungal bioaerosol exposures are highlighted in a recent
publication.[4]
Finally,
Dr. Bardana outlined the recent health concerns of individuals exposed
to species of Stachybotyrs. Dr. Bardana reviewed the fact that Stachybotyrs
has been referred to as toxic or "black mold." Dr. Bardana highlighted
the fact that there were, in fact, no bona fide reports of human infection
in the medical literature. Reports of potential allergic disease have
been characterized as being inconclusive. In fact, Dr. Bardana highlighted
a recent observation that pointed out that half of blood donors have immunoglobulin
(Ig) G antibody to Stachybotyrs, with 9% of these individuals having evidence
of IgE to Stachybotyrs. Given the ubiquitous nature of Stachybotyrs, it
is not considered to be unusual that one would observe these findings.
Dr. Bardana further noted that there have been no reports of allergic
alveolitis or sinusitis due to Stachybotyrs. Although there have been
recent concerns regarding the potential of "toxic encephalopathy
and Stachybotyrs," Dr. Bardana pointed out there has been "no
scientific link." Dr. Bardana suggested further reading on the potential
role of Stachybotyrs in a recent publication by the American Industrial
Hygiene Association.[5]
The potential
human effects of mold exposure have led to a new legal industry with devastating
impact on the immune insurance industry. A recent example of mold litigation
occurred in Texas, where a jury determined that an insurance company acted
fraudulently and in bad faith when fixing water damage in a 22-room mansion.[6]
This particular case resulted in a delay in the repair of what many considered
a relatively small innocuous water leak but awarded the homeowner with
a multimillion dollar verdict. It is pointed out that the number of mold-related
claims in the State of Texas alone rose from 7000 in the year 2000 to
37,000 in the year 2001! These claims were further fueled by the presence
of tropical storm Alison, which occurred in June of 2001 and affected
the Houston metropolitan area for approximately 2 days, resulting in massive
flooding along the Gulf Coast. In Houston alone, there was a 58% increase
in claims, representing 2.96 claims for every 1000 households. There have
been many high profile lawsuits reported in the press, including that
of Johnny Carson's ex-sidekick, Ed McMahon, who broughts uit against his
insurance company for 20 million dollars in April of 2002 for the death
of his dog, which was alleged to have been due to exposures to mycotoxins
from Stachybotyrs chartarum. Sports stars have not been immune from this
weight of litigation. Michael Jordan has required that his home in the
Washington, DC area at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel have extensive renovation
due to the perception of mold-related problems. The celebrity status of
some of these claims has resulted in increased hysteria in the general
population. The ultimate effect of this hysterical response to suspected
phoma-related problems has had a tremendous impact on the insurance industry,
with more than 1.3 billion dollars spent in 2002 to settle lawsuits and
mold-related damages.[7] Unfortunately, the response from the insurance
industry has clearly been to settle cases and to attempt to no longer
put themselves at risk of covering potential mold-related damages. Recently,
the State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company has attempted to eliminate
coverage from mold-related damages in 33 states.
There is
little doubt that mold can indeed result in human disease. Mold exposure
can result in allergic rhinitis, allergic asthma, allergic sinus disease,
and pulmonary hypersensitivity pneumonitis. Despite the fact that there
is no doubt that mold can result in human disease, aside from these specific
incidences, there was very little data to support human disease caused
by "mycotoxins." All of the presenters emphasized the need for
further research in this area.
References
Horner E.
General sessions. Environmental molds: biology of molds.
Program and abstracts of the 60th Annual Meeting of the American College
of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology; November 15-20, 2002; San Antonio,
Texas.
Fedoruk J. General sessions. Environmental molds: home assessments: ho
they are done. Program and abstracts of the 60th Annual Meeting of the
American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology; November 15-20, 2002;
San Antonio, Texas.
Bardana EJ. General sessions. Environmental molds: Jean A. Chapman Lecture.
Health effects of mold exposure and how to evaluate patients who think
they have it. Program and abstracts of the 60th Annual Meeting of the
American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology; November 15-20, 2002;
San Antonio, Texas.
Fung F, Hughson WG. Health effects of indoor and fungal bioaerosol exposure.
Proc Indoor Air. 2002;1:46-51. Page EH, Trout DB. The role of Stachybotyrs
mycotoxins in building-related illness. Amer Indus Hyg Assoc J. 2001;62:644-648.
Sharp R. Mold getting a costly hold on homes. USA Today. June 19, 2002.
Cahill SF. For some lawyers mold is gold. Amer Bar Assoc J. December 2001.
Copyright
© 2002 Medscape.
Informant:
Don Maisch
GM
Debacle Continues
Desperate
biotech corporations are deserting academic research despite massive bailouts
from our governments. It is high time to redirect public investments away
from this financial and intellectual dead-end, says Dr. Mae-Wan Ho.
We predicted
the demise of the biotech empire last summer (Goodbye GMOs, Science in
Society 2002, 16). It is turning into catastrophic collapse since.
Syngenta
staged a series of stunning retreats from funding basic research while
tottering Monsanto shed its president and chief executive.
On 4 December,
Swiss-based biotech giant Syngenta announced it intends to close its Torrey
Mesa Research Institute (TMRI) by the end of January. TMRI is barely four
years old; it has led the company's efforts to sequence the rice genome
and developed the first gene chips for Arabidopsis and rice.
The closure
is part of a restructuring that will bring together Syngenta and Diversa,
a San Diego-based company focusing on isolating genes from microbes in
extreme environments. As many as 76 of TMRI's 180 employees will move
to Diversa, and 30 will relocate to Syngenta Biotechnology Inc. (SBI)
in North Carolina.
Steven Briggs,
TMRI's chief executive, who will go to Diversa as senior vice president
of research and development platforms, sees the new partnership as "an
extremely exciting opportunity", while David Jones, Syngenta's head
of plant science in Basel, Switzerland says the move reflects the "maturity"
of TMRI's research.
But others
see the closure as part of an industry-wide cut back on research funding;
it is "a big retraction", according to Chris Sommerville, plant
biologist in Stanford, California.
Although
reorganisation had been on the cards for a long time, a shut down was
the last thing anyone expected. One senior scientist confessed himself
"flabbergasted".
TMRI was
established during California's technology boom of the late 1990s. The
Novartis Research Foundation recruited Briggs in 1998 to direct its newly
formed Novartis Agricultural Discovery Institute (NADI). In 2000, Novartis
spun off its agricultural arm to form Syngenta, which acquired NADI, and
renamed it TMRI.
Besides
coordinating the sequencing of the rice genome, TMRI developed a collection
of 100,000 mutants and made them available to outsiders with certain commercial
restrictions. The institute also collaborated with Affymetrix to develop
a gene chip containing about half the rice genome, still the only gene
chip available for a cereal plant, notes plant physiologist Russell Jones
of the University of California, Berkeley. The shut down may delay the
availability of the full-genome chip expected early next year.
Briggs blames
the "very sombre experience" of TMRI's closure on the agricultural
economy. "We've been in a state of contraction for the past 5 years,"
he says. "There's no indication of a turnaround ... and so there's
a danger of significant reductions in research budgets, the focus has
to be on generating revenues. You sacrifice your research."
Syngenta's
troubles could affect other centres. Sources close to the controversial
partnership between Syngenta and UC Berkeley say that their 5-year agreement
will probably not be renewed in 2003 when the $25 million deal expires.
The latest
retreat came only months after Syngenta announced the termination of research
alliance with the John Innes Centre (JIC) in Britain that still had several
years to run, and just as the taxpayer-funded Genome Centre, that was
to house Syngenta's laboratory, was being unveiled.
On December
18, Monsanto's president and chief executive Hendrik Verfaillie announced
his resignation, ending a 26-year career with Monsanto, citing as reason
the company's poor financial performance over the past two years.
Verfaillie
led the company through a merger with Pharmacia & Upjohn in 2000,
which ended in the spinoff from Pharmacia earlier this year.
The company
announced about 700 job cuts in April to consolidate operations at facilities
in several regions in Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand and North
America. Monsanto has about 14,600 workers worldwide.
For the
first nine months of 2002, Monsanto lost $1.75 billion, compared to a
profit of $399 million a year ago. Sales for the nine months declined
19 percent to $3.45 billion from $4.25 billion.
In October,
Monsanto lowered its forecast for earnings for all of 2002, citing a continued
decline in sales of Roundup in the United States and lower-than-expected
sales in Argentina.
Desperate
biotech corporations are deserting academic research despite massive bailouts
from our governments. It is high time to redirect public investments away
from the financial and intellectual dead-end that biotechnology is proving
itself to be.
Sources:
"Retreat
from Torrey Mesa: a chill wind in ag research" by Gretchen Vogel,
Science 2002, 298, 13 December; "Monsanto President Verfaillie Resigns"
by Jim Salter, Associated Press
http://www.austin360.com/aas/business/ap/ap_story.html/Financial/
AP.V9067.AP-Monsanto-CEO-Re.html
Norfolk Genetic Engineering Network www.ngin.org.uk
This article
can be found on the I-SIS website at
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/GMdebaclecont.php
The Institute of Science in Society, PO Box 32097, London NW1 OXR
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