PROBE INTO 'DANGER HOMES'

Published 5 Aug 2009 17:25 4 Comments

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BARRHEAD Housing Association have launched a probe after a dangerous cancer causing mould was discovered growing in their properties.

The investigation comes after the News told last week how a family were forced out of their home after an Environmental Health report stated the mould could cause serious health implications.

The family are now set to take legal action against Barrhead Housing Association claiming they put their health at risk by failing to rehouse them.

They also claim that the association has breached the Housing Act.

The mould named in the report as Fusarium, Cladosporium and Pencillium was found in the loft, living room, kitchen and bedroom.

The News discovered that one of the moulds can release a pathogen which is a cancerous agent harmful to the immune system.

Following our report four other families also claim to have mould growing in their homes and are calling for an independent environmental health report to be carried out.

Now councillors Danny Devlin and Betty Cunningham are backing the residents of Rankin Way and are demanding a meeting with BHA bosses.

The family forced from their home of 10 years all suffer from respiratory ailments which the report states may have been caused by the presence of these types of mould.

The mother has suffered from pneumonia SEVEN times and has a fungus growing on her lungs.

She said: "I am taking Barrhead Housing Association to court because they have put my family's health at risk.

"I have given them every opportunity to fix this situation - now I have reached breaking point.

"It has cost us £1,300 to move my family just to get out here and BHA have not forked out a single penny - it is absolutely disgusting."

BHA own 750 flats and houses throughout Barrhead and Neilston.

Shirley Robison, director of Barrhead Housing Association said: "The Association is fully aware of the issues relating to properties at Rankin Way.

"The Association has taken full and detailed advice and assistance from East Renfrewshire Council's environmental health department to include the necessary and appropriate form of remedial action, the effect, if any, of such remedies have on the health of our tenants and whether decanting would be necessary for any remedial action to be completed and specialist independent surveys of the properties including roof and wall areas, central heating systems and ventilation.

"The Association has acted on all of these recommendations made."

The Environmental Health report carried out by East Renfrewshire Council also raised concerns over mould growing in loft sarkings in two other BHA properties in Rankin Way.

This article appeared in Barrhead News 05 Aug 09

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anne onymous
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Aug 5, 18:40
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It would be nice for barrhead news to properly research their stories. Barrhead housing have offered the appropriate treatmnt to the tennants and they refused. Also the so-called carcinogens are only human -harful if in the fod chain, i.e the food they eat is infected with the mould.The other moulds are harmful to plants but not humans.

This information is from an accepted list of carcinogens and the public-accesss definitions of tthe named moulds.

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Greg
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Aug 6, 09:13
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Anne Onymous - (Good one that, well done)

You're obviously some kind of expert, but can I just point out a few of the health problem that humans can suffer from as a result of these 3 moulds.....in no particular order:

skin lesions; nail fungus; sinusitis; asthma; pulmonary infections; bronchial infections(prolonged exposure can result in pulmonary emphysema); general circulatory, skin and nervous system problems; to name but a few.

And as for the comment about ingestion being the only way to infect humans - mould spreads by releasing spores into the air which then land on surfaces, sometimes metres away from its centre. Inhalation of these spores can cause a number of health problems - including pnuemonia which the tenant has had 7 times. Coincedence??

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Unregistered User
Aug 13, 09:50
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Rankin Way, named after tireless and selfless Helen Rankin whose dedication to the Barrhead Housing Association was second to none!

BHA, have an obligation to ensure the absolute safety to all of their tenants, I believe they did at one time do just that, but in recent years, it has been a case of "throwing up as many houses as is possible" which is in my opinion not the right thing to do in Barrhead.

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Cheryl Wisecup
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Aug 19, 18:37
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The following information has been sent to hundreds of elected officials throughout the United States.

I am writing to you on behalf of millions of Americans who have been harmed by exposure to toxic mold. The following message has been sent to hundreds of elected officials including President Obama, all U.S. Senators, members of the U.S. House, the Governors of all 50 states, state legislators, state health departments, etc.

Toxic mold causes serious health problems. We need your help to get laws passed in order to ensure that the American people can get appropriate medical care and the correct information regarding the handling and remediation of toxic mold. We need laws and regulations in regard to people who test and remediate mold in order to stop the fraud and deceit that has been occurring throughout the country.

Toxic mold can happen to anyone. My family's experience is a good example of what has been happening to families throughout the country. We had toxic mold in our home. We lost our home, our health, all of our personal belongings and our financial security. What if your family lost everythingâ€”your home, your health, your personal property, your family mementos, your financial security, and your children's sense of safety?

For 50 years, the tobacco industry denied the truth about the health effects of tobacco. How long will the insurance industry and other stakeholders be allowed to deny the truth about the health effects of toxic mold? We need to expose the truth now and educate the public about the proper way to handle mold problems in our homes, schools and businesses. If your family was exposed to toxic mold, wouldn't you want laws in place to protect your loved ones? This is all we are asking. We need your leadership and action on this very important issue.

The following information will give you a good place to start in understanding the issues that need to be addressed. These ten items are a very small sample of the thousands of documents available on this topic. I thought these items would be most helpful in your efforts to create new laws and regulations about mold-related issues. You might also review the mold legislation that was proposed by Representative John Conyers.

1. The following paper has an insightful discussion of whether mold contamination in homes can be regulated. "Can Mold Contamination of Homes be Regulatedâ€“Lessons Learned from Radon and Lead Policies"? The answer is YES.

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/es0620585

2. The State of California issued mold remediation guidelines. This is one of the most up-to-date reports available. It contains references to several important articles about the health effects of toxic mold. The U.S. Navy also has mold remediation guidelines.

http://www.library.ca.gov/crb/06/01/06-001.pdf

http://www-nehc.med.navy.mil/downloads/prevmed/katrina/ihfom_ch13-3.pdf

3. The State of Nevada recently passed legislation designating September 2009 as toxic mold awareness month, and the State of Arkansas passed legislation regarding standards and qualifications for mold investigators. You could use this information as a starting point for one part of your legislation, but you would want to get input from experts.

http://www.leg.state.nv.us/75th2009/Bills/ACR/ACR7_EN.pdf

http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2009/R/Acts/Act1467.pdf

4. The U.S. Surgeon General just announced the federal government's new Healthy Home Initiative which discusses mold and mold toxins, along with lead paint and radon, and other issues that can affect the indoor environment in homes.

http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/healthyhomes/calltoactiontopromotehealthyhomes.pdf

5. The Center for School Mold Help has a lot of valuable information about mold in schools and also has an excellent article discussing how certain stakeholders are trying to hide the truth about the health effects of toxic mold. Another group, Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings, is focused on water damage and mold problems caused by construction defects.

http://www.schoolmoldhelp.org

https://www.schoolmoldhelp.org/content/view/1639/46/

http://www.hadd.com/

6. There are many books available on this subject including these two books:

Bioaerosols: Assessment and Control" This book was published by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists in 1999.

"Molds and Mycotoxinsâ€“Papers from an International Symposium" This book was edited by Kaye Kilburn, M.D. and was published by Heldref Publications in 2004.

7. James Craner, M.D., has published several good articles and reports on this topic, including "A Critique of the ACOEM Statement on Mold." Another leading expert is Jack Thrasher, Ph.D., who is a toxicologist.

http://www.drcraner.com

http://www.drcraner.com/images/ACritiqueoftheACOEMStatementonMold.pdf

http://www.drthrasher.org

8. The following links are from military textbooks. The first one is Chapter 34 on Trichothecene Mycotoxins, and the second one is Chapter 4 on Toxins (which includes information about mycotoxins). If the U.S. military can admit that mycotoxins are dangerous, then why are the insurance companies allowed to deny that mycotoxins cause health problems.

http://www.envirochex.com/Downloads/Chapter34_Military_Medicine.pdf

http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1018.5/MR1018.5.chap4.html

9. The University of Connecticut published a handbook in 2004t*tled "Guidance for Clinicians on the Recognition and Management of Health Effects Related to Mold Exposure and Moisture Indoors."

http://oehc.uchc.edu/images/PDFs/MOLDGUIDE.pdf

10. Ritchie Shoemaker, M.D., is one of the leading doctors in the country who are helping people who have been harmed by exposure to toxic mold. This is the link for Dr. Shoemaker's website:

http://www.biotoxin.infornToxic mold is a very serious health threat, and we need to do everything we can to help protect all Americans. I hope this information is helpful as you continue your work to develop laws and regulations about mold-related issues.

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