Green | July 25, 2008 | 10 comments

The Toxic Mold Rush

source: http://www.laweekly.com/news/news/the-toxic-mold-rush-california-mom-helps-fuel-an-obsession...

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dkincheloe
Sometimes, moms are wrong. And Sharon Kramer is wrong.

It is here, in a small room behind drawn wooden shutters, that Sharon Kramer maintains her national, sometimes global crusade against mold. She sits at a desk piled with articles she is working on, journals on indoor air quality and scientific reports. And there is dust everywhere, as if nobody has been in the room in a very long time. “I just don’t understand why this guy is being such a hard-ass,” the 56-year-old says over the phone to a local bureaucrat, her thick fingers nervously tracing on the notepad in front of her.

Today, hotly disputed claims of brain lesions, seizures, memory loss, dementia, bleeding gums and lungs, vertigo and deathly ill pets rarely make it before a Los Angeles, Dallas or Portland jury — just a few of the hot spots where victims got rich from the verdicts of juries eager to believe in a movieland-like killer spawn.

Now, scientists are trying to change public perception about an epidemic that probably never was. And, illustrating how central Sharon Kramer is to driving public perception, she is being sued for defamation by the key Washington state researcher who stuck out his neck to publicize basic facts that went against the grain: First, that household molds don’t cause serious illnesses in nonallergic, healthy people. And second, that a lot of people pointlessly live in fear of mold, spending small fortunes to rid their homes or offices of it — for nothing.
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10 comments // The Toxic Mold Rush

  • onechance
    • 0
      onechance  

    • OK Sharon-

      You and I are obviously on the same page on the name-calling issue... Good.

      On to the mold issue. I'm no expert or scientist, so I don't really have an opinion on if it's real or not, therefor I don't stand behind or deny it. I hope you're not being slammed for standing up for what's right.

      If you are, thank you for doing what's right.

      If you are, sue the LA Weekly.

    • 3 years ago
  • SharonKramer
    • 0
      SharonKramer  
    • onechance:

      Contrary to what was just portrayed of me in LAWeekly, I am not one to file lawsuits and the drop of the hat, or even when seriously portrayed in "false light" - which is a legal term - such as LA Weekly just did to my daughter and myself. They falsely labeled me the "Queen of Mold" and my daughter the "Starring Victims", while also noting in the article that the last person given the label of "Mold Queen" receives death threats even to this day. From the article, "To this day, I get death threats, and a few people still think I caused their insurance rates to skyrocket,' Ballard told L.A. Weekly."

      Even in our underlying mold case, our insurer sued US for not accepting $30K after they made our home uninhabitable by cross contaminating it and then trying to run from the liability. This is called a declaratory relief action. We were forced to countersue and ultimately received a sizable settlement. Before this, I had never been in litigation in my life. It wasn't me being crazy fearful of mold, as portrayed in the LAWeekly false light article. It was my daughter's physicians who said we could not go home with the house being left in its current position.

      Daniel Hempeil and Jill Stewart were well aware of the all the above. They are also aware that I have been fearful for my daughter's safety from this article and have been receiving hang up calls ever since it was published.

      So, sue LAWeekly? I have sent them letters that this is my intent if they did not retract the known false light article. But, I really am not interested in spending thousands of dollars and countless contentious hours over more litigation with a org as rich and powerful as New Times. Would you be?

      I would prefer to show just how horrid that article really was by showing you how false it is on the science. It was a viscious personal attack of the messenger with the intent of silencing what National Public Radio just helped to bring to greater public light thru the Leonard Lopate Show.

      Again, the link to the Leonard Lopate Show on "Toxic Mold":
      http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/episodes/2008/09/01

      I don't know what dog Jill Stewart has in the race, but she obviously has one.

    • 3 years ago
  • SharonKramer
    • 0
      SharonKramer  

    • One chance, you wrote "The worst way to get a message across is the judge and alienate the very people you're trying to speak to (and convince, apparently)...Enough with the name calling guy."

      Yes, I think you are right. If you read the article you will see that they labeled me "Queen of Mold", my daughter a "Starring Victim"..that I have fat fingers, saggy skin, I blog lies and fear from a dark hovel, keep a trailer in front yard, etc" What does that have to do with if mold that is found in water damaged buildings can and sometimes does cause illness in prior healthy people? That piece was nothing more than shooting the messenger.

      I have a degree in marketing and have been tracking how false science over the mold issue is prolerated throughout public, physician and legislative perception. This "alternative news" piece, of which Jill Stewart of LA Weekly was the editor has opened up a whole new area of research for me.

      If Anne Coultier had written that article and published it in Newsmax, environmental advocates would have not taken it serious for one second. But because it was published on the front page of LA Weekly, it effectively reached its target market. Thus the phrase "pseudo-alternative and pretend hip, environmentally friendly newsprint".

      George Bush does not sit in the White House and make these things happen all by himself. The Anne Coultiers of the world cannot effectively reach certain segments of the population. What LA Weekly just promoted with this article was nothing more than a litigation defense argument that is based on a false scientific concept, but is used extensively within the courts to deny financial liability for environmental illnesses brought on by exposure to the microbial contaminants that are found in water damaged buildings.

      I am fascinated by this newest area (to me) of marketing false concepts to those who seek to better the world through environmental awareness.

      On Sept 1, the Leonard Lopate Show out of New York just ran a segment over the mold issue. It aired on National Public Radio. Within the segment it discusses Dr. Kelman by name and also calls his science "phoney". It is phoney. Yet it has been effectively and sophisticatedly marketed to the public, to physicians and legislators. And it has now been effectively marketed to YOU, through a "pseudo-alternative and pretend hip, environmentally friendly newsprint", the LA Weekly. And that is a really dangerous thing.

      Listen to the Leonard Lopate Show on "Toxic Mold":
      http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/episodes/2008/09/01

      Then go back and read Jill Stewart's LAWeekly article:
      "Toxic Mold Rush, California Mom Helps Fuel and Obsession"
      http://www.laweekly.com/2008-07-24/news/the-toxic-mold-rush/

      I think what you will find is that sometimes moms are right....and so are those who research the mass marketing of propaganda.

    • 3 years ago
  • NPODirector
    • 0
      NPODirector  

    • Hipster Technorati readers here should take a deeper look at this coverage of Sharon Kramers advocacy, specifically at her background and achievements, rather than let a newly absorbed conservative corporate media acquisition like Village Voice media dictate what you think about this subject.

      Sharon Kramer's research work was the basis for front page article in the Wall Street Journal last year, and she has coordinated multiple briefings within the US Congress on the issue of mold and human health, and, specifically, the conflicts of interest that are driving the contention in this issue. Do even a little followup here, and you might discover that your favorite "alternative, independent" e-zine just might be participating in a larger corporate agenda -- that they are selling you.

      Google really works pretty good if you are willing to use your mind and read between the lines -- especially if the lines you're reading are coming from an anonymous Link Jockey with a possibly questionable agenda. This is a major issue that is being packaged and handed to you with the assumption that the audience of Current will accept anything, as long as it seems...cool. Think deeper.

      Jonathan Lee Wright
      Director
      Fungal Disease Resource Center, Inc
      http://www.fdrcinc.org

    • 3 years ago
  • onechance
  • SharonKramer
    • 0
      SharonKramer  

    • From Sharon Kramer

      Don't believe everything you read in pseudo-alternative and pretend hip, environmentally friendly newsprint. I am the one who is preaching mainstream science over the mold issue. I work really hard to get this issue OUT of the courts...not Kelman, who makes his bread and butter there as an expert defense witness.

      The LA Weekly intentionally got the story completely wrong. That was nothing short of a sensationalist hit piece with a two fold message sent by the insurance industry:
      1. Mold does not harm prior healthy people.
      2. Mrs. Kramer is crazy, so don't listen to her.

      To set the record straight, I do not think mold is the scourge of the earth. However I do recognize that excessive exposure to mold in water damaged indoor environments can and sometimes does cause severe illness in prior healthy people.

      These are the types of people who know I write the truth of the matter. The following article ran on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, Jan. 2007. Seasoned investigative reporter, David Armstrong, flew to my house in mid 2006. We hooked our computers up and downloaded files for an entire day as we talked of the deceit in science over the mold issue. After interviewing over 50 people, including Kelman, Armstrong wrote, "Court of Opinion, Amid Suits Over Mold Experts Wear Two Hats".
      http://www.moldwarriors.com/SK/WSJOnlineJan92007.pdf

      Jill Stewart of LAWeekly is a real piece of work.
      "In 2003, with the involvement of the US Chamber of Commerce and ex-developer, US Congressman Gary Miller (R-CA), the GlobalTox paper was disseminated to the real estate, mortgage and building industries'associations. A version of the Manhattan Institute commissioned piece may also be found as a position statement on the website of a United States medical policy-writing body, the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine."

      So while I feel like LAWeekly just elevated me to the starring role in the play "Wicked", I have absolutely no intention of shutting up about a mass marketing of a deceit in science that is causing many who are ill beyond simple allergy from mold to be unable to receive medical treatment, simply because stakeholders of moldy buildings are seeking to limit financial liability in court.

      Yes, Virginia, prior healthy people can and sometimes do become ill from excessive mold exposure in water damaged buildings. Just from asthma alone it is considered a national health threat by the EPA. “Berkeley Lab, EPA Studies Confirm Large Public Health And Economic Impact of Dampness and Mold: They estimate that number of asthma cases attributable to exposure in home is 4.6 million, at $3.5 billion annual cost” http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/EETD-mold-risk.html

      Personally, I think what has been done over this issue is nothing short of criminal. For the sake of saving money, the physicians of America have been intentionally misinformed. Tis I who is considered mainstream in my understanding of the science among legitimate researchers and physicians. But the marketing of industry is very hard to fight, even when you hold a degree in the subject of marketing as I do. I think the LA Weekly article by young Hempiel – whose career as a serious journalist was just ended by Ms. Stewart - is a prime example of the power and reach of industry. And I find journalism such as this far more scary and a greater threat to public health than mold could ever be.

      (Did not have room to post this all, so will link to another blog that got it wrong. See comments in full.

      http://achangeinthewind.typepad.com/achangeinthewind/2008/08/mold-toxic-mena.htm...)

    • 3 years ago
  • onechance
  • PlatoTacius
    • 0
      PlatoTacius  

    • Mold can definitely cause some serious problems, especially with someone who is sensitive to allergies...

      Having been in the construction business for many years now, I've seen and experienced some lung problems (bronchitis) from the exposure to mold. I wouldn't freak out over a small area, but anything larger than a 10 feet x 10 feet area should be thought of as very serious. However, any mold, upon discovery, should be eliminated asap. The presence of mold usually indicates a moisture problem, so the first step is to solve the water leak or whatever is causng the moisture, otherwise, you're wasting your time. Because, if the moisture problem remains, the mold will return. Also, you don't want to run your A/C while experiencing a mold problem. The air circulation system will circulate the spores throughout your living area and in all of your ductwork...so please beware, do the smart thing, and eliminate any mold you encounter...or call a professional, if you don't know how to deal with it...don't wait till it gets out of hand...

      huntre is, obviously, joking...so don't go snorting any spores...your nose, throat, and lungs will thank you later...

    • 3 years ago
  • huntre
  • Relevations
    • 0
      Relevations  

    • The human body is such a miraculous machine......I have allergies to nearly everything on this planet.....especially people......if people began to be concerned about what they put in their bodies......they would realize that there are armies waiting to fight your battles....if you will not poison them.....I highly recommend that you watch.....You Are What You Eat....it is a British show on BBC America....or go to Gillian McKeith.com......she is helping people with allergies....diabetes.....heart problems...self esteem.....your body is your temple.....not a landfill.......Golden Ruler....Johnnie Hargrave.............

    • 3 years ago
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