|
Believe one who has proved it. Believe an expert. Virgil January 17, 2008 UCLA News Chemical exposures cost California an estimated $ 2.6 billion, research shows Policy report "Green Chemistry: Cornerstone to a Sustainable California" endorsed by 127 University of California faculty members. Chemicals and pollution related diseases among children and workers in California cost 2.6 billion in direct and indirect costs as well as chronic illesses. November 2, 2007 The Town-Crier Loxahatchee, Florida Expert: Stay Healthy By Keeping Your Indoor Air Clean June 2, 2007 Neighborhood Post - Palm Beach Post West Palm Beach, Florida Asthma-Friendly Contest gives girl bedroom make-over. June 2, 2007 Council of State Governments (CSG) Denise Robinette spoke on June 2ne at Promoting Healthy Lifestyles: Access to Health Care for the Uninsured . The event was held in Miami, Florida Click here for more information 7/19/06 healthy states -- Council of State Governments (CSG)
Denise Robinette spoke on July 19th at the Healthy States Summit for State Legislators: Building Healthier Communities for our Youth and Adults. The event was held in San Francisco, California
Click here for more information
8. 18 AND LIFE
Air Pollution Does Long-Term Damage to Kids' Lungs
Regular exposure to air pollution can stunt the growth of children's lungs, leading to a lifetime of reduced respiratory capacity, health problems, and even early death, according to a landmark study published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study, the longest and most comprehensive of its kind, followed a group of 1,759 schoolchildren in Southern California from fourth grade to high school graduation. Children breathing dirty air were up to five times more likely to grow up with weakened lungs, a finding true across the board, not just in children with preexisting conditions like asthma.
Professor C. Arden Pope, who wrote an editorial accompanying the study, tried to put a positive spin on the results, calling them "good news" because they confirm that "the control of air pollution represents an important opportunity to prevent disease." Hey, great! straight to the source: Los Angeles Times, Miguel Bustillo, 09 Sep 2004 straight to the source: The Sacramento Bee, Edie Lau, 09 Sep 2004
03/02/04 Mold lawsuits filed against schools The Truth About Antibacterial Soaps --And Why You Should Avoid Them By Dr. Joseph Mercola with Rachael Droege March 18, 2004 is the 67th anniversary of the New London School Explosion. Sheffield Today (UK), 5 March 2004 Holistic health approach at primary school
It's Sheffield's greenest school and the plan is for Norfolk Primary to have the healthiest pupils too. Read the article
Clean Up Mold In School 3/9/04 In Broward County, millions of dollars are being spent to clean up mold in public schools. But Seven News has learned there's new mold growing in one classroom that was just rebuilt. Investigative Reporter Carmel Cafiero is - On The Case. Jupiter man helped create school air quality bill
When the House Education Committee considers a bill this session that includes a demand for improved school air quality, that portion will be largely the handiwork of a Jupiter man who believes mold made made his sons sick in the late 1990s.By Cynthia Kopkowski, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Wednesday, March 3, 2004 The full article will be available on the Web for a limited time. Schools' mold, mildew targeted
When a child suffers, lawmakers frequently seek to prevent more pain through legislation that bears its martyr's name: Amber, Megan, Jimmy Ryce -- and now, perhaps Kyla. The full article will be available on the Web for a limited time.
(c) 2004 The Miami Herald and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. Posted on Sun, Feb. 29, 2004 Antibiotics may Increase Breast Cancer Risk
Antibiotic use is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, according to a study, and the more antibiotics used the more the risk of breast cancer increased. Read more
Check out the latest science about the link between breast cancer and the use of antibiotics. Women's risk of developing breast cancer DOUBLED among those who used 25 or more prescriptions. Also, a high rate of cumulative days of antibiotic use was associated with a sharply increased risk of death due to breast cancer. Is Indoor Mold Contamination a Threat to Health?
Part 1 of a two-part series article that was written by Harriet M. Ammann, Ph.D., D.A.B.T. as a senior toxicologist for Washington State Department of Health, Office of Environmental Health Assessments PDF version
Molds, Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 HealthyLiving Foundation is proud to be the mentors for the Green Flag program at Independence Middle School located in Jupiter, Florida. More legal troubles for the Broward School District. Seven News has learned "fourteen" new lawsuits have been filed seeking damages due to mold contamination. Investigative Reporter Carmel Cafiero is "On The Case". Read the full story
More on the Broward lawsuits California Schools Resolution on Sustainability & the Design & Construction of High Performance Schools
Florida IAQ Bill - (Updated 02/04)
A bill to be entitled Kyla’s Law. An act relating to educational facilities creating s. 1013.135, F.S.; requiring each district school board to adopt and implement an indoor air quality program. Rep. Arza's bill is presently in bill drafting. Watch this space for future revisions. INTERIM REPORT OF THE 2002 FALL TERM GRAND JURY ON SCHOOL BOARD CONSTRUCTION
Think your home is childproofed? 'CHEC' again
By Barbara Marshall, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Sunday, November 9, 2003
We may not be able to find Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, but our own are easy enough to locate -- they're under the sink. And in the garage. According to the Children's Health Environmental Coalition, we wage chemical warfare daily to have floors free of dirt, houses free of ants and yards free of chinch bugs. ARCHIVES
South Florida Parenting Magazine
April 2003 issue, Page 38
Toxic Schools
By Trish Riley
Mold problems are widespread in humid South Florida -- affecting the health of teachers and students, while school boards throughout the region lag in solving the problem. Read the entire article Help for Improving Indoor Air Quality
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provides several
resources for mold information and control:
Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Buildings: A guide that includes information on how to recognize mold in large buildings and what must be done to remove it (EPA
402-K-01-001 or Click here )
www.epa.gov/iaq/molds/mold_remediation.html
IAQ Tools for Schools Kit: A guided program for parents and
teachers to work with administrators in getting their schools
tested and mold removed, the kit shows schools how to carry
out a practical plan of action that will maintain or improve
indoor air quality using common-sense activities and in-house staff. Co-sponsored by the National Education Association, National PTA, Council for American Private Education, Association for School Business Officials, American Federation of Teachers and the American Lung Association (EPA-402-K-02-005 or Click here )
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/schools/index.html
To order these and other brochures on indoor air quality,
visit the EPA web site at www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs or mail or
call requests to either address below. Use the EPA Document
Number when ordering.
IAQ INFO
P.O. Box 37133, Washington, DC 20013-7133
800-438-4318/703-356-4020
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
National Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP)
P.O. Box 42419
Cincinnati, OH 42419
800-490-9198 Trish Riley is a freelance writer specializing in health
issues. She lives in Sunrise.
Click here for more information
Copyright 2003 Tribune Interactive and Sun-Sentinel Co. Press Release on Daily Business Review
Miami. Thursday March 13, 2003
Reporter Steve Ellman met whith Walter and Denise Karpinia, founders of the Healthy Living Foundation, and discussed the Lawsuits to be filed in Palm Beach Circuit Court regarding indoor Air Quality in our schools.
Read Article> "Pollution, Heart Trouble Linked"
Detroit Free Press March 12, 2002
High levels of pollution are linked to heart attacks and cardiovascular problems. Studies show air pollution causes the blood vessels of healthy people to close up, state researchers. Research published in journal Circulation March 2002 issue "$ 1.9 Million Settles Asthma-Death Suit"
Chicago Tribune March 14, 2002
A central Illinois teenager died from an asthma attack that began while at Six Flags Great America. Upon having an asthma attack, park paramedics found the teenager's albuterol inhaler was empty and began to administer oxygen, suggesting he go to a nearby pharmacy to refill his presciption. Upon going to the pharmacy, the attack worsened and Gurnee Fire-Department paramedics responded, but were unable to revive Lewis, who died within five minutes of leaving the park. In the lawsuit, Lewis' attorneys argue that six Flags employees should have given Lewis albuterol, continued oxygen and taken him to the hospital. To the Archives
"News to Note"
Orlando Sentinel April 7, 2002
Researchers at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas repoprted that 78% of mice infected with M.Pneumoniae developed many of the hallmarks of asthma in their lungs 18 months after the injection. (article in current issue of Infection and Immunity) This study links the suspicion that the bacterium that causes pneumonia may also contribute to the development of asthma, since it can hang around in the lungs long after a person has recovered from pneumonia. To the Archives
"PA Limits Use Of Pesticides In Schools"
Philadelphia Inquirer April 23, 2002
Pennsylvania Gov. Schweiker signed two laws requiring schools to curtail their use of pesticides, and in most cases to apply them at least seven hours before children are present. Supporters hail the measures, noting that some pesticides have been linked to asthma, nausea, and some forms of cancer. To the Archives
"Education Can Control Kids' Asthma, Study Says"
Detroit Free Press April 30, 2002
University of Michigan researchers found that by educating about asthma triggers, the incidence of asthma attacks can be greatly reduced. Reseachers saw a significant impact within a couple of years of coaching in just seven schools. The researchers worked with school officials and janitors to identify and eliminate potential asthma triggers in the classrooms. Those in the program had 84% fewer daytime symptoms, 80% fewer nightime symptoms and 72% fewer emergency room visits than similar students at the control schools. To the Archives
"Allergens Trapped In Gateway Cited As Rash Cause"
Philadelphia Inquirer June 13, 2002
Allergens trapped in the air, carpet, and chair upholstery at Gateway Regional High School in New Jersey are likely the cause of a red rash that sent 90 students to the nurses office since May. High temperatures in the unairconditioned classrooms and lack of airflow in others could be causing the breakouts due to pollen, animal dander and other allergens in the 20 year-old carpet and upholstery. To the Archives
"Dirty Schools Lead To Increase In Asthma Cases"
Associated Press State & Local Wire June 20, 2002
A panel of experts at a statewide conference in Illinois said an increase in cases of asthma among children may be caused by dusty, moldy school buildings. To the Archives
"Health"
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette July 9, 2002
Sleeping on a spring mattress instead of a foam one may be a good idea for people with allergies. Researchers in Norway reported that the risk of finding dust mite feces was four times higher in foam mattresses than in spring mattresses. Additionally, foam mattresses with no fabic covering had eight times more evidence of dust mites. To the Archives
"Special Rooms Let Allergy-Prone Focus On Studies"
The Record (Kitchener-Waterloo) July 22, 2002
An environmentally controlled program started by the Waterloo Region District School Board in Ontairo, Canada in 1985 provides a safe place for studentw with adverse reactions to chemicals, poor air quality, food or airborne allergens and other environmental factors. To the Archives
"Some Workers Face Higher Asthma Risk"
Chicago Tribune August 11, 2002
A study in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine suggests that asthma is more than merely a genetic problem. Environmental conditions such as in a workplace play a role. Chemicals used may increase the risk such as in the entertainment industry where artist, designers and photographers have an asthma risk of five times greater than the average worker. Farmers, teachers, forestry workers, truckers and ther health secotr employees face double the risk. To the Archives
"Involuntary Smoke Exposure Affects Asthma Severity Among Children, Study Confirms"
PR Newswire August 15, 2002
A study (August edition of the journal Chest) by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention states that children with asthma who are exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) are more likely to have increase respiratoy symptoms, increased school absenses, and decreased lung function. "Keeping Your Home Safe From Indoor Air Pollutants" Chicago Tribune August 16, 2002 According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the air quality indoors is at least 2 to 5 times worse than outdoors. Because people spend about 90% of their time indoors, it considers indoor air quality to be one of the top environmental health threats in the country. Pollutants trapped inside our buildings may cause chronic symptoms, including coughing, sneezing, skin rashes and itcy eyes. Some pollutants may have more serious side effects including asthma and cancer. To the Archives
"Airborne Molds, Not Pollen, Worsen Asthma In Adults"
Agence France Press August 23, 2002
A study to be published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) states the severity of asthma in adults may be linked to a person's sensitivity to airborne molds, rather than to common allergens such as pollen or cat hair. It states that asthmatics who are sensitive to mold are 2.34 times more likely to have severe asthma. It also suggests that the small size of mold spores may enable them to reach lower airways and exposure is greater since people spend most of their time indoors. To the Archives
"Asthma Risk May Be Cut By Dirt, Study Says: Contact With Microbes May Aid Farm Youths' Immunity"
The Washington Post September 19, 2002
A study published in teh New England Journal of Medicine examined 800 Swiss, German and Austrian children and found that the reason farm children have low rates of asthma may be their exposure to dirt. The research found that the children who had bed linens with large amounts of microbial dust were only half as likely to have asthma as children whose sheets contained little of the residue. Also, those who had spent their first year of life on a farm - which would have given them early contact with the bacterial substances - appeared to be especially protected. To the Archives
Press Release on Daily Business Review
Miami. Thursday March 13, 2003
Reporter Steve Ellman met whith Walter and Denise Karpinia, founders of the Healthy Living Foundation, and discussed the Lawsuits to be filed in Palm Beach Circuit Court regarding indoor Air Quality in our schools.
Sick of school?
First of planned onslaught of suits says schools in Palm Beach County have dangerous mold problem.
By Steve Ellman
For years school officials in Palm beach county have tried to address complaints of "sick building" syndrome, last month, the School Board pledged an additional $2 million annually to improve classroom air quality through preventive maintenance of air conditioning systems. But efforts may be a little late. Fed up with what they believe to be official foot-dragging, the parents of two students have filed the first of what their lawyer says will be many lawsuits in Palm Beach Circuit Court. The suit alleges that their sons were sickened by negligent maintenance of school air systems. On Dec. 30, Jupiter residents Walter and Denise Karpinia filed suit alleging that faulty maintenance of school ventilation systems in 1998-99 produced toxic mold that sickened and/or aggravated preexisting conditions suffered by their sons Alex, 11, and Kristopher, 12. They also said that the defendant failed to properly control moisture conditions in the school buildings. The suit asks for compensatory damages for medical treatment, pain, potential loss of earning power and other injuries. Initially, the suit's lead defendant was ServiceMaster Management Services, a division of Downers Grove, Ill. Based ServiceMaster, the national home service franchise company. Service master contracted to manage the county school system's custodial services from June 1998 to February 2000, at which time the Palm Beach County School Board terminated the contract early. Also named is the company's local manager at that time. According to the Karpinias' counsel, Robert J. Mckee, a partner at Krupnick, Campbell, Malone, Buser, Slama, Hancock, McNelis, Liberman & McKee in Fort Lauderdale, the suit soon will be amended, substituting Philadelphia based Aramark Corp., a national services outsourcing company, as lead defendant. Aramark acquired ServiceMaster's Management Services division in November 2001. McKee said the School Board will also be named as a defendant in the amended lawsuit. The Karpinia's suit is "just the beginning," McKee said. He plans to file similar claims on behalf of as many as 60 other schoolchildren and teachers from more than a dozen public schools in Palm beach county. The teachers' claims will seek both compensatory damages, the latter because those claims will also allege battery, on the grounds that the company and the district failed to remedy the injuries after complaints were made. McKee said he plans to file the school mold complaints individually rather than as a class action. "You can get to trial faster than you can get class certification," he explained. "And if you win the first, later defendants often settle for full value." He also noted that because injury causation in this type of lawsuit varies so much from person to person, "you could win at trial and shot down on appeal" on the class action certification question. Representatives of Aramark and ServiceMaster declined to comment on the suits. But Palm Beach County School Board spokesman Nat Harrington defended the school district's record on air quality issues. "Where we've had problems, we've addressed them," Harrington said. Citing Florida's humid, mold friendly climate, he added, "people need to use common sense and look at the children's total environment before jumping to conclusions about the schools." But the Karpinias, whose sons' health has improved since changing schools, said their suit was filed with the interest of other children in mind. The couple has established a nonprofit advocacy group, The Healthyliving Foundation, which they say will receive any damages recovered in their suit. "Our kids were like canaries in a coal mine," Denise Karpinia said. "We're going after the money t fix the problem and educate the community."
Scared to death
The Karpinias said suspected something was wrong with the air quality at their children's school during the 1998-99 school year, when Alex attended Jupiter Farms Elementary school and Kristopher was a pupil at Duncan Middle School. The boys began complaining of a variety of respiratory symptoms- runny noses, headaches, nosebleeds and sinus infections. Alex, who had been diagnosed as an asthmatic at age 4, has his condition deteriorate from "controlled to chronic," Mrs. Karpinia said. "They were fine during the vacations and sick when they went back to school," she said. "It got so they had to be medicated with Flonase and Claritin to go to school." The Karpinias said they first believed that the classroom carpeting was the problem, and that it served as a breeding ground for microbes that were infecting the boys. But the couple decided that something larger was involved after Denise Karpinia went to school one day to bring ailing Alex home. While she was there, she said, a teacher opened a drawer t show her a mold-encrusted camera case. "(The teacher) told me she was scared to death" about the mold problem in the school, Mrs. Karpinia said. Her husband, a self-employed mechanical engineer, investigated the situation himself. He looked over the school's building plans and researched school air-conditioning systems. He concluded that high levels of relative humidity in the classrooms were breeding mold at toxic levels. He said he lobbied for the installation of de-humidifiers in affected classrooms, but that the school district officials and ServiceMaster did not follow his recommendation. "It doesn't matter how clean the [air-conditioning] systems are," Mr. Karpinia said. "Without correcting for excess humidity, mold and fungus will grow. It'll kill people."
Trial lawyers made it up?
A March 2001 report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says that mold caused by moisture problems in school and commercial buildings has been linked to changes in building design that began in the 1970s. A trend toward more airtight design structure combined with a lack of adequate ventilation has led to a proliferation of buildings that are breeding grounds for mold, the report says. This has caused "adverse health problems… particularly for those with allergies or respiratory problems." "All molds have the potential to cause health effects," the report notes. There are more than 200 toxins identified in common molds, "some of them commonly found in moisture-damaged buildings." More studies are needed on the relationship of mold in buildings to human health, the report says. But, the EPA concludes, it is "clearly prudent" to avoid exposure to molds. "The key to mold control is moisture control." Critics mock the notion of an epidemic of toxic mold and say the plaintiff bar has manufactured this problem as a way to make money. According to the Insurance Information Institute, A New York based organization, there are more than 10,000 mold-related lawsuits currently pending in state courts across the country. Texas was ground zero for these kind of suits and it's been the state's most successful export," said institute chief economist Robert Hartwig. He said schools have become favorite defendants for such suits because "they provide sympathetic plaintiffs- school kids and teachers." There's very little science backing up the connection between mold and illness," Hartwig said. "That won't get in the way of a trial lawyer seeking a multimillion dollar payday." In Palm Beach County, however, the School Board itself has complained about air quality problems. In 1996, the Palm Beach County School Board sued a Hobe Sound architectural firm, alleging faulty design of air ventilation systems in eight county schools, including Duncan Middle, which Kristopher Karpinia attended. The School Board claimed that excessive moisture in the school was causing respiratory problems for students and teachers. The district has been repairing those schools at a cost of $1.5 million a year, according to school district spokesman Harrington, who said the repairs are still in progress. The School Board had a rocky relationship with ServiceMaster during the life of the service contract. The company was hired by the board in April 1998 over the objections of the district's custodial employees to take charge of the district's in-house custodial system. The initial contract was to run three years, at an annual cost of $4.5 million. But it was terminated just 18 months into the contract. According to school district records, the School Board dismissed the company chiefly because it failed to meet goals in coast savings. But problems with air quality were also a factor. In 1999, county public health officials threatened to shut down one elementary school for its unsanitary air conditioning system. And in June of that year, a ServiceMaster internal audit listed 22 schools that had complained of air quality problems. In an interview, school district environmental control officer Chris Skerlec scoffed at the term "toxic mold," which he called "something created by the law firms." He said elevated humidity is a potential health problem in schools, but he argued that problems at Jupiter farms Elementary stemmed from improper operation of ventilation equipment and that design problems at Duncan Middle School were "being addressed". Skerlec said the claims of mold problems in the district were being fueled by "rumors" and "loose talk" among parents and teachers. "There are no well-defined standards in this field," he said.
Pushing off liability
McKee, the Karpinias' attorney, who previously worked as an agricultural scientist, has focused exclusively on toxic substance negligence claims since joining Krupnick Campbell in 1992. He has another lawsuit alleging the existence of toxic mold in schools in Broward Circuit Court. In that action, he's representing parents who claim that the Broward county school Board has been negligent in allowing the accumulation of mold, and that students have gotten sick as a result. That suit, Giwa-Osagie vs. School Board of Broward County, goes to trial on Monday. McKee predicted a battle between Aramark and ServiceMaster over who is liable for the alleged mold problems in Palm Beach County schools, since Aramark acquired the ServiceMaster manager services division only in November 2001- after the alleged injuries to the Karpinias' sons occurred. "Aramark could agree to a judgment and let us step into their shoes and sue ServiceMaster," he said. "It opens the prospect of another, very interesting lawsuit." But ServiceMaster spokesman Steve Bono said that "generally, those kinds of [liabilities] are sold along with the business."
Back to top
To the Archives
|
News 
