Mold in Schools

Written by Daniel Mark Norris Newton Davis

Last Updated: 3-25-08

With budgeting for public schools constantly being discussed and adjusted, all too many schools fail to be properly maintained. Budget cuts in funding too often leave schools in disrepair. A common site in too many schools is a leaking window, ceiling or water pipe. According to every credible source on the subject, including the EPA, if building materials are not dried out within 24-48 hours mold will begin to grow.

If these conditions are not corrected it can lead to a serious mold problem within the school's breathing environment for faculty and students. It does not even need to be visibly growing on the surfaces of the windows, walls or ceilings of the school in order to affect the health of it's occupants. It can be growing inside the walls, where a pipe broke or above the ceiling, without being visible. Many of the structural molds are toxic. They produce mycotoxins to kill off their microbial competitors. Mycotoxins can damage the brain and central nervous system. This is why mycotoxins produced by some of the same toxic molds found in homes, workplaces and schools are concentrated and weaponized into the most powerful biological weapons on Earth, the T-2 Mycotoxins.

What these mycotoxins do to people within minutes or hours in their weaponized form can be duplicated over longer periods of time when concentrated inside a home, workplace or school. The mycotoxins can affect faculty and students in many different ways. 24% of the population is genetically more susceptible to their affects. How much they affect faculty and students also depends on the species of mold, the accumulated concentration levels and the length of time the toxic mold exposure has lasted. This can evolve into a serious health situation within a relatively short period of time.

Unfortunately doctors receive very little training in mycology during medical school here in the United States. If you ask a doctor how much they know about the affects of toxic molds on the human body, most will readily admit, "Not that much". So, the connection of health problems to a toxic mold exposure is usually not recognized. It is usally attributed to some other commonly accepted causation. And a drug is prescribed to resolve the symptoms. But, if the source of the health symptoms are from a toxic mold exposure a drug which only resolves the symptoms temporarily, without identifying and resolving the true causation, serves only to evolve the health problems to a more serious health condition. This is the current situation for millions of people today in the United States.

Just as it took many years for the health affects of asbestos to be recognized and accepted by most people, so it is with the health affects of toxic mold. Most of the denial of mold causing serious health problems comes from entities with vested interests in sustaining that belief. Insurance companies stand to lose many billions of dollars. Most policies now exclude mold for home owners and building contrators. Their 'mold experts for hire' say what their employers want to hear at trials. Conflicting information is intentionally put out in press releases. For these entities the bottom line, and answering to their stockholders prevails over the health of people. Scientists deal in abolute proofs of minute aspects of the whole picture. As with asbestos, it will take years for science to catch up with the realities millions of people are facing right now, today.

I personally experienced a toxic mold exposure in an apartment I rented back around 2001 and 2002. Approximately 18 months of a toxic mold exposure devastated my health. I went from doing stunt work in a pyrotechic Wild West Show, to having trouble walking across the livingroom without tripping over my own feet. If a person interrupted me in the middle of a sentence I could not remember what we were talking about. I suffered from memory problems and compromised cognitive ability. I experienced a heightened state of anxiety and many multi-systemic problems. You can read about all the 'Symptoms I Experienced'. Fortunately I found one of the few doctors in the country who was familiar with the healh affects of toxic mold exposures. As the result of Dr. Vincent Marinkovich and my own extensive research on the subject, I regained my good health to better than ever. I am in ongoing communications with many people across the United States who are fighting the health problems which resulted from their toxic mold exposures. The health issues from toxic mold exposures are very real, I assure you. These people can not wait for science to catch up to their realities.

Millions of people are being exposed to toxic molds in their homes, workplaces and schools each day. Yet, they have no idea this is what is causing their health issues. Since, the human body has difficulty cleaning the mold and their mycotoxins out of the mucous membranes, they accumulate to higher and higher levels inside the body. Often the accumulating levels, and their effects, are so subtle the person has no idea they are even having a toxic mold exposure. The health problem is usually attributed to some other commonly accepted causation, getting older or it being in your head. If it does not fit into a commonly accepted box....

This bothers me most when children are involved. They depend on us adults to protect them. I have no patience for people, companies or organizations who put their own selfish agendas above the health and welfare of children. None! When I see on TV where a school is under-funded, resulting in water intrusion problems, I would feel guilty if I did not attempt to educate all the parties involved. Where there is water intrusion, and the building materials are not dried out within 24-48 hours, mold does grow. No credible authority disputes this. It is truly a sad state of affairs for our schools to be having water intrusions and the resulting mold problems here in the United States of Amaerica, the richest country in the World. The priorities are really messed up.

The faculty and students at schools where toxic mold is an issue may experience health and learning problems in any number of configurations. Headaches and asthma or breathing issues are common. Irritability can be heightened, leading to unusual verbal or physical conflict. Memory and cognitive abilities can be compromised, leading to lower testing scores. Cases of ADD-ADHD can go up. Attendance usually suffers as a result of students not feeling well more often than would be normal. This is especially true when they are also getting exposed to toxic molds in their home. They never get away from it. A person usually will feel somewhat better when they get away from the source of the exposure for a period of time, like during a week long vacation.

The Center for School Mold Help

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: IAQ Tools for Schools Program

EHMI.University: How to Prepare Against Mold

EHMI.University: Expert Discusses Toxic Mold in Schools -A Video