::::::::
Gov't Supported Healthcare Leaders Say Memory Loss Caused By
Toxic Gelatin Molds.
A cruelly obtuse jest of environmental illness made by ostensible private medical leaders
reflects the mindset and the root of a massive national healthcare problem.
An April Fools jest entitled "Toxic Mold Causes Memory Loss, Judgment Effects" 1 wasshared worldwide with occupational and environmental healthcare providers. The jest
was that toxic gelatin molds have been determined to be the cause of memory loss and
impaired judgment, according to ex-White House pastry chef, Roland Mesnier. The piece
was penned by Katherine Kirkland MPH Executive Director of the Association of
Occupational and Environmental Clinics 'AOEC' and Gary Greenberg MD, Fellow
American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 'ACOEM'.
Both AOEC and ACOEM are nationally influential within the occupational and
environmental health care arenas. They receive state and federal government funding and
contracts to determine treatment protocols for sick and injured workers. 2 3 Dr.Greenberg oversees the Occ-Env-Med-L listserv on behalf of members of ACOEM,
AOEC and others. The internet site is information central for occupational physicians
commonly referred to as workers comp doctors. Along with financial contributions from
ACOEM and AOEC, Dr. Greenberg's listserv is supported by private, corporate and
government funding.4
According to the website of Ms. Kirkland's organization, AOEC receives "significant
financial support through multi-year cooperative agreements with the Agency for Toxic
Substances and Disease Registry 'ATSDR' and National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health 'NIOSH'." These organizations come under the umbrella of the US
Department of Health and Human Services. In part, the AOEC privatized government
funding is to be used to advance physician understanding of illness from molds and other
toxic substances such as those recently found to be prevalent at Walter Reed Hospital, the
hurricane devastated gulf coast and the aftermath of 9/11.
The punch line of the April Fools jest is that US Attorney General Gonzales, Scooter
Libby and Vice President Dick Chaney do not tell the truth as a result of memory loss
and judgment impairment from exposure to toxic gelatin molds in the White House. The
perceived implication that went out worldwide to workers comp doctors and other
healthcare professionals is that those who are reporting memory loss and other serious
illness after exposure to toxins and molds are also not telling the truth. The message was:
like gelatin molds, mold toxin exposures do not cause serious illness and those who say
they do, suffer "judgment effects" like the US Attorney General, Mr. Libby and Vice
President Chaney.The telephone number of the FDA was provided within the document for
contact information.
"Certainly OIG [Office of Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services]did not approve it. I do not have independent knowledge of everything that goes on in
the federal government, but I would be greatly surprised if this had been given an
approval by any part of the government." wrote an OIG Public Affairs Liason. He
additionally wrote, "We had the faux FDA webpage reviewed by a Senior Attorney in the
Office of Counsel to the Inspector General. Thank you very much for calling it to our
attention. From a strictly legal perspective, it was determined that the page did not
implicate the legal OIG authorities barring the deceptive use of HHS emblems and
symbols because it does not legitimately confuse or mislead. Let me take this
opportunity, though, for again thanking you for sending us these links to review!"
Seventy-one thousand people are currently being monitored for ongoing illness from
toxic exposures in the aftermath of 9/11. As a result of Hurricane Katrina, respiratory
illness and a memory condition dubbed "Katrina Brain" are reported as rampant on the
gulf coast. A cruelly obtuse jest of toxic and mold illnesses made by those who direct
U.S. occupational and environmental medicine with the assistance of government
funding, reflects the mindset and the root of a massive national healthcare problem5.When notified on April 2nd, that the piece was felt to be in poor taste and derogatorytoward the environmentally ill, Ms. Kirkland responded to one complaint via email. "I
can assure you that no federally funded time was spent on this. Dr. Greenberg and I did
this strictly on week-ends and evenings as a personal effort. I am sorry you found this
offensive," she wrote.
On April 5th, three days after acknowledging the piece was viewed as offensive and notappropriate for medical leaders to propagate, Dr. Greenberg shared it for a second time
with healthcare providers worldwide. Again, this was done through the Occ-Env-Med-L
listserv he oversees on behalf of members of ACOEM/AOEC and others. According to a
later posting by Dr. Greenberg, he "received many messages from folks who seemed to
enjoy the April-Fools' message, but I believe that these were not intended for
dissemination, so have simply replied individually. I guess now that this is about to be a
debate within the readership, messages conveying knee-slapping laughter and gasps of
delighted surprise (well, ok, or just a soft chuckle) will now be allowed to be sent to all."
To date, the knee slapping responses by the medical professionals have not been shared
on the listserv.
The April Fools missive may have been viewed as a harmless jest by the uninformed
were it not for the national influence and recent events involving ACOEM. Since the first
of the year much public controversy has surrounded Dr. Greenberg's affiliated
association and the Toxic Mold issue. On January 9, 2007, the Wall Street Journal "WSJ"
ran a front page article by David Armstrong, entitled "Court of Opinion, Amid Suits Over
Mold, Experts Wear Two Hats".6 The article brought ACOEM conflicts of interest intoquestion with regard to their science and position on mold toxin induced illnesses
c spoof to the United States Department of Health and Human
Services, Food and Drug Administration 'FDA' website under the heading "FDA News"
indicating it to be an official page and jest of toxic illnesses made by the US Federal
Government. The telephone number of the FDA was provided within the document for
contact information.
"Certainly OIG [Office of Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services]did not approve it. I do not have independent knowledge of everything that goes on in
the federal government, but I would be greatly surprised if this had been given an
approval by any part of the government." wrote an OIG Public Affairs Liason. He
additionally wrote, "We had the faux FDA webpage reviewed by a Senior Attorney in the
Office of Counsel to the Inspector General. Thank you very much for calling it to our
attention. From a strictly legal perspective, it was determined that the page did not
implicate the legal OIG authorities barring the deceptive use of HHS emblems and
symbols because it does not legitimately confuse or mislead. Let me take this
opportunity, though, for again thanking you for sending us these links to review!"
Seventy-one thousand people are currently being monitored for ongoing illness from
toxic exposures in the aftermath of 9/11. As a result of Hurricane Katrina, respiratory
illness and a memory condition dubbed "Katrina Brain" are reported as rampant on the
gulf coast. A cruelly obtuse jest of toxic and mold illnesses made by those who direct
U.S. occupational and environmental medicine with the assistance of government
funding, reflects the mindset and the root of a massive national healthcare problem5.When notified on April 2nd, that the piece was felt to be in poor taste and derogatorytoward the environmentally ill, Ms. Kirkland responded to one complaint via email. "I
can assure you that no federally funded time was spent on this. Dr. Greenberg and I did
this strictly on week-ends and evenings as a personal effort. I am sorry you found this
offensive," she wrote.
On April 5th, three days after acknowledging the piece was viewed as offensive and notappropriate for medical leaders to propagate, Dr. Greenberg shared it for a second time
with healthcare providers worldwide. Again, this was done through the Occ-Env-Med-L
listserv he oversees on behalf of members of ACOEM/AOEC and others. According to a
later posting by Dr. Greenberg, he "received many messages from folks who seemed to
enjoy the April-Fools' message, but I believe that these were not intended for
dissemination, so have simply replied individually. I guess now that this is about to be a
debate within the readership, messages conveying knee-slapping laughter and gasps of
delighted surprise (well, ok, or just a soft chuckle) will now be allowed to be sent to all."
To date, the knee slapping responses by the medical professionals have not been shared
on the listserv.
The April Fools missive may have been viewed as a harmless jest by the uninformed
were it not for the national influence and recent events involving ACOEM. Since the first
of the year much public controversy has surrounded Dr. Greenberg's affiliated
association and the Toxic Mold issue. On January 9, 2007, the Wall Street Journal "WSJ"
ran a front page article by David Armstrong, entitled "Court of Opinion, Amid Suits Over
Mold, Experts Wear Two Hats".6 The article brought ACOEM conflicts of interest intoquestion with regard to their science and position on mold toxin induced illnesses
When responding to a complaint of the April Fools piece lodged by a 501(c) 3 non-profit
organization that advocates for those with serious mold induced illnesses, the President of
ACOEM, Tee Guidotti MD, wrote, "You allude to the recent, inaccurate article in the
Wall Street Journal. We are outraged that the WSJ refused to print our letter of response
and we have filed a strong complaint with the newspaper." The April Fools jest was
viewed by many to have been motivated by anger.
As occupational physicians, numerous members of ACOEM are employed by large
corporations, such as Dow Chemical. They evaluate injured workers on behalf of insurers
and employers. Their findings determine outcomes such as treatment protocols for on the
job injuries, financial coverage by workers compensation insurers and
disability/employer payments for injuries sustained. In essence, they are the medical
gatekeepers of industry.
Over concerns raised by some ACOEM members, two experts for the defense in mold
litigation were brought into the organization to author the ACOEM mold position
statement.7 The third author brought in, was newly retired as Assistant Surgeon GeneralNIOSH and was starting a second career involving mold litigation. The paper claimed it
is "highly unlikely at best" people experience toxic effects from mold found within
buildings. The authors of the ACOEM mold statement applied their personal math to data
borrowed from a single rodent study to make the conclusion of the implausibility of
human toxicity. The calculations and their conclusion have never been duplicated by any
other toxicologists.
The Wall Street Journal article quoted Dr. Harriet Ammann, a toxicologist selected by the
National Institute of Health, Institute of Medicine to author on mold toxin illness. "They
[the ACOEM authors] took hypothetical exposure and hypothetical toxicity and jumped
to the conclusion there is nothing there." she said. Yet with the imprimatur of the
influential medical association, ACOEM, adding credence to the never replicated nonsequitur,
it has been used extensively and authoritatively in mold litigation throughout the
US to deny financial liability for insurers, employers and others when illness brought on
by exposures to moldy buildings occur.
US citizens, who have been exposed to toxins and molds from 9/11 and other situations,
report significant difficulty locating physicians adequately trained to treat immunological
and toxicological symptoms. For many, Ms Kirkland and Dr. Greenberg's jest was seen
as perverse humor similar to priests spoofing pedophilia in the Sunday bulletin while
indicating it came from the Vatican. The telling jest is indicative of why the sick are
unable to obtain informed medical treatment for serious environmental illnesses.
Many US citizens are not feeling quite as jovial these days as some members of the
American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 'ACOEM' and the
Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics 'AOEC'. The citizens are sick
from molds and other toxic substances. Against tall odds, they are attempting to locate
physicians who are serious about treating environmental illnesses - not those who would
callously incite medical professionals to mock and deride. For many environmentally ill,
everyday is a cruel April Fools' joke at the hands of our nation's leading government
supported, occupational and environmental medical associations. 8 For all United Statescitizens, the reprehensible situation is no laughing matter.9
References
1 US Fool and Drug Administration Spoof [http://www.occhealthnews.net/fda-mold.htm]
2 ACOEM Occupational Medicine Guidelines [http://www.acoem.org/PracticeGuidelines.aspx]
3 Stated purpose of AOEC [http://www.aoec.org/about.htm]
4 Occ-Env-Med-L list serv [http://www.occhealthnews.net]
5 ACOEM, Science & the White House [http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/inforeg/2003iq/66.pdf]
6 Wall Street Journal article, via Daily Report On Line Note: David Armstrong is WSJ author.[click here=1%2F9%2F2007%40
13077_Public_.htm]
7 ACOEM Policy and Position Statements, Evidence Based Statement, Adverse Human Health EffectsFrom Mold in the Indoor Environment [http://www.acoem.org/guidelines.aspx?id=850]
8 County Child Protective Services & One Healthcare Provider's Perception "Delusional"[http://www.mcs-america.org/march2007pg1920.pdf] & [http://www.mcs-america.org/april2007pg2122232425.pdf]
9 Detroit Air Traffic Controllers Complain of Cognitive Problems, FAA Turns Blind Eye.
My name is Iris Harden and me and my husband were poisoned by toxic mold. I thank advocate Sharon Kramer for all the work she does on behalf of those with mold-induced illnesses. This is such a big health problem with people all over the world. It's an everyday battle. But the mindset of many is that it is some sort of joke. I assure you, if mold illness ever affects you or someone you care about, you'll get out of that mindset real quickly. Please read on and really pay close attention.
I've shared my story and even the photos several times. I see too much human suffering. I derive no joy in showing these alarming images. I think about it this way: If I can make one person realize how deadly these mycotoxins are from seeing a real victim's pain; If I can get one physician or politician to take notice of what a serious health issue this is; if I can reach out and be a support to one victim of this devastating illness, then I don't care if I have to post our story and photos 10,000 times. I was taught to stand up for what I believe in, even if I must stand alone.
We had no initial idea what was making me so sick. The toxic molds and deadly agent called trichothecene acted as a stealth. It wreaked vaporous toxins through the walls and insulation of the home we lived in. Life became a living hell. After being chased from our home by invisible poisons, we thought we'd escaped. If you study up on this agent, trichothecene, you'll see you can't take it with you and ever get better. Toxins were on all our belongings.
I won't go into all that took place since then, other than we had to vacate the next home and this time we knew we could not bring our belongings with us. Most of our worldly possessions were left behind. Some sit in a storage bin in hopes they may possibly be decontaminated one day. Just the emotional aspect of losing all my photos, original song lyrics, Bibles and books and things that no money could ever replace was hard enough.
We were also forced into 10 months of homelessness, other than two months at my church, Agape Ministries. We never got diagnosed locally, because nearly every physician in Augusta, Ga. closed their minds to the reality of a very real illness. Thank God, through a Yahoo Sickbuildings Health Group, we were led to the right doctors, labs and contacts. We also became aware of all the people who suffer from mold related illnesses. We had no idea!
Sorry to say, even since a double diagnosis, this community denies mold illness, other than maybe causing an allergy. Well, forgive me, but this is far beyond an allergy. The adverse health effects are simply horrible. Even on good days, our lives can never be as they were before. Mold illness affects the entire body, multiple organs and immune system.
I publicly state this to the Medical College of Georgia who stated to ABC News during my recent interview : these mycotoxins do not exist...Well, pardon me..but if they do not exist, why do you received millions in grants to research and study agents of biowarfare like trichothecene, a known toxin produced by fungi? Can you explain this to us? Everyone knows mycotoxins are real and they are deadly. We had hoped you would warn the public of serious health dangers. In our home there were extreme levels of this toxic agent, plus many toxic molds..all confirmed by environmental testing which you have a copy of. Many don't understand your statements.
To any other medical professionals or even insurance companies you need to understand how we are suffering. Grange insurance has been more than inhumane to us and I have heard of other insurance companies acting in a like manner. Does human life matter any more?
If you don't care about us, what about all the young children who are being affected? Or the young mother, secretary, I've been talking to for months, who was poisoned at work? I hear her crying and I can just feel her pain over the phone. Or the Veteran I know in Pa. who is incredibly ill, with no answers? The air traffic controller who was sickened within the tower at Detroit Metro? The lady cop, my friend in Tx. who has lost her entire immune system and career to mold? My nurse friend in Ma. who is trapped in an apartment that is highly contaminated and she's on oxygen due to mold? It's one story after another and it is WRONG!
I just want people to know this is no joke and you are not alone. Don't let anyone tell you mold cannot make you sick..VERY sick.
Yes, it can! Yes, it really can!
Same old story..only the faces and places change. Please share this health issue with all your contacts and politicians. We are very concerned about the lack of concern. I have a website where you can read and see more: www.myspace.com/faceoftoxicmold I also started a group called Toxic Mold on OpedNews.com because I truly care about this issue and want to give you as much support as humanly possible.
Iris& Tlee
Before Toxic Mold
Toxic Mold Burns
Indoors - No Air To Lungs - Chest Pain
Gasping for Air
Toxins Attack Central Nervous System
