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Water leaks plague schools
A Miami-Dade County schools investigation has overwhelmingly confirmed what
principals architects and district-building inspectors have long suspected Water
leaks have infected almost every new school and addition built in recent years.
All but one of 78 new buildings have leaks and almost half have developed mold
and mildew which can taint indoor air quality and cause illness according to
recently completed reports by two consulting firms hired by the school system.
By Debbie Cenziper,
dcenziper@herald.com, The Miami Herald Local News, April 13, 2003
Proposed Florida Mold Bill Unfair
to Consumers American Society of Safety Engineers Say
It's disturbing that a licensing bill meant to protect Floridians from fraud and
unqualified people would exempt one kind of practitioner ? ASSE President Mark
Hansen P.E. C.S.P. said. ?Why would one group even want to exempt themselves
from rules to protect consumers You don't see one kind of lawyer or one medical
specialty trying to get out of Florida's licensing laws.
Safety Online, April 10, 2003
Warm spring weather can cause stored corn, soybeans to spoil
Wilcke says wet harvest conditions resulted in the storage of some wet shelled
corn and soybeans last fall. Cold weather generally protected these crops from
mold and insects during the winter. Stored crops that are cooled to less than 30
degrees F during the winter can be stored at fairly high moisture levels with
minimal risk of spoilage he points out.
By U of M Extension, Farm & Ranch Guide News, April 9, 2003
School gym repair bill may near $500,000
After spending the past several months sizing up what went wrong with Kelly
Middle School's leaky gym the Eugene School District now has an equally vexing
challenge on its hands figuring out who will pay to fix it. The gym was sealed
off in late December after building officials discovered massive water damage in
the walls and floors as well as spores from an especially toxic strain of mold.
By Anne Williams,
The Register-Guard, April 4, 2003
Mold Turmoil
It is a slimy sticky black brownish or sometimes orangey organism that mostly
comes in knobby though sometimes hairy microscopic ovals half a million or more
spores fitting on the face of a dime. Mold in some of its myriad forms has long
been known to cause serious damage to some people's pulmonary systems.
By Dennis Hevesi,
The New York Times, April 4, 2003
Mold found at Foothills
Calgary At least 30 nurses working on the dialysis unit at Foothills Hospital
have complained of headaches and breathing problems for months and over the
weekend the health authority discovered a two-foot patch of mold. The United
Nurses of Alberta says one-third of the RNs working in that unit have filed
complaints that list symptoms ranging from hives to chronic nose bleeds to
respiratory problems.
CBC Calgary, April 1, 2003
Mold found at
Calgary hospital
Calgary At least 30 nurses working on the dialysis unit at Foothills Hospital
have complained of headaches and breathing problems for months and over the
weekend the health authority discovered a two-foot patch of mold. The United
Nurses of Alberta says one-third of the RNs working in that unit have filed
complaints that list symptoms ranging from hives to chronic nose bleeds to
respiratory problems.
CBC Edmonton, April 1, 2003
Stopping the Fungus
Among Us
It's that time of year again when winter storms and pesky colds give way to
springtime allergies sneezing itchy red eyes and tons of discomfort. To some
going indoors gets rid of their symptoms. For others going inside can cause even
more problems. Indoor allergies are due to airborne microscopic particles that
come from dust mold spores and fungi common allergens that can thrive inside as
well as outside.
By Becky Worley, Tech TV, April 1, 2003
`Rotting' Condos Pose Dilemma;
Owners Want To Recover Losses; Builders Want To Avoid High Insurance
The spacious new condominiums seemed like a good deal. Built on a Renton
hillside, overlooking a golf course, units in the Heritage at Fairwood complex
sold out quickly in the late 1990s for as little as $150,000.
But a couple of rainy winters later, dozens of families began questioning their
investment.
Walls were seeping. Mold started sprouting on ceilings. Fire- escape decks began
collapsing.
By Candace Heckman, Intelligencer, Seattle
Post,
April 1, 2003
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