Mold Awareness Month Hoax

[Mike Lamb]

This is in regards to the article “Your Place: It's a good time to be aware of mold”
By Alan J. Heavens, Inquirer Real Estate Writer POSTED: August 31, 2014. It was reprinted in the Chicago Tribune, 9/12/14.


More mold reporting inaccuracies from a journalist cretin who doesn't think he has to check his sources. This is not the only guy reporting on the bogus EPA mold awareness month. Of course, this garbage was picked up by the Chicago Tribune which is where I saw it.

Your Place: It's a good time to be aware of mold - Philly.com

Specifically, Mr. Heavens writes, "It's rare that I catch one of these "specialty" months until after the fact, but today I'm right on top of September as Mold Awareness Month.

The observance is sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency, which states that molds create "toxins that cause asthma, respiratory infections and chronic sinus problems."

The agency attributes a threefold increase in asthma cases nationally in the last 20 years to mold."


The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not have a mold awareness month nor has it ever had a mold awareness month. The EPA has also never stated that, “molds create toxins that cause asthma...,” nor has it ever attributed a threefold increase in asthma cases over the last 20 years due to mold.


The inaccuracies are ridiculous. Mr. Heavens should check his sources. The EPA was not one of them I assure you.

[Garry Sorrells]

Mike,
Why not contact him with the discrepancies and post his reply?

In a Google search it seems others are under the same delusion. Where did it all begin?

[Rick Cantrell]

.... In a Google search it seems others are under the same delusion. Where did it all begin?

My guess is the Mold labs and mold schools. They are the ones who profit most from false and misleading information.

[Garry Sorrells]

Maybe the Mold Awareness Month" was created by Hallmark Cards? They create something new all of the time.

I am no mold expert and have no claims to be one. I do find mold interesting and the nuances between the many types including the good, the bad and the ugly.

The confusion in terms and concepts may derive from making a statement gleamed from the reinterpretation of other statements and making a conclusion where none exists. By example the following can be reinterpreted to create "Toxic Mold".


CDC - Mold - General Information: Facts about Stachybotrys chartarum and Other Molds
"The term "toxic mold" is not accurate. While certain molds are toxigenic, meaning they can produce toxins (specifically mycotoxins), the molds themselves are not toxic, or poisonous. Hazards presented by molds that may produce mycotoxins should be considered the same as other common molds which can grow in your house. There is always a little mold everywhere - in the air and on many surfaces. There are very few reports that toxigenic molds found inside homescan cause unique or rare health conditions such as pulmonary hemorrhage or memory loss. These case reports are rare, and a causal link between the presence of the toxigenic mold and these conditions has not been proven."

[Mike Lamb]

Mike,
Why not contact him with the discrepancies and post his reply?

In a Google search it seems others are under the same delusion. Where did it all begin?

I have. I will see if their is a reply but I doubt there will be.

A while ago I sent a letter to a writer for the Toronto Star who said there are mold inspectors who can detect mold with IR cameras. They can then tell their clients that the home is mold free which will give them peace of mind. The writer got this information from a mold inspector that he named in the article. I told the writer that this information is a crock and that IR cameras take pictures of temperatures. More twisted information concerning mold. He never replied back to me.

[Mike Lamb]

It would be helpful if those in ASHI, NAHI, NACHI, etc. would post on their forums that the EPA does not have a National Mold Awareness Month and never has, that this is all a hoax. The media and public are accepting this as fact because they read it from a source that seems credible such as the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Chicago Tribune, and on-line. The word, "hoax," should be attached so it can come up in search engines to help get the point across.

Feel free to cut and paste any of the following on your websites, Facebook pages, professional HI origination forums, etc.

This in regards to a Alan J. Heavens article, (Philadelphia Inquirer Real Estate Writer, 8/31/14), which was reprinted in the Chicago Tribune, 9/12/14, and has been erroneously printed all over the internet.

Specifically, Mr. Heavens writes, “It's rare that I catch one of these "specialty" months until after the fact, but today I'm right on top of September as Mold Awareness Month.
The observance is sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency, which states that molds create "toxins that cause asthma, respiratory infections and chronic sinus problems."
The agency attributes a threefold increase in asthma cases nationally in the last 20 years to mold.”

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not have a mold awareness month nor has it ever had a mold awareness month. The EPA has also never stated that, “molds create toxins that cause asthma...,” nor has it ever attributed a threefold increase in asthma cases over the last 20 years to mold.

These inaccuracies are ridiculous. Mr. Heavens, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Chicago Tribune should check their sources. The EPA was not one of them I assure you.
Scaring the public with made-up “facts,” concerning mold is just plain wrong.

[Mike Lamb]

I knew the remarks in the news article were bogus but I still contacted the EPA for verification. It took a month but I received a reply that the remarks and statements in the news article did not come from the EPA. The EPA has never had a Mold Awareness Month, has not stated that mold causes asthma, has not stated that asthma has tripled because of mold.

Info was provided by Lou Witt and Laureen Burton, EPA Program Analyst, Indoor Environments Division 202-343-9051 Witt.Lou@epa.gov