Posted by Mary Mulvey Jacobson on 12/06/04

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Dear Friends,

A huge thing that everyone can do to help us raise
awareness of the devastating effects of exposure to mold
would be to send your story to the Boston City Council to
read and include in the official testimony of the
hearing. Stories can be sent to

Lincoln.Smith@Cityofboston.Gov
and cc me at
MLMJ75@aol.com

Send ASAP as the hearing is December 9th!

We have people coming from all over the country to attend
the hearing! If you can come, if you live close by, please
consider attending.

Congressman John Conyers Jr. of Michigan, the author of
HR1268 "The US Toxic Mold Safety and Protect Act" will be
attending the hearing which is huge and a first for this
country.

Every US Representative in New England (as well as others),
every US Senator, every major media outlet countrywide has
been contacted about this hearing.

YOUR STORIES (hopefully several cartons full) of stories
will make a big impact!

All of this activity came out of our years of work on the
issue of mold exposure and the work we all did during Mold
Awareness Week in Washington DC in September! People
really can make a difference.

As we look forward to the Boston City Council hearing on
December 9th, I wanted to share with you a very interesting
and inspiring fact I learned from Richard Stutman,
President of the Boston Teachers Union in his e-Bulletin to
Boston's teachers.

In alerting the teachers that the City of Boston's Public
Health Commission just released a long awaited
environmental study of all 131 schools in the system,
Richard wished to share a little piece of trivia.

"In reading the Public Health Commission's page, you'll
find that Boston had the nation's first health department,
founded in 1799." You will also find out That Paul Revere
served as Boston's first health officer.

Where else then would we ever find a better place to launch
a nationwide push for HR1268?

The Mold Bill is coming! The Mold Bill is coming!

Mary Mulvey Jacobson

Boston City Council Hearing on Mold

For Immediate Release

Boston City Councillor Maura A. Hennigan would like to
inform the public that a Boston City Council hearing will
be held to address the serious public health threat of mold
and poor indoor air quality, and to learn what Boston can
do, as a city, a state and a region to educate the public
and prevent further contamination.

The date of the hearing is Thursday evening, December 9,
2004 at The Boston Teachers Union Hall, 180 Mount Vernon
Street, Dorchester, MA at 6pm.

This past June, Congressman John Conyers Jr. (D-Michigan),
the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee,
introduced the first Toxic Mold and Indoor Air Pollution
Congressional Caucus and hosted a press conference and
briefing on September 22, 2004 in Washington, DC to further
raise awareness of this growing public health hazard. A
representative group of people from across the country,
including Massachusetts, traveled to Washington DC during
the week of September 20, 2004 to advocate for immediate
Congressional action.

Congressman Conyers, who is sponsoring The U.S. Toxic Mold
Safety and Protection Act, HR1268 will testify at the
Boston hearing. This bill would generate guidelines for
preventing indoor mold growth, establish standards for
removing mold when it does grow, provide grants for mold
removal in public buildings, authorize tax credits for
inspection and/or remediation of mold hazards, and create a
national insurance program to protect homeowners from
catastrophic losses. In addition, an Emergency
Appropriation Bill is included to help schools remediate
contaminated buildings and improve air quality.

The aim of Hennigan's order is to educate the public about
the problem of indoor mold and poor indoor air quality due
to water intrusion in public and private buildings in the
city. Although indoor mold is sometimes invisible to the
naked eye, the potential health effects and symptoms
associated with mold exposures are very visible and
include, but are not limited to, allergic reactions,
asthma, and other respiratory complaints. "This is a
serious public health risk and I look forward to continuing
to raise awareness and educate the public about this issue
by bringing in those who are knowledgeable on this matter,"
Hennigan concluded.

Many local, state and national agencies and organizations
have conducted research and/or have recognized the serious
health effects and property damage caused by indoor mold
including: CDC (Center for Disease Control), EPA
(Environmental Protection Agency), FEMA (Federal Emergency
Management Agency), ASHRAE (American Society of Heating,
Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers), ANSI
(American National Standards Institute), NIOSH (National
Institute for Occupational Health and Safety), OSHA
(Occupational Health and Safety Administration), AIHA
(American Industrial Hygiene Association), WHO (World
Health Organization), AMA (American Medical Association),
American Lung Association, U.S. Surgeon General, American
Academy of Pediatrics, ACGIH (American Conference of
Governmental Industrial Hygienists), U.S. Army, USDA (US
Drug Administration), Massachusetts Nurses Association,
American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology,
American Agricultural Association, MassCosh (Massachusetts
Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health), Boston Urban
Asthma Coalition, National Academy of Sciences, IAQA
(Indoor Air Quality Association), Silent Spring, Building
Environment and Thermal Envelope Council, HUD (Housing and
Urban Development), Indoor Environmental Standards
Organization, Sheet Metal Workers Union, American
Federation of Teachers, and Indian Health Service, and the
Massachusetts Teachers Association.

Testimony is expected from; Congressman Conyers, physicians
currently treating mold related illness, teachers,
including a group from California, Environmental groups,
Mold Advocacy groups, research scientists specializing in
Occupational and Environmental Medicine, nurses, and many
others. The general public is cordially invited to attend.

For directions, please visit
http://www.btu.org/topnavbar/directions.html

For further information, contact

Boston City Councillor Maura Hennigan 617-635-4217
Mary Mulvey Jacobson 617-522-1372
Nancy Davis 978-433-0450
Ginny Tomasini Lane 617-268-6044

Boston City Council
Notice of Public Hearing

November 24, 2004

The Boston City Council's Committee on Environment and
Historic Preservation will hold a public hearing on
Thursday, December 9, 2004 at 6:00 P.M. at the Boston
Teachers Union Hall, 180 Mt. Vernon Street, Dorchester, Ma
02125.

The subject of the hearing is:

Docket # 1407 - Order for a hearing on growing concern
nationally, statewide and within Boston, regarding the
problem of indoor mold contamination and poor indoor air
quality due to water intrusion in public and private
buildings.

This matter was sponsored by Councillor Hennigan and
referred to the committee on October 20, 2004.

Members of the public are cordially invited to attend and
testify. If you have not testified at a Council hearing
before, please arrive (5) minutes before the call of the
hearing to sign up and become familiar with the hearing
format, testimony locations and sound system. Please bring
fifteen (15) copies of any written documentation you wish
to present at the hearing. If you know of others who may
be interested in this hearing, kindly notify them.

Written comments may be made part of the record and
available to all Councilors by sending them by fax or mail
to arrive before the hearing, please use the address below.

For the Committee:

Jerry P. McDermott, Chair
Committee on Environment and Historic Preservation

Mail Address: Docket # 1407 - City Hall, Boston, MA
02201
Fax Number: (617) 635-4203 Attn: Lincoln E. Smith,
Docket # 1407
Telephone Number: 635-3043 / E-Mail:
Lincoln.Smith@Cityofboston.Gov
Comcast - A-51 / cablecast date: December 10, 2004 @ 10:
00 A.M.

Boston City Council
In City Council

Order of Councillors Maura Hennigan, Chuck Turner, Felix
Arroyo, Charles Yancey, Maureen Feeney, Michael Flaherty,
Michael Ross, Paul Scappiccio, Stephen Murphy and John Tobin

WHEREAS: There is growing concern nationally, statewide
and within Boston, regarding the problem of indoor mold
contamination and poor indoor air quality due to water
intrusion in public and private buildings; AND

WHEREAS: EPA, Boston Public Health Commission,
Massachusetts Nurses Association, MassCosh, Boston Urban
Asthma Coalition, HUD, Sheet Metal Workers Union, National
Teachers Association, Indian Health Service, and many other
agencies and organizations have conducted vast amounts of
research or have recognized through this research the known
serious health effects and property damage caused by indoor
mold; AND

WHEREAS: The issue of indoor mold contamination in all
buildings has been an issue of concern to residents of the
City of Boston; AND

WHEREAS: Potential health effects and symptoms associated
with mold exposure include, but are not limited to,
allergic reactions, asthma, and other respiratory
complaints; AND

WHEREAS: That the Boston City Council urges the Mayor and
Boston Public Health Commission to work locally and
nationally with the Boston Congressional Delegation to seek
passage of legislation, H.R. 1268 - U.S. Toxic Mold Safety
and Protection Act, that could offer help to the City of
Boston to remediate public buildings with indoor air
quality problems; THEREFORE BE IT

ORDERED: That the appropriate committee of the Boston City
Council convenes a hearing to address this serious public
health threat and learn what Boston can do, as a city, to
educate the public and prevent further contamination.

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