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Erin
Brockovich Crusades Against Mold
State lawmakers told of potential health dangers
Anastasia Hendrix, Chronicle
Staff Writer
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Sacramento
-- In her hallmark miniskirt and stilettos, Erin
Brockovich came to the Capitol yesterday -- not
to talk about the crusade against PG&E that
made her famous, but about her personal battle
against the toxic molds ravaging her Southern
California home.
The activist-turned-celebrity was invited to address
the Senate committee on Health and Human Services
by Sen. Deborah Ortiz (D-Sacramento), who heads
the panel. Ortiz recently introduced a bill that
would institute the first statewide policy regulating
molds in the country.
"We need to start
with the establishment of a standard or exposure
limit for mold, and we don't have that standard
in law now," said Ortiz, who was unable to
attend yesterday's hearing because of a death
in her family. "We have established measures
for lead and asbestos exposure, and I think this
(mold) is akin to those."
Brockovich told the panel that such legislation
might have prevented her from buying the sprawling
Agoura Hills home she and her family moved into
in 1997. Two years later, she was constantly fatigued
and suffered from a range of respiratory problems
and sinus infections. Her 9-year-old daughter
had severe coughing spells and watery eyes.
After stubbing her toe on a raised floorboard,
she began asking the kinds of questions that led
to the landmark lawsuit against PG&E and the
major Hollywood movie that bears her name.
"I began to put two and two together,"
she said. "I have floors coming up. Why?
The house smelled musty. Why? Could there be a
water problem? And then I started thinking --
water, mold, what's going on? I'm sick."
Tests confirmed her suspicions, revealing construction
flaws and high levels of several molds. Brockovich
said blood tests revealed a severe reaction to
two of the molds that showed up in the test results.
Repairs to the 5,200-square-foot home have cost
her more than $600,000, and there is much work
yet to be done. Though she insisted that toxic
mold is not her new cause, she admitted there
is a connection.
"I think it's such
an irony -- the very reason I did Hinckley (Calif.)
is (because) people were sick, people I believed
in, people who had been lied to, people who had
lost their health and their home . . . and the
same thing is happening to me," Brockovich
said, in an uncharacteristically soft voice.
More than 150 people attended yesterday's hearing,
although only two of the 11 committee members
were present.
Brockovich was one of 13 people to speak -- and
her high-profile account is just one of the dozens
of nightmares Ortiz said she has learned about
while preparing the Toxic Mold Protection Act
over the past year.
Tulare County Superior Court Judge Elisabeth Krant
described how she experienced episodes of vertigo,
difficulty concentrating and hair loss before
a huge colony of toxic mold was found in her courtroom
-- the largest reported finding in the state so
far. More than 250 other courthouse employees
have been affected or are on disability leave
because of mold-related illnesses.
While doctors may not all agree on the health
effects and state officials may tangle over what
action to take, Krant said, "I assure you,
all the victims know that they have been made
sick by this stuff. Something needs to be done."
Her voice choked with emotion as she explained
how her concerns were initially dismissed and
how rumors circulated about her going through
menopause and being "a hysterical female."
"It's not just the issue of physical
disability," she said. "It's emotionally
and mentally debilitating too."
Krant's comments echoed the sentiments of hundreds
of Hunters Point residents who are suing the private
company that owns the federally subsidized apartments
in which they live, alleging that chronically
leaking pipes and faulty plumbing have resulted
in recurring mold and myriad health problems.
Helen Jackson, president of the All Hallows Gardens
Residents Association, was unable to attend yesterday's
hearing but said she was relieved that Ortiz was
bringing the topic into the political arena.
"Everything and anything they can do helps,"
she said.
But the 2 1/2-hour hearing underscored that it
is unclear what, if any, consensus on what to
do can be reached.
One problem is that there are as many as 100,000
types of molds, said Sandy McNeel, a research
scientist with the Department of Health Services.
And San Francisco allergist Abba Terr said that
although many assume a connection between molds
and illness, "the public health nuisance
does not stand up to what we know about the biology
of molds."
Yet the explosion of concern is impossible to
ignore, said James Craner, a Nevada doctor who
has seen over 1,000 patients suffering from symptoms
related to mold exposure.
Craner said he believes modern building materials,
particularly gypsum wallboard and other boarding
not used commercially prior to 1960, create an
ideal breeding ground for molds.
Several representatives from the construction,
realty, insurance and apartment industries said
they supported Ortiz's investigation, which would
also create new real estate disclosure requirements
and give local agencies more authority to address
mold problems.
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