Dover-area woman makes case for the Indoor Safe Air Act after incidents with toxic mold

Posted on April 22, 2022

DOVER — Carissa Cleveland knew something was wrong when her 17-month-old son began to stay awake at night, screaming, after the family moved to a New Philadelphia home in January 2012.

Driving the boy around would help him fall asleep.

"As soon as I put him back in his crib, he would wake up screaming and the whole cycle would repeat Itself," she told the Ohio House Health Committee on Feb. 8. "By the time we'd lived in the house for three years, we had seen over 20 doctors and got no answers."

Exposure to toxic mold in home led to varying health symptoms for children, Dover-area mom says in testimony

The Franklin Township mother gave her testimony in support of House Bill 251, the Indoor Safe Air Act, which would require the state health director to establish an indoor mold information and awareness program in Ohio.

Cleveland told the committee that the symptoms experienced by her oldest son, Nicholas, younger son, Andrew, and herself were the result of exposure to toxic mold in their home. Husband and father Scott Cleveland was spared, Carissa said, because testosterone has a protective effect. 

Andrew had different symptoms than his older brother, she said. 

"That's the mysterious thing about mold," Cleveland told the committee. "It affects everyone differently because everyone is genetically different."  

Cleveland herself had 31 symptoms and multiple diagnoses: chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, Lyme disease, lupus, pernicious anemia, thyroid and adrenal issues, mast cell activation disorder, multiple chemical sensitivities and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, a blood circulation disorder.         

"My mom had to come over every day to take care of my boys because for months, I was bedbound," she told the committee.

"Long story short, the attic of our home was not built properly and was a breeding ground for toxic mold," Cleveland said. "We had it remediated, but (were) told that it would only cause allergy symptoms."

Cleveland scoffs at the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She believes the problems caused by mold are much worse than the agency states.

The CDC's website says, "Mold can cause many health effects. For some people, mold can cause a stuffy nose, sore throat, coughing or wheezing, burning eyes, or skin rash. People with asthma or who are allergic to mold may have severe reactions. Immune-compromised people and people with chronic lung disease may get infections in their lungs from mold."

"Mold poisoning is not an allergy, as most doctors and remediators are taught," Cleveland told the Ohio House Health Committee. "It's an immune system response that affects every system of the body,"

The CDC's website says mold will grow where there is moisture, such as around leaks in roofs, windows, or pipes or where there has been a flood. Mold grows on paper, cardboard, ceiling tiles and wood. Mold can also grow in dust, paints, wallpaper, insulation, drywall, carpet, fabric and upholstery.

Indoor Safe Air Act, HB 251, would establish indoor mold awareness, inspection program

The Cleveland family now lives in a custom-built house on Mount Pleasant Road in Franklin Township. The home does not have a basement because, Cleveland said, 90 percent of the people she's helped with mold problems suffered because of mold in their basements.

Cleveland left her job as a teacher to teach her sons at home because enrollment in kindergarten caused Nicholas' mold symptoms to return. 

She has made it her purpose in life to help others who suffer health effects from mold, and to advocate for passage of HB 251, which, if enacted into law, would:

• Require the state health director to establish a mold information and awareness program to help the public understand the threat of mold in damp and water-damaged buildings, while recommending resources for identification and remediation.

• Require a person or public entity that sells, transfers, or rents commercial or industrial real property and who knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, that mold is present to disclose that knowledge to a potential buyer, tenant or occupant. 

• Require the health director to review technology or treatment techniques for mold identification and remediation that provide additional protections to public health and safety every five years. 

• Require the state health department to establish a public awareness campaign on the dangers of mold and disseminate information via brochures and the department's website, similar to the ways radon and lead are treated.

• Require the state health department to study any adverse effects to humans from exposure to mold in damp and water-damaged buildings.

The bill remains in committee. Cleveland said she anticipates another hearing.

"Our family has struggled immensely and been through so much frustration," she said. "But now, when I look back on our journey, I can see how God led us right to where we needed to be.

"I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, and sometimes our biggest blessings come from our greatest struggles. Homeschooling my children is just one example. And now I want to use my experience to help other people."

Source: https://www.timesreporter.com/story/news/2022/03/09/dover-area-woman-makes-case-mold-awareness-legislation/9350801002/