A health inspector succumbed to toxic and pathogenic mold after being forced to work in a mold-infested building while his employers conspired to hide the problem.
The Southern Nevada Health District defines its mission as protecting the health and well-being of Southern Nevadans. But, in a bitter twist of irony, the health district allowed toxic and pathogenic mold to sicken and eventually kill Dan Pauluk, a health inspector working in their Shadow Lane offices.
For 19 months Dan requested to move to a different building. His requests were denied, and even made the Health District angry. When he was finally allowed to change locations, his symptoms were already too great and he was forced into an early retirement. After two more years of pain and anguish, he died at home.
An autopsy revealed Dan’s body was filled with mold colonies and his cause of death was stated as mixed mold mycotoxicosis, or poisoning from a blend of toxic mold. It was a combination of Stachybotrys, which is known for producing deadly mycotoxins, and Aspergillus, which has the ability to infect and grow inside a human body.
Documents show that health officials had known about the mold problem since at least 1998. But health district officials claim they did toxicology studies from 2005, 2006, and 2007 that somehow “prove employees of Shadow Lane were never at risk.” And even though officials discovered Aspergillus and Stachybotrys, “that type of mold was not airborne, but limited to a small surface area and was consistent with a roof leak and deemed not unusual,” says district spokeswoman Stephanie Bethel.
However six additional environmental studies from private firms, government teams and UNLV microbiologists contradict these statements. UNLV microbiologist, who actually hold a patent for developing high-tech methods of detecting Aspergillus and Stachybotrys, found Stachybotrys in the building’s ceiling tiles as early as 1998. In 2003 these same microbiologists found Stachybotrys again in the hallway 20 feet from Dan Pauluk.
Bethel says that the strains of Aspergillus and Stachybotrys were “not at levels that would normally pose a human health risk.” But how can that be if no such levels have ever been established, neither by the EPA nor anyone else? How could Stephanie Bethel have that much insight when no one else does?
Mold remediation crews repeatedly attempted to remove the mold, but it kept growing back. It is not known what means of remediation they used. It is likely before the development of enzyme-based products used for more effective and lasting mold remediation.
Email This Post
Print This Post
You must log in to post a comment.