78R618 CCK-D

By:  Corte                                                      H.C.R. No. 11 


CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Indoor air contamination in the form of mold has become a major health concern among home, school, and office settings in Texas and other states, contributing to a condition commonly known as "sick building" syndrome; and WHEREAS, While many ordinary indoor molds that give rise to minor allergic reactions have long been with us, attention now focuses on more insidious types that can breed chronic allergies, aggravate asthma, provoke memory loss, cause fever or rashes, produce dizziness, trigger seizures or shortness of breath, sow opportunistic lung infections in individuals with compromised immune systems, or possibly play a role in the onset of pulmonary hemorrhage in infants; and WHEREAS, Certain molds can produce harmful microbial volatile organic compounds; others, such as Stachybotrys, Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, and Trichoderma, can produce potent mycotoxins as a side effect of competitive chemical warfare with other molds and bacteria; and WHEREAS, Molds have no chlorophyll and need no sunlight; thus they grow indoors wherever there is sufficient moisture and a food supply, typically seeking out moist carpets, tile coverings, vinyl and linoleum flooring, concrete and cinder block surfaces, insulation, plasterboard, wood, books and papers, leather, cloth, and other materials; and WHEREAS, Water damage and poor ventilation, sometimes resulting from faulty construction or renovation practices or even energy efficiency measures, have yielded harmful molds and attendant illnesses, including outbreaks of hypersensitivity pneumonitis, forcing the abandonment of homes and the closing of workplaces and educational institutions; and WHEREAS, One result has been a legal and regulatory quagmire, complicated by insufficient understanding of the hazard potential of various molds and the lack of trustworthy standards for assessing when mold levels are too high or when they have been rendered inconsequential by sick-building remediation actions; and WHEREAS, Homeowners and tenants, teachers and students, office employees and visitors, property managers and owners, builders and contractors, engineers and architects, and lawyers and regulators would all benefit from the application of sound science to the subject of mold toward the development of measures of risk and hazard and the clarification of associated liability issues; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the 78th Legislature of the State of Texas hereby respectfully request the Congress of the United States to pursue research to quantify health risks and develop uniform exposure guidelines applicable to molds and mold aggregations that contribute to "sick buildings"; and, be it further RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.