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.