By Stan Swofford, Staff Writer
News & Record

GREENSBORO -- The night of Dec. 21, 2001, was supposed to be a happy time for Josh Sommer. It was the night before his 14th birthday, and Christmas was less than four days away.

But Sommer felt terrible. That's because a largely unseen but aggressively lethal force was ousting him from the only home he had ever known. The strange and powerful enemy had already contaminated the air inside the house and everything in it, sickening Sommer and his mother, Simone Sommer, and even their dog and cat.

This poisonous force, as sinister and malevolent as any creeping slime in a horror movie, was a toxic black mold with a horror movie name, Stachybotrys.

The slimy ooze had invaded their house when a water heater burst in March 2001. It established itself behind a wall and spread like an aggressive cancer metastasizes -- peppering the house with migrating spores carrying poisonous particles called mycotoxins that researchers have linked to respiratory illness, rashes, fatigue and even brain damage.

Josh Sommer and his mother suffered with all those ailments by the time a contractor found the mold lurking behind their walls, and an industrial hygienist urged them to leave immediately -- which they did, abandoning their house and everything in it.

Both said they developed asthma. Simone Sommer, a physician, said she became so fatigued that she had to give up her family medical practice. Josh Sommer developed a rash and suffered blinding headaches and lapses in memory.

"We felt helpless and hopeless," said Sommer, now 17 and about to graduate from Western High School. "It was a miserable time."

But perhaps the silver lining in storm clouds can also be found in slimy splotches of toxic black mold. If not, Sommer and his mother created one.

The two have become ardent crusaders, intent on educating Congress and the public about what they say is a health menace to a growing number of victims left sickened and/or homeless because of toxic mold.

Since fleeing their home almost three years ago, the Sommers have traveled at least a dozen times to Washington to brief members of Congress on the dangers of toxic mold and to urge the support of toxic mold legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich. Josh Sommer assisted Conyers' staff in writing that legislation.

Losing your house and most of your possessions to a poisonous slime should make anyone passionate, Sommer said. "When something affects you that badly," he said, "you want to learn all you can about it -- and then conquer it."

Sommer and his mother said they learned that most people don't realize the danger of toxic mold.

"Doctors often don't know what to do," Simone Sommer said.

Most insurance companies place a $5,000 cap on damage caused by mold, although they have been forced to pay millions more in a growing number of lawsuits.

There have been multimillion dollar judgments in Delaware and Texas. Celebrities such as Ed McMahon, anti-pollution activist Erin Brokovich and Bianca Jagger, ex-wife of rock star Mick Jagger, have filed lawsuits alleging health and property damage from toxic mold.

Josh Sommer said he and his mother realized they weren't alone when they learned about the "Melina Bill," legislation Conyers first introduced in 2002 after the child of one of his staff members lost 70 percent of her lung capacity after being exposed to toxic mold in her home.

Conyers' bill, which generated intense opposition from the building and insurance industries, did not advance from committee in 2002. He reintroduced it in 2003 and again last month. The bill -- the United States Toxic Mold Safety and Protection Act -- would mandate research into mold growth and educate the public about its dangers. It would establish guidelines and standards for preventing mold and for removing it. Perhaps most importantly, it would authorize tax credits for the removal of mold hazards and create a national insurance program to protect homeowners from catastrophic losses.

Conyers invited Sommer and his mother to speak at a news conference, the first of many talks Sommer would give.

He said he and his mother were then "bombarded with hundreds of calls" from mold victims.

"These were tragic stories of families with sick children," he said, wrinkling his brow into a worried look that belied his youth.

It was apparent from those calls that mold victims needed a forum through which they could tell what had happened to them and to warn others, Sommer said. He also knew that it was crucial for members of Congress to hear the victims' voices if there was to be any hope of enacting the Melina Bill.

Sommer and his mother provided that outlet by creating MAPER -- Mold Advocacy Prevention Education and Research -- a national coalition for mold victims. The coalition organized news conferences and congressional briefings as victims from across the country traveled to Washington to tell their stories.

Conyers and his staff were impressed.

"Josh has made a tremendous contribution," said Joel Segal, Conyers' legislative assistant.

Segal said it was largely because of Sommer's testimony that the Boston City Council initiated a program to improve air quality in public schools.

He also persuaded Guilford County Schools Superintendent Terry Grier to begin a mold eradication program after he saw mold on a classroom ceiling at Western High School.

Mold was found in ventilation ducts at Western and three other schools and was removed, Grier said. Testing will continue on a regular basis.

Toxic mold is such an insidious threat that Sommer and a friend, Ami Kabadi, began a research project last year at N.C. A&T, where Kabadi's father is a chemical engineer.

The project aims to develop a mycotoxin detection device -- sort of a toxic mold Geiger counter that would detect its poison in the air even though the mold is hiding behind walls.

Sommer has received numerous awards and scholarships for his work, including the President's Gold Award, the Prudential Spirit of Community award and a $25,000 AXA Achievement Scholarship.

He plans to continue his research this fall at Duke University, where he will most likely major in environmental or mechanical engineering with a minor in public policy.

"This is my life mission now -- to have a positive impact on the health of all Americans ... and to prevent my misfortune from happening to others."

Contact Stan Swofford at 373-7351 or sswofford@news-record.com
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