Clorox Medical Researcher Discredits Clorox Toxic Mold Advertising
(PRWEB) August 3, 2005 -- A medical researcher from Denver,
Colorado-based National Jewish Hospital has issued statements that directly
contradict health claims made by cleaning-products giant Clorox Corporation.
National Jewish Hospital promotes itself as the "Global Leader in Immunological
Research."
Clorox Corp., with $4.1 billion in revenues, is the
manufacturer of Clorox bleach and numerous other brands. Recently, Clorox has
been promoting its flagship bathroom cleaning product -- Tilex Mold and Mildew
-- with a series of heavily rotated humorous television ads that feature a
homeowner screaming and running out of the house with the tagline: "All homes
have mold." In contrast to the tone of this, on the Tilex website there is
reference to the potential health dangers of exposure to certain types of mold,
including symptoms of lung tissue damage and memory loss.
However, in a
December 9, 2004 statement made in a Jefferson County, CO District Court
deposition for a case concerning toxic mold damages claimed by a Denver woman
(Lake vs. Village Homes, Case No. 03CV4227, Divison 10), National Jewish
researcher Dr. Karin Pacheco appeared to discredit the Tilex claims. Dr.
Pacheco's qualifications as an expert witness relate to her ongoing medical
study of the allergic potential of mold. While under oath, Dr. Pacheco made
reference to established links of mold to diseases like asthma, but added that
"she wasn't convinced that mold exposure can cause wider, long-term
illnesses."
Pacheco's statements are noteworthy, as sources have
discovered that funding for at least part of her work comes directly from grants
from the Clorox Corporation itself. In the spring of 2004, National Jewish
conducted a Clorox-sponsored research study on the allergic effects of mold that
had been killed by bleach. The study was conducted by Dr. Pacheco and Lee
Newman, MD. Extracts of the mold Aspergillis Fumigatus, a notorious fungi that
has been implicated in cases of lung tissue damage and memory loss among other
symptoms, was administered to human subjects via skin pricks.
Watchdog
groups are calling the discrepancy on the public messaging into question.
Jonathan Lee Wright, Director of the Fungal Disease Resource Center, Inc, a
Denver, Colorado-based nonprofit supporting victims of toxic mold, had this to
say. "While we didn't find the commercial to be too funny, we support the
warning that the Clorox Corporation is issuing to the public here. There is now
an overwhelming amount of scientific data that supports a link of mold exposures
to serious illness," Wright commented. "That there is such conflicting
information coming out of a well-respected organization like National Jewish is
alarming."
Added Wright, "We are calling for a formal clarification of
the position of National Jewish Hospital on whether they support the advertising
of one of their corporate grantors -- Clorox corporation -- or
not."
Readers can find more information on the subject provided by the
Fungal Disease Resource Center on the web at:
http://www.fdrcinc.org
--
Jonathan Lee Wright // Fungal Disease Resource Center
MEDIA
CONTACTS:
Jonathan Lee Wright / Fungal Disease Resource Center,
Inc
(719) 429 4787
References:
http://www.tilex.com/images/tilex_moldmildew_brochure2.jpg
#
# #
Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/8/prweb268657.htm