Mold-Help.org - The world's largest TOXIC MOLD website
  • Mold Basics
    • Mold Overview
    • Mold Symptoms
    • Mold Types & Images
    • Fungal Infections
  • Resources and Tools
    • Home Care
    • Health & Diet
    • Tips for Parents
    • Coping with Loss
    • Private Research
    • Legal Suggestions
    • Mold in the Bible
  • Mold News
    • Current Headlines
    • “Sick Buildings”
    • The Environment
    • Construction Industry
    • Govt. & Politics
    • The Workplace
    • Landlords & Tenants
    • Insurance Companies
    • Schools & Institutions
    • Strange Fungal Tales
    • Personal Mold Stories
    • Additional Articles
  • Agencies & Experts
  • About Mold-Help
    • Mold-Help News
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Fox News Employees Expose Mold Illnesses; Dangers

January 30, 2006/in Additional Articles /by Carolyn Willbanks

New York, NY – There’s something noxious at Fox News that’s making people sick – and it’s not Bill O’Reilly.

Two Fox News employees have filed a lawsuit alleging they were sickened by toxic molds and pesticides in a building where some of the network’s top shows are produced in Manhattan. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Supreme Court in Manhattan, alleges the employees fell ill in the building where The O’Reilly Factor and At Large with Geraldo Rivera are produced, as well as Hannity and Colmes and Dayside. It seeks unspecified damages from Fox News and the building’s management company.

The plaintiffs in the suit are graphics technician Laurette DeRosairo, who developed a multiplicity of health problems including acute asthma, multiple chemical sensitivity, and other respiratory problems. Makeup artist Madronicia Clarke states she suffers chronic fatigue and autoimmune diseases.  These veteran employees said they became seriously ill after being exposed to mold and pesticides in the basement studios and control rooms starting in 2004. They also state their bosses used unlicensed workers to spray an insecticide that had been banned for use indoors.

The only fungi that have been directly linked to such illnesses are stachybotrys and chaetomium, both demyelinating molds.  These fungi, although not unusual, are often associated with building products that have been subject to long term water damage.  Apparently, alleged cleaning chemicals and pesticides were also involved.

The fumes got so bad last April that it sickened three anchors on the morning newscast Fox and Friends, and sent a cameraman to the hospital after he fell unconscious, according to court papers filed Thursday in state Supreme Court.

But a Fox News executive familiar with the incident said the cameraman came to work that day with flu-like symptoms, and that his fainting spell had nothing to do with fumes. The employees said in court papers that the molds and the inappropriate use of cleaning agents and pesticides caused headaches, dizziness, weakness, anxiety and blurred vision.

Fox News spokeswoman Irena Briganti claimed in a statement that the allegations are baseless and lack merit.  She claimed the federal OHSHA (Occupational, Safety and Health Administration) had declined to investigate, and an onsite probe by the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation had ‘fully resolved the matter’.  Since OHSHA has a longstanding reputation of denying the severe health hazards that mold can cause, this is of no surprise.  Additionally, if OHSHA didn’t favor big business, such as Fox Network, why didn’t they investigate the alleged use of unlicensed people to fumigate parts of the studio.  No mention of this matter has ever occurred, therefore, this matter becomes even more dubious and mysterious.

DeRosairo and Clarke said the studios suffered from water leakage whenever it rained, forcing workers to put blue tarps near the ceilings to catch runoff and divert it to garbage cans. The moisture created a haven for mold and mildew and it generally begins to proliferate within 24 to 48 hours.

“My lungs took a beating, and I don’t know if they’ll ever recover,” said DeRosairo,  who was recently diagnosed with severe asthma. “We’re just really concerned about the long-term affect and what’s going to happen to our co-workers.”

Fox News honcho Roger Ailes himself spoke to employees on June 21 to allay their fears but downplayed the risk, the plaintiffs claim.

Clarke, the second plaintiff, who joined Fox News when it started up in 1996, said she rarely called in sick until recently, when her autoimmune illness forced her to work three days a week. “I’m not so much worried about my job as about my health,” she said of her decision to sue her longtime employer.

Many experts and advocates for health rights due to fungal exposure fear that this news will further stifle the media even more into pretending that mold exposure is not capable of the inevitable; permanent neurological, pathological, immunological and psychological damage.  Further censorship of the media will most likely cause this national health crisis to escalate into a major epidemic, as innocent people are being isolated from the truth. Under the right conditions, mold exposure can destroy one’s life in numerous ways.

Carolyn Willbanks
Author: Carolyn Willbanks

Tags: mold, illness, health effects, asthma, FOX
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
https://www.mold-help.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/moldhelp-654x300.png 0 0 Carolyn Willbanks https://www.mold-help.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/moldhelp-654x300.png Carolyn Willbanks2006-01-30 00:24:112019-03-08 22:01:39Fox News Employees Expose Mold Illnesses; Dangers
You might also like
CDC''s map of worldwide Candida auris cases©CDC.gov Candida auris On the Rise
Concerned man and woman with child in the background Another Family Loses Health and Home to Mold
Mold-Help logo Camp Pendleton Claims Mold Was Not the Problem
Mold-Help logo Entire Story on How Mold Contamination Destroys Tourism Business
Mold-Help logo Canada - Deadly Tropical Fungus Settles in B.C.
Moldy strawberries on a flat surface Handling Moldy Food

Mold News

  • Current Headlines
  • "Sick Buildings"
  • The Environment
  • Construction Industry
  • Govt. & Politics
  • The Workplace
  • Landlords & Tenants
  • Insurance Companies
  • Schools & Institutions
  • Personal Mold Stories
  • Strange Fungal Tales
  • Additional Articles

Latest Posts

  • Michigan Family Finds Toxic Mold Inside Home
  • California Winter Storms: Water Damage and Mold Exposure Concerns in California
  • Office and Commercial Buildings at Risk for Mold after COVID-19 Closings
  • COVID-19 Symptoms May Include Loss of Taste and Smell
  • New Mold Detox Information on the Horizon
  • COVID-19 Courses of Action
  • Stachybotrys
  • Simple and Easy Ways to Prevent the Coronavirus
  • Your Air Conditioning Unit Helps Eliminate Mold
  • Construction Workers Are Learning to Control Dust and Debris

Search Our Site:

Need Help with Mold?

Are you being affected by mold or other mycotoxins in your environment? Our team and community has over 15 years experience and can provide guidance. You can reach us by submitting your contact or through our Facebook page.

Have a Story to Share?

We're looking for stories and input to expand our database and to add to the personal experiences we've received from the thousands of victims over the last 15. If mold has impacted your life, please take the time to share your story. Your information is confidential and will only be shared with your permission.

Seeking Mold Experts

Are you an expert in the treatment of mold-affected health illnesses, or a provider of services to victims of mycotoxin exposure? Submit your information for listing consideration in our Agencies & Experts resource database.

Additional Resources

  • Contact Us
  • Sitemap
  • Glossary of Terms
  • Survivor Resources
  • General Inquiries
  • Legal Disclaimer

© Copyright - Mold-Help Organization
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Mold Basics
  • Resources and Tools
  • Agencies & Experts
  • Mold News
  • About Mold-Help
Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

OKLearn more

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Accept settingsHide notification only