Construction Industry Trends
October 2004
Reality vs. Hype: How Big of a Problem is Mold?
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These days, it seems like mold is everywhere. The effects can be felt everywhere, from the explosion in lawsuits being brought by building owners and tenants to new legislation being introduced to regulate mold coverage by insurance companies to the constant media coverage and barrage of stories on the perils of so-called toxic mold.
Yet, despite being a hot topic, mold isn’t new. In fact, it’s very old — an organism with thousands of species that humans have always lived with. In fact, up until a few years ago, people seldom noticed or found reason to be concerned about mold. However, today many healthcare professionals are treating patients with a variety of symptoms potentially attributed to mold.
Holli Merchant is a certified industrial hygienist and part of the team running the national mold program established by MACTEC Engineering & Consulting. Even though every day of her job now deals with mold contamination, she says she encountered her first mold case only five years ago. She’s seen firsthand how concern over mold has intensified over the past few years, and thinks media hype is to blame for much of it. But it’s not the only culprit.
“We build homes so energy efficient these days that no air can get in the space. This becomes a problem particularly in areas of high humidity such as the south. Plus some different construction styles that they use now that they didn’t use in the past seem to be more susceptible to mold,” Holli says. And as she points out, it doesn’t matter how airtight a building is — if water can get in, or high humidity exists, mold often quickly follows.
“The important thing about mold that most people miss is that mold isn’t the problem. The problem is excessive moisture, which usually is the result of high humidity or water intrusion,” says Holli. That’s why she says that the key to controlling mold is preventing water intrusion with better, more informed building practices and properly operating building HVAC systems. She’s not the only one who believes this. Construction industry associations are also reexamining building practices and issuing new guidelines. For example, last year, the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) began offering a free publication, Managing the Risk of Mold in the Construction of Buildings.
The Effects of Mold
For all the hype surrounding mold, its effect on building occupants is still being debated. In addition, neither the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) nor the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have established any standards or regulations regarding threshold limits for airborne concentrations of mold spores. However, there is agreement on one fact: extensive mold contamination is a serious issue that can potentially cause health problems as well as permanent damage to buildings. “If you have mold, you have problems,” says Holli.
Mold removal has created a booming micro-industry of consultants and contractors focusing on the subject. While there are no government regulations stipulating how mold should be removed from buildings, the EPA has issued a guidance document on the subject, Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Buildings. Several states also offer guidelines, as do industrial organizations, such as the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), which has published its document, AIHA Mold Guideline on Assessment, Remediation, and Post-Remediation.
According to Holli, there are three basic steps to all mold remediation work:
- Determine if the area in question is contaminated with mold. Since mold often exists in hidden spaces — such as behind walls — an inspection and assessment by a professional facilities indoor air consultant is recommended.
- Find and fix the source of the water intrusion. Skipping this step will just lead to additional mold problems down the road.
- Remove and replace the area of contamination.
“There are a lot of ways out there to mitigate mold contamination, but the only way I’ve seen have success is to remove the materials that were affected and repair and eliminate the source of moisture,” Holli says. "Unfortunately, since mold is ubiquitous in our environment, there are no guarantees of total elimination. What can be done is to eliminate any moisture source since mold cannot grow without it."
Even with the guidelines available on mold removal, it is a job best left to the professionals, since improper removal techniques can actually lead to further contamination.