6 Things You May NOT Know About Mold

[Guest guest]

Air Contaminants—Air C

 

07/12/2006

6 Things You May NOT Know About Mold

 

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Safety.BLR.com - Old Saybrook,CT

 

Mold is a hot topic in the news lately as related to workplace

safety and health. At a recent BLR audioconference, experts

discussed 6 things the media might not be telling you about mold and

your workplace exposure.

 

It's everywhere! Mold is considered by experts to be present

everywhere and on all types of surfaces, including in the air, in

some concentration. Mold is a fungus which is a living organism, and

experiences a life cycle. This means that the concentration of mold

in an area is in a constant state of flux-constantly growing,

reproducing, and dying.

You can water down the problem. Mold is a very good indicator of a

water problem. In a lot of cases, if you remove excess water in your

building, you will eliminate a mold problem. A lack of moisture will

limit the growth of mold inside buildings.

Refrain from sampling, at least at first. There are many ways to

sample and test and more than 100,000 types of mold. Not all species

of mold will indicate an accurate result unless it is subjected to

the appropriate sampling and testing method for its species.

Sampling from the get-go can be quite expensive if you are not sure

you have a mold problem and most mold problems require multiple

samples. If your facility is suspected to contain high levels of

mold, experts recommend you conduct an assessment before you grab a

sample and send it off to the lab.

In an evaluation of your facility ask yourself--Can you see mold?

Smell it? Do you have a water problem? Are you susceptible to

flooding or water damage? What are the seasonal variations of your

area? Do you live by a body of water that puts excessive moisture in

the air? Do you have a poor or outdated ventilation system in your

facility? If the answer is " yes, " then you should talk to an expert

about the types of mold you may have in your facility.

There are no exposure levels of mold. Because humans are exposed to

immunosuppressive drugs, such as prednisone and chemotherapy, and

disorders like diabetes, no permissible exposure levels have been

set for mold. It has been proven that children, the elderly and

immune-compromised people can have an aggravated response to mold.

Experts also said that people can become allergic to mold and may

have a predisposition to mold allergies. However right now there is

no effort to correlate health effects and mold exposure.

Bleach kills mold, so what! Bleach will kill actively growing fungi,

including the spores, BUT, the dead spores can still cause an

allergic response. The best way to rid mold is to eliminate excess

water in your facility.

You shouldn't terminate a sick employee because of a mold-related

illness. If you have an employee who is convinced he/she has a

workplace mold allergy and has the support of a doctor, experts

suggest it may be more cost-effective to accommodate the employee.

Even if worker's compensation finds minimal mold counts in your

facility and denies a claim, if you terminate the employee you may

open yourself up for a lawsuit. Because there is very little

legislature regarding mold, a lot of claims come down to the " battle

of the experts " and this could get pricey. If possible, offer

options like telecommuting to accommodate the worker. If you cannot

accommodate the employee, make sure you have a great expert to

combat the claims and speak to your attorney before you terminate

the employee.

For more information about BLR audioconferences or to purchase CD

copy of this audioconference,

 

View more resources on Air Contaminants.