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Mold is currently a hot industrial hygiene topic, primarily in residential, legal, and insurance venues. Kisco, Inc. occasionally provides its expertise to residential clients on a highly selective basis, but most mold work is related to commercial buildings, institutions, municipalities, medical facilities, and the insurance and legal industries. John Reiter, Kisco's CIH, recently chaired a task force in Wisconsin to investigate the current medical and epidemiological opinions on the health effects of mold, develop guidelines for the application of industrial hygiene in mold studies, and provide education to the medical, public health, home inspector, insurance, remediation, safety, and legal industries, as well as the general public. Additional information about, and from this task force, is available on the Wisconsin Section AIHA website and Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services website. Mold is a term that is used synonymously with microbiological fungus, and often also includes mildew, yeasts, and similar microbiological organisms. The term "black mold" refers primarily to Stachybotrys chartarum which was studied in conjunction with cases of idiopathic pulmonary hemorrhage among infants in Cleveland, Ohio in 1993-1996. A cause and effect relationship was not proven. The term black mold is also used by some individuals to describe other fungi such as Aspergillus spp. The CDC states that so called "black mold" need not be treated any differrently than other molds, and that if it exists in significant amounts, should be cleaned or removed. The term "toxic mold" is a misnomer that is embraced by many in the press and legal industries, and really is intended to describe the fact that mold releases chemicals (mycotoxins) which we know to be toxic by ingestion, but have yet to show toxicity by inhalation. For additional mycotoxin information, see the paper, "Indoor fungal infestations and mycotoxicity: guidance for public health professionals and industrial hygienists," published by Rob Thiboldeaux, Ph.D., Toxicologist, Bureau of Environmental Health, Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services. The AIHA has taken a strong position on mold issues. The following sources on the national AIHA website present this position: http://www.aiha.org/GovernmentAffairs-PR/documents/ga-hr1268-Conyers.pdf
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Kisco, Inc. provides state-of-the-art industrial hygiene studies of conditions which may lead to mold growth, evaluates existing mold growth, and airborne mold as it may relate to employee or public health. Remediation recommendations can be provided. | |||||||||
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