Mold Testing

by Greg Fahrenbruch of Restoration Environmental Safety Technologies ( 28-Apr-2015 )

Qualifications of Mold Testers - Industrial Hygienist vs. “Certified Mold Expert” For over 23 years I have dedicated my carrier to Environmental Health and Safety Management in some form. During that time, I would say that my background has taken me to an expertise level not typically seen in the mold profession. Recently, I have been very perplexed at the general public’s buying habits related to environmental testing companies and the competitors’ desperation for billable services. I never conceived an Environmental Professional would short cut scientific studies leading a person into debt, ill health, write reports to defraud a lending institution or government agency, but sadly, I have seen it in the mold industry. The real story is most of these people are not professionals; they are scammers! I have seen testing for as much as $350.00-$500.00 with only two samples to qualify a 1500 square foot ranch on a basement, as contaminated or not without taking an outdoor baseline sample. When the starting rule of thumb for testing is: 1 air sample for every 500 square feet, and one outdoor baseline sample. Unfortunately, the mold profession is a non-licensed discipline which breeds almost any sort of opportunist and often, uneducated contractors field initial requests for mold abatement services which typically steer the consumer down a path they wish they never went down (spending a lot of money without results). Many contractors try to skip past the initial third party expert evaluation and project design steps because they typically lead to a third party clearance that risk increased job costs. Other reasons they avoid having an Industrial Hygienist on a project is because it cuts into the available money the contractor has for conducting services - this is particularly common with capped insurance policies involving mold clean-ups. I caution prospective clients who are bidding mold testing, to educate themselves by reading this article before they choose a testing company. When to Test For Mold? Mold situations require a formally educated Industrial Hygienist (Not someone who claims to be a “Certified Expert”): I recommend these type of situations consider in depth testing: 1. Previous bank owned homes or vacant homes - Watch for the “BUY AS IS” from banks. 2. Homes with children under 12 years old or adults over 55 years old. 3. Visible mold growth on walls and ceilings. 4. Homes and commercial buildings with water damage. 5. Commercial buildings that have a lot of people in the building for prolonged periods of time. (This is because the work place can be considered a problem, but the people’s home could be the actual problem, and they can carry spores into work on their clothing, shoes, etc.) 6. People with unexplained illness, respiratory issues, compromised immune systems, post nasal drip, headaches, fatigue, confusion, inability to concentrate, and rashes-to name a few. 7. Pre and post testing for mold abatements-done by “Certified Mold Experts” or non “experts”. 8. People coming home from the hospital, especially if there has been incisions. 9. Property transactions for the purchase of property (Seller Disclosure) 10. Water damaged environments regardless of the fact if they were professionally dried or not. Industrial Hygienist - Qualifications Definition of Industrial Hygiene is: “Industrial Hygiene”: Science and art devoted to the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, prevention, and control of those environmental factors or stresses arising in, or from, the workplace which may cause sickness, impaired health and wellbeing, or significant discomfort among workers, or among citizens of the community. Industrial Hygienists are Scientists and Engineers committed to protecting the health and safety of people in the workplace and the community. In the mold testing arena, there is a diverse level of talent; everything from people who have not graduated from high school, to those with Double PH.D’s. Mold sampling and interpretation is a discipline of science that is very complicated in which solid studied science phases out, and craft begins. Testing is not as easy as just setting up a machine, pressing a button to take a sample; as many would seem to think. Complications include reasoning for sampling; development of sampling plans, and interpretation of samples. These reasons point at the need for educated and experienced individuals because the outcomes can lead to poor interpretation of samples, resulting expensive clean-up costs or health issues of the occupants. The testing process gives the client hope that the professional has the skills to carry the results on to making major decisions, as to hire a clean-up contractor, give the results to a doctor for medical analysis, or purchase a property. Recently, the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA-Founded in 1939), published a document regarding its stance on mold during March, 2013 and they stated: “Almost all Industrial Hygienists have college degrees in engineering or the natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, biochemistry or microbiology. Additionally, 42% have Master’s Degrees, and 12% have Doctoral Degrees” Then it goes onto say: “Industrial Hygienists also have specialized training in ventilation engineering, environmental health, toxicology and microbiology” The American Industrial Hygiene Association defines an Industrial Hygienist as: “A professional Industrial Hygienist is a person possessing either a Baccalaureate Degree in engineering, chemistry, or physics or a Baccalaureate Degree in a closely related biological, or physical science from an accredited college or University, whom also has a minimum of three years of industrial hygiene experience. A completed Doctoral in a related physical, biological or medical science or in a related engineering degree can be substituted for two years of the three-year requirement. A completed Master's Degree in a related physical or biological science (or related engineering degree can be substituted for one year of the three-year requirement). Under no circumstances can more than two years of graduate training be applied toward the three-year period.” Industrial Hygienists by demographics, are a highly educated group of people who work at a high level of understanding the sciences involved with environmental exposures to people. These are the types of professionals most people hope to hire when they are trying to verify if an environment is a health hazard or not in their home; but typically buyers have not had exposure to this rare profession. Lately, other mold organizations using the terms “Certified Mold Expert” or “Indoor Air Quality Organizations” have popped up, and the reasons for these establishments are based on money, membership focus, or just because their prospective of “experts” fall short of the American Industrial Hygiene Association’s minimal “Industrial Hygienists” requirements. Their founders decided they would start their own organizations so they could actually say they were something, rather than nothing. Typically, these organizations are contractor based, not Industrial Hygienist based, which is the true discipline required when evaluating a mold based project. Often times, people pose themselves as being an Industrial Hygienist after they have taken a course online or after being in a class for a few days, and taking a simple exam by notating their accomplishment by calling themselves things like: Indoor Environmental Profession or IEP, Industrial Hygienist (Because they do not know the true definition of an Industrial Hygienist), Certified Microbial Consultant or CMC, Certified Microbial Investigator or CMI, Certified Mold Assessor or CMA-(60 Hours of training), Qualified Mold Assessor or QMA-(16 Hours of training), Certified IAQ/Mold Inspector or CMI (8 Hours of training), Certified Mold Inspector or CMI- (24 hour course-Through National Association of Mold Professionals; Which is used as a marketing tool to train people to take samples and send them to certain labs - a little research on-line will reveal this!) These types of accomplishments are not worthy of the status of being put behind ones name as a professional designation, as often the case, and this is backed by the American Industrial Hygiene Association’s Publication Titled “Assessment, Remediation, and Post-Remediation Verification of Mold In Buildings”. Some of these courses hold some merit to the field of practice for Industrial Hygienist’s, but for the most part, offer a nice day in class for them to sip coffee; Industrial Hygienists are qualified to design and teach the courses. Most of these certifications to become a “Certified Mold Expert” do not even require a GED to attend. These types of courses would be put in the training accomplishment sections of an Industrial Hygienist’s resume. So when someone says, they are “Certified”, don’t be overly impressed. It just means they have novice credentials. Before hiring, ask them to produce: 1. Evidence of formal education and a copy of their pertinent degree. 2. Work experience related to industrial hygiene- See if they have worked in large corporations, recognized environmental firms, been involved in court cases related to environmental issues. 3. Ask for a resume. 4. Primary calibration records for air testing equipment traceable to a NIST standard. If they cannot produce proof of primary calibration of pumps and field calibration units, you cannot certify a samples accuracy. 5. Environmental consulting insurance. This is special insurance that most home inspector’s insurance excludes, and is defiantly an exclusion on a contractor’s policy whether they are a General Contractor, carpet cleaning company or restoration company-Mold testing is environmental health consulting, not building code inspections. 6. Are they able to conduct viable and nonviable air sampling (If they don’t, then they fall short of being able to test in all applications) 7. What is the most difficult or largest project they ever worked on? 8. Are they a contractor, or do they just do mold testing? (If they tell you they do both, this a red flag) 9. Do they just take tests, or do they write in-depth, corrective action reports, or project designs. If they just do air tests, and the project has potential to lead into a clean-up; air testing will have to be redone by a project designer who will want to work with his own data. 10. Do they use direct flow type pumps, or diaphragm pumps? Diaphragm pumps puff back, which are somewhat less desirable. The reason for this is because the calibration of the unit is not precise, and the slight puff back can affect the collection of the sample. 11. Do they use serial numbered, commercially manufactured sampling medias. 12. Do they use independent certified American Industrial Hygiene Association laboratories? Why or why not? (Typically, American Industrial Hygiene Association laboratories are the best answer) There are many different types of people in the mold testing arena. To minimize wasteful spending, I encourage buyers to hire someone who meets the criteria set by the American Industrial Hygiene Association for testing their air for mold. If you have hired a “Certified Mold Expert”, there is a chance that the results that were furnished to you have many holes in sampling methods preformed. If you have not hire a mold professional, then you are best served by hiring an Industrial Hygienist to give you the most accurate and true results. It is understood that everyone has different abilities to pay for mold testing, but the client should have a qualified professional recommendation put forth to them giving them an opportunity to accept, or decline the recommendations partially and fully. Gregory S. Fahrenbruch - Restoration, Environmental, Safety Technologies President and Industrial Hygienist Ferris State University; Industrial and Environmental Health Management, B.S., Class of 1993 University Of Phoenix; Organizational Management, M.A., Class of 1998