November 17, 2003—The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) will develop a standard aimed at protecting workers when dealing with mold remediation. The purpose of the standard, announced at the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists’ (ACGIH) “Mold Remediation: The National Quest for Uniformity” symposium in Orlando, is to establish minimum requirements and recommended procedures to be implemented by employers to minimize employee exposure to mold. The proposed standard will not, however, establish an exposure level or action level for identification purposes or trigger remediation activities.
Because there is no one universally accepted consensus standard that can be held as the standard of care to protect mold remediation workers in an indoor environment, ASSE petitioned the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to be the secretariat of a canvass standard initiative, Z690, to address worker safety and health during mold remediation projects. ANSI approved the petition. Also, the ASSE Board of Directors unanimously approved the ASSE “Position Statement Regarding Mold in the Indoor Working Environment” October 27.
There are many different types of biological organisms and bioaerosol present in the indoor environment. Mold, a group of microscopic fungi, is just one of these types. These spore-producing organisms can thrive in certain indoor conditions – when there is a temperature range conducive to growth, sufficient water or moisture, and a source of nutrients or food. While ubiquitous in nature, excessive mold in the indoor environment can result in offensive odors from the volatile organic compounds released by certain molds during growth and death cycles, and destruction of building components by penetration of the filaments and hyphae produced.
Although adverse health effects related to exposure to some types of mold have been reported, at this time, there is no conclusive link to pulmonary hemorrhage nor is there conclusive evidence that mold-related illnesses are increasing. Currently there is no consensus among SH&E and healthcare professionals as to the level of mold exposure that is acceptable in indoor environments.
Developing guidelines before the adverse health effects of the work environment are not well defined or where the science is still maturing is not a new approach. The approach defined in the 1980s to protect hazardous waste site workers, where the level of required personal protective equipment is based on immediately available direct-read instruments that provide screening results, is just one example.
“While ASSE does not in any way discount the need to address the needs of at-risk populations, the current focus of ASSE’s efforts on mold is worker protection,” Latko said. “A key part of the mold debate is that as of today there is still no documentation of universal adverse health effects related to exposure to mold. In contrast, for many hazardous chemicals there are such documented universal adverse effects directly related to certain levels of exposure.”
For the full report, the position statement and more information, contact ASSE.
