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To
find a
Certified
Mould Inspector or Remediator in Canada,
or to be trained
and
certified as a mould inspection, testing, remediation, and
prevention
expert,
please visit:
Mould Professional.
For a report on current mould science by the U.S.
Center for Disease Control,
please visit:
Mould Scientist.
To Read Occupational Health & Safety
Administration Workplace Mould Guidelines, visit:
OSHA
Workplace Mould
Workplace Mould:
Questions and Answers
[Jan. 14, 2003]
Q.
We had a mould investigation done on
our place of employment Dec 11, 2001 to date nothing has been done to clean up the mould.
Mould has been found behind baseboards, drywall paper backing, wood furring, humidifier and
carpet. The types of mould that were found are the following: aspergillus, versicolor,
stachybotrys chartarum, and penicillium. Could we please have your opinion on working in these
work place conditions?
A.
Because Mold Inspector Laboratory, Inc. and its
Certified Mould Inspectors have
not mould inspected and tested your particular place of employment, we are not in a position
to provide you with an "opinion on working in these work place conditions". What we can
provide you with is general information as follows. First, when mould growth is discovered to
be widespread in one's place of employment, the property has one or more major water problems
[such as roof leaks or plumbing leaks inside ceilings, walls and floors], and a great
likelihood of serious mould growth inside walls, ceilings, floors, and heating, ventilating,
and air conditioning [hvac] equipment and ducts. Second, if employees are regularly exposed to
elevated levels toxic mould spores such as
Aspergillus, stachybotrys, and penicillium, they will breathe in such toxic mould spores,
and then they can suffer serious health problems and diseases. If a workplace has a serious
mould problem, the first thing that the employer should do is to move ALL employees [and the
office furniture and equipment [after mould decontamination to avoid cross-contamination of
where ever the items are moved] to mould-safe quarters. The second task is to have the
building completely and thoroughly mould inspected and mould tested [including inside all
ceilings, walls, floors, and hvac equipment and ducts]. The third objective is then to
remediate and remove all mould infestation and have the place of employment tested as
mould-safe before moving people, furniture, and equipment back to the
mould-remediated building. Please note that it is a OSHA violation [U.S. Occupational
Safety and Health Administration] for an employer to have employees working in an area known
to be mould-contaminated.
[May
30, 2002]
Q.
I work for a toy distributor and I am concerned about working with mould that comes in on
wooden toys from China...Specifically, my department is in the midst of cleaning hairy , furry
mould off wooden toy. something that will take our department of 4 people at least 4-5 ... 8
hour days.. We are using a solution of Fantastic cleaner with lemon in front of an open dock
door...My concern is how dangerous is it to us employees to continually breathe and handle
this moldy toy.. we are cleaning about 3600 of these items.. What are the long term effects of
being exposed to this type of mould.. Please respond as soon as possible .. I really would
like to know as I cannot seem to get it through to my bosses that they MAY be putting our
lives at risk.. I want to know for sure.
A.
You are seriously risking your health. You need to wear full body suits with full face
breathing respirators, and gloves and many other safety precautions explained in our mould
removal advice section located on webpage: Mould Removal. You
should also be working in a clean room with a large industrial hepa filter is constantly
filtered mould spores out of the air into large hepa filters, and then directly vented to the
outside. Fantastic is not a good mould cleaner. Instead, use the Borax laundry soap mixed 1
lb. per 1.5 gallons of water. It is also important that you or your employer mould test your
workplace environment to identify the types of moulds growing on the toys and the moulds
growing elsewhere in the workplace.
[June
7, 2002]
Q.
I work in a small older building. We have a water cooler that has leaked several times and the
last time was 5/31/02. We had that area of the carpet cleaned and lit candles and the carpet
was sprayed with some smelly cleaner. Recently one of our 5 workers had a small seizure. Well
starting on Monday 6/3/02 another worker has had headaches everyday 4 days in a row. We also
had a new worker begin in October and for the first couple of months she had sneezing fits. we
were just wandering what this could be from and what precautions we should take.
A.
With a known water problem area that may have started a mould infestation, and with several
workers mysteriously becoming sick, it would be very wise to have the entire workplace tested
for mould infestation. Tests must include room air, inside walls, ceilings, and floors, plus
inside hvac equipment and ducts---and an outdoor control test against which to measure the
laboratory test results. Ask your employer to pay for this testing---if he or she won't,
contact OSHA [Occupational Safety and Health Administration] because workplace mould is
considered a serious violation of the employer's duty of care to the employees workplace
safety. If the boss won't pay, the employees should each contribute to paying for the testing
themselves to find out if there is a mould infestation problem. Hire a Certified Mould
Inspector by visiting the website:
Certified Mould Inspectors.
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