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

Work place and employer toxic mould inspection, testing, sampling, removal, remediation, and prevention advice.

[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.


Real Estate & Mould                                          Real People & Mould
Mould Advice                                                      Q&A Removal
Carpet & Mould                                                  Legal Q & A
Mould In Schools                                                New Home Q & A
Workplace Q & A                                               Mould FAQ 2005 Collection

Do-It-Best-Yourself Mold Solutions

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     1. Read Phil’s five plain-English, mold advice books to master mold inspection, testing, removal, remediation, and prevention for your house, condo, apartment, office,  or workplace.

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