Mold Standard In Development

By E. E. Mazier

NU Online News Service, Sept. 5, 11:39 a.m. EST?The pennywise, pound-foolish approach to mold issues is the root of the insurance industry crisis regarding such claims, according to an expert with a group developing microbial remediation standards.

"The insurance companies' downfall is that they tend to either throw money at a problem or to ignore it until an absolute crisis develops, and then they get into a reactive mode instead of a proactive one," said Jeff Bishop, chairman of certification board of Vancouver, Wash.-based Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification.

"The whole thrust of the IICRC is to be proactive on these issues," he said of the non-profit independent certification organization and registry of inspectors, cleaners and restorers.

This proactiveness is evident from the recent inaugural meeting of IICRC's Mold Remediation Standard Task Force in Sacramento, Calif.

Mr. Bishop explained that the Task Force brings together academics and field technicians to develop a "practical standard" for mold remediation. He also said that the IICRC's recently developed course of study and certification in mold remediation will serve as the foundation for developing the standard.

Some asbestos remediators now hold themselves out as mold remediators. While certain asbestos-removal techniques apply to mold remediation, the inherent differences between mold and asbestos mean that "more extensive training must be undertaken to better handle mold remediation--or microbial remediation as we prefer to call it," Mr. Bishop stated.

The Task Force aims to publish a white paper on a mold remediation standard within six months. Mr. Bishop said the white paper would then be published in a scientific journal for peer review and comments. After a review period, the Task Force will take all of the information gathered and write a mold remediation standard, he said.

While mold remediation standards or guidelines put out by other entities are generally developed "very quickly" and have been based mostly on others' work, Mr. Bishop said that the Task Force will be basing its standard on more "original lab study work that simulates field conditions."

Mr. Bishop stressed that the work of the Task Force will focus on the remediation, not the medical, aspect of mold. He believes that only the federal government has the funds and the time for a properly conducted epidemiological study on the relation, if any, of mold and symptoms such as respiratory distress.

As to the current mold crisis, Mr. Bishop noted that it is now very common for claims adjusters to tell policyholders that their insurer will not cover mold claims stemming from water damage.

"Instead of attacking the problem when it's fairly minor, they allow the problem to grow and amplify to the point that it gets out of control and you wind up with something that was avoidable and blown out of proportion, such as the Ballard case down in Texas," he said.

Mr. Bishop was referring to a case last year that resulted in a $34 million judgment for the owners of a mold-infested Texas mansion. The verdict is on appeal.

He said that "in a perfect world, if everyone had the knowledge that they needed to respond" to the mold problem in the Ballard case, the matter most likely could have been handled "quickly and efficiently for ?a couple of thousand dollars."

Mr. Bishop also said that IICRC (www.iicrc.org) for many years has specialized in "the preventive aspect of the program, something that insurance companies seem to have a hard time grasping."

In fact, "the ultimate in short-sightedness" stemming from fear of mold-related claims is the refusal by some insurers to cover individuals involved in water-damage restoration, "the people who can get out there quickly so that mold never becomes an issue," Mr. Bishop said.

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Mold Standard In Development

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