Redefining the expectations of a mold assessment - Part 1
Understanding the purpose and goal of an assessment helps clarify the information needed and next steps for remediation.
This is the first of a three-part series discussing the purpose and practical expectations for a mold assessment. The first article will discuss the purpose of a mold assessment and the competence of the professionals performing the assessment. The second article will discuss realistic expectations associated with collecting environmental samples as part of a mold assessment. Lastly, the third article will dive into post remediation verification (PRV) and determining when a mold remediation job is complete.
The purpose of a mold assessment
What is a mold assessment? If you said “testing” or “air sampling,” then your perception of what a mold assessment involves is similar to what many in the industry and the general public think. This is a common misconception as the collection of environmental samples (e.g., air samples, surface samples, bulk samples, etc.) or what is widely known as “testing” is not required to perform a mold assessment at all.
If visible mold growth is present, then sampling is generally not needed to verify mold growth exists or to provide recommendations to remediate the contaminated building materials. It is more sensible to spend money on the remediation of the contaminated building materials rather than pay for sampling to confirm what has already been observed by the professional.
If a mold assessment is not just the collection of samples, then what is the purpose of a mold assessment? The purpose is to confirm the presence of mold growth and then determine the origin and cause of the moisture that has led to that mold growth within one’s skill. With this information, a remediation protocol can be developed to provide steps to properly remediate and safely remove the mold growth. We need to train ourselves to replace the word “mold” with the word “moisture”. Without moisture, there is no mold growth; therefore, it is imperative that the purpose of the mold assessment is to determine the origin and cause of the moisture.
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYCDHM) defines a mold assessment as “assessing the extent of the moisture problem and mold growth and developing a site-specific work plan,” while the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) includes criteria such as determining causation of the problem to the extent possible, determining the extent of mold growth and visibly documenting these conditions. Routine sampling is not endorsed in either of these documents, nor is it considered best practice by most competent professionals.
At this time, there is only one published consensus body standard for performing a mold assessment which is the D7338-14 Standard Guide for Assessment of Mold Growth in Buildings, which was created and issued through ASTM International. The standard guide describes the minimum steps and procedures for collecting background information, evaluating the source of moisture, determining the extent of mold growth and provides guidance for procedures used to evaluate specific problems beyond that of a basic survey.
As with the NYCDHM and AIHA guidance, routine sampling is not considered and if sampling is performed, it is used to test a relevant hypothesis based on a competent sampling strategy. The goal of the assessment is to identify the moisture source and safely remove the contaminated building materials.
The value of a mold assessment
Why is it important to understand what a mold assessment is and what it should represent? There continues to be concern from industry professionals that unreliable information is being presented to property owners, occupants, insurance carriers and other interested parties which can lead to money and time spent unwisely attempting to correct problems that may not exist, or believing that an unproven hazard is present. Common concerns regarding these assessments and reports are:
- The lack of determining an appropriate cause of the moisture that has led to the mold growth;
- The lack of confirmable data;
- The lack of a site-specific remediation protocol to address contaminated building materials; and
- Routine sampling that is not based upon a relevant hypothesis or competent sampling strategy.
Most questionable mold assessment reports are vague, provide no interpretation of the analytical data collected such as moisture measurements, and provide no practical interpretation of the sampling data such as informing the client what the data implies. In fact, it is not uncommon for the author to indicate that the interpretation for the laboratory analysis will be performed by the laboratory itself, which was not on site and did not perform the assessment.
This is not best practice and does not follow industry standards and guidelines. What value do these limited assessments provide? Not enough, as they lack sufficient detail to be reproducible or serve as a reliable source of information.
We must look at the competence and qualifications of the persons performing these assessments. Professionals are qualified by knowledge, skill, education, training, certification and experience. Most of these qualifications are supported by the individual’s background with certification based upon one’s experience and education.
The intent of certification is to assess an individual’s competence against a set of criteria for a specific profession. It is essential that the certifications are accredited through a third-party program that requires renewal. Without accreditation and renewal, the certification will have no industry acceptance as there is no oversight or accountability confirming that the certification or the certificant themselves are meeting the industry requirements. It is not uncommon to find individuals with substandard certifications.
A mold assessment is more than just the collection of samples. It is the practice of evaluating the extent of mold growth and determining the origin and cause of the moisture. Remember, replace the word “mold” with “moisture”. There are too many assessments being conducted that do not provide this information and are often so limited in detail that they provide no scientific significance or value for their clients. The overall competence of many of the professionals performing these assessments is troublesome considering the quality of the assessments performed and the limited information provided. Understanding the purpose of the assessment will give you confidence in reviewing and validating the information being provided or retaining a third-party expert to assess a condition.
Jeremy D. Beagle, CIH, CMCC, CMC, is senior principal scientist at SDII Global in Boynton Beach, Florida. He has been performing origin and cause assessments and providing expert witness testimony pertaining to water damage, mold growth, and other indoor environmental concerns in the built environment for over 18 years. Contact him at jbeagle@sdii-global.com.
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