Managing Mold in the Building Environment

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Managing Mold in the Building Environment

• CAUBO June 18, 2005

Ms. Gemma Kerr, Ph.D.
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Headlines

• Toxic intruder has families fleeing homes
  San Francisco Chronicle, March 2001
• Attack of the toxic spores Mold hits headlines
  Atlanta Business Chronicle, Sept 2002
• Ed McMahon Gets 7.2M Mold Settlement
  Reuters, May 2003
• Pay mold-sickness bills, schools
  told Seattle Post-Intelligencer, June 2005

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Headlines

• Erin Brockovich Crusades Against Mold
• San Francisco Chronicle March 2001
• Mold menacing students, costing millions
  CNN
• Killer Mold
• New York Daily News
• Mold exposure joins leading personal injury
  claims with 925,000 award Michigan
  business wire, June 2005

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Is mold a real issue ?

• In US, one major insurer reported
• 1999 12 claims that involved mold issues
• 2001 10,000 claims
• 2004 Slow reduction in claims due to insurance
  policy restrictions
• In August 2002, there were 10,000 current
  lawsuits in US involving mold issues
• Hilton Kalia Tower, Hawaii, brand new, virtually
  closed and suing

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Is mold a real issue ?

• In Canada,
• In 2000, Ontario paid 40M in grants to school
  boards to correct mold contamination problems
  in schools
• In 2000, the courthouse in Newmarket, Ontario was
  closed due to mold contamination
• The Alberta Court of Appeal Building was
  relocated
• BC has seen claims and lawsuits about leaky
  condos
• In 2004, PEI family was forced to leave their new
  home
• In 2005, in Montreal, a babys death was
  attributed to a hospital mold infection

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Is mold a real issue ?

• At least half of US state legislatures have
  passed or are debating laws related to mold
  (insurance, licensing of practitioners, exposure,
  real estate sales)
• Progress has been made regarding qualifications
  and training required for mold work
• Courses from various organizations to accredit
  mold inspectors, remediators, etc.
• Cognizant organizations such as AIHA, ASHRAE, and
  IICRC have recently published documents which
  cover both policy and technical issues
• These include standard of care for buildings and
  procedures for the recognition, identification
  and remediation of mold

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Is mold a real issue ?

• In Canada
• Federal government Health Canada documents, NMS
  procedure for mold remediation
• Provincial regulations Ontario includes worker
  exposure to mold
• Provincial publications Manitoba remediation
  procedure, several mold info documents

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Agenda

• What we know about moulds
• What we dont know
• Managing mold in buildings

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Indoor Biocontaminants

• Viruses
• Bacteria
• Fungi
• Dust mite allergens
• Animal (cat and dog) allergens
• Cockroach allergens
• Pollen
• Etc.

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Glossary

• Viruses
• Little is known about viruses in the indoor
  environment
• They do not survive in infective form for any
  length of time outside the host organism
• Transmission by aerosol or contact
• Bacteria
• Most need standing water to grow and reproduce
• Can cause infections (Legionella), and can cause
  more disease than fungi
• Produce allergens
• Produce endotoxins (cause flu-like, fever
  symptoms)
• Produce volatile organic chemicals (VOCs)
  (irritants and odors)

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Glossary

• Fungi
• Organisms that feed on natural organic materials
• Elevated moisture or relative humidity may be
  sufficient to initiate growth
• Some are very resilient in harsh environment
• Can cause infections (A. fumigatus, Histoplasma
  capsulatum)
• Allergens potentially all fungal spores
• Mycotoxins toxic, some carcinogenic, immune
  suppressive
• Fungal VOCs produced during active growth
  (irritants and odors)

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Mold - Definition

• Molds are simple organisms, part of the Fungus
  species family. Individual spores are too small
  to see
• 20,000 different types of molds
• Most produce small spores that are carried by the
  air as part of the mold reproduction process
• Molds and mold spores are naturally present in
  outdoor air and can enter a building through
  windows, doorways, ventilation systems, and even
  on shoes, clothing, etc.
• It is impossible to eliminate all mold and mold
  spores in the indoor environment

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Mold Growth Conditions

• Three conditions are needed
• The right temperature for growth
• Nutrients or food
• Moisture, high water activity in a material, or
  high relative humidity
• Most molds prefer a similar range of temperature
  to people

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Mold - Nutrients
Many building materials provide suitable
nutrients or support for mold to grow

• Cellulose-based materials
• paper and paper products
• cardboard
• ceiling tiles
• wood products
• drywall

• Other materials
• dust
• paints
• wallpaper
• insulation materials
• carpet
• fabric and upholstery

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Mold Moisture Sources

• Some typical moisture causes in buildings
• Changes in building construction practices
  1970-90s, including tighter sealing of
  buildings. If there is inadequate ventilation,
  this can lead to buildup of moisture
• Condensation (cold surface/high humidity)
• Roof leaks
• Wall leaks due to landscaping, windows or gutters
• Plumbing leaks
• Delayed maintenance
• High interior humidity from outside

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Mold Growth

• When spores drop on damp or wet surfaces, they
  begin to grow and will digest whatever they are
  growing on in order to survive
• Growth usually begins after 24 to 48 hours
• Different species like different moisture levels
  and temperature for growth

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What does all this mean?

• Since molds like the same temperatures conditions
  as people, and can grow while eating common
  building materials .
• The only practical way to control mold growth in
  the indoor environment is to deny the mold access
  to water or moisture in the air

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What We Know Health Effects

• Many types of molds exist all have the
  potential to cause health effects (allergies)
• Molds do not have to be alive to be allergenic
• Toxins can remain in the environment long after
  the mold is dead
• Only a few molds can invade living cells and
  cause disease (generally only in
  immuno-compromised individuals)

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What We Know Health Effects

• Common health problems from mold exposure include
  hay-fever type allergic symptoms (eye, nose and
  throat irritation) and asthma
• Skin irritations and headaches have also been
  associated with mold exposure
• Some individuals are more sensitive than others,
  i.e. children, elderly people, people with immune
  system problems

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What we DONT know

• Fungi/molds have not been proved to be a cause of
  Sick Building Syndrome (SBS)
• Scientific literature does not agree on the
  importance of mold as a factor in SBS
• Competing factors include stress, other
  contaminants, etc.
• Research has shown that it is difficult to
  attribute symptoms to specific agents

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What we DONT know

• Despite some anecdotal claims, no link has been
  established between mold and internal bleeding or
  memory loss
• The Dose-Response relationship between mold
  exposure and health effects is unknown at present
  and will be difficult to determine
• Therefore, no one knows what levels of airborne
  mold spores are acceptable

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Consequences of not knowing

• Media frenzy
• Public hysteria
• Occupants with health problems
• Lawsuits
• Expensive remediation of contaminated areas

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What is the impact of this?

• Owners and managers of buildings may want to
  reduce the risk of mold contamination in their
  buildings
• As discussed earlier, this is best achieved by
  addressing the issue of unwanted water or
  moisture in buildings

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Minimizing unwanted water in buildings

• Prevention of water entry, plumbing leaks, and
  condensation
• Dealing with unpredictable water events quickly
  and effectively
• Reduce interior humidity levels

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Prevention Design and Construction

• At the start of the design process, state the
  intent to design and construct a building that
  will not foster mold growth
• Useful reference document Mould guidelines for
  the Canadian construction industry, Canadian
  Construction Association, document 82, 2004
• Discusses owner responsibility
• Legal and insurance issues overview
• Practical guidance for construction workers
• Ventilation system and building
• May lead to increased project costs

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Prevention - Maintenance

• Inspection and repair necessary for
• Roofs, walls, windows etc.
• Plumbing
• Preventive maintenance needs a budget to pay for
  more staff

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Dealing with Water Events

• A water emergency can be dealt with as such up to
  48 hours, since mold growth should be minimal
• There may be extra costs associated with fast
  clean-up

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Why bother?

• Does the benefit of minimizing mold growth
  justify the costs of preventive maintenance in
  buildings and swift action following a flood?

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If you do not bother

• After 48 hours, the likelihood of mold growth
  increases significantly
• An unrecognized mold growth problem can end up
  requiring a costly remediation
• Mold is costlier to remove than water
• Potential health impacts necessitate increased
  standard of occupant care

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When managing buildings

• The best option is to address water issues in
  order to minimize mold contamination
• While addressing water issues has a financial
  cost, dealing with mold contamination usually has
  greater cost

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Costs of dealing with mold

• Remediation costs are higher than for water alone
• Mold exclusion clauses or sub-limits are now a
  standard part of insurance policies
• Insurance companies will not pay for mold
  remediation where mold growth was the result of a
  neglected water problem, or an act of nature

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Costs of dealing with mold

• Perceived health effects from mold exposure can
  result in lawsuits
• Canadas Bill C-45 makes managers and owners
  responsible for employees health and comfort
• Any lawsuit, even if unjustified, can be costly
  and damaging to reputation

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Managing the situation

• Needs include
• Preventive maintenance program aimed at
  preventing water problems
• Emergency response program for dealing with
  floods and leaks
• Emergency response program for dealing with mold
  contamination

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Managing the situation

• Need to create infrastructure for each program
  
• A mission statement
• A list of results or deliverables expected
• Details of qualifications required for key
  personnel involved in implementation
• Clear identification of responsibilities of key
  personnel and chain-of-command

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Managing the situation

• Infrastructure continued
• Address communication issues between different
  responsibility areas
• Provide a budget for implementation
• Create an audit process for evaluating
  effectiveness and suggesting improvements

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Case Study

• Student residence flood
• How not to handle it

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Case Study

• The building is located at the lowest point of a
  hollow
• It had improper drainage
• A bad rainstorm filled the base of the hollow
  with water and flooded the whole ground floor of
  the building

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Case Study

• There was no emergency procedure in place to deal
  with a flood
• No one made the connection between water and mold
  growth
• Wet areas were not cleaned and dried out within
  48 hours

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Case Study

• Uncontrolled clean-up a week after the flood
  revealed mold on and in walls
• Testing led to identification of Stachybotrys
  chartarum
• A simple flood clean-up became a major mold
  remediation project

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Case study

• Students were relocated to hotels during the
  clean-up and remediation
• Disruption to study and class attendance
• Risk communication to students and students
  parents required

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Case Study

• Extra Costs resulting from mold growth
• Services of environmental consultant
• Use mold remediation contractor instead of
  general contractor
• More work, resulting in delays
• Longer hotel stays for students
• Time spent on risk communication

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Summary

• The most important factor in managing mold in
  buildings is reduction of water and humidity
  problems
• The costs associated with reducing water problems
  are almost certainly less than the costs of
  dealing with mold growth
• Effective preventive maintenance and emergency
  response programs require senior management
  commitment, a budget and careful set-up

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References

• Ministry of Labour BC, Alberta, Ontario, CSST
  (Quebec), Manitoba
• ASHRAE, AIHA, CCA, IICRC documents that will
  force due diligence because they exist
• US EPA Mold Remediation in Schools and
  Commercial Buildings

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Contact Information

• Ms. Gemma Kerr, Ph.D.
• InAIR Environmental Ltd.
• 503 1390 Prince of Wales Drive
• Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA
• K2C 3N6
• Phone [phone]
• E-mail gemma.kerr_at_inairenvironmental.ca