Protecting workers is part of a well-designed, state-of-the-art remediation plan. We recommend using  Recognition, Evaluation, and Control of Indoor Mold (2008) accepted as the standard for AIHA. Avoid the common pitfalls of school mold remediation and worker protection ... see below...

UPDATED APRIL 18, 2010  (SMH)

We encourage school districts to thoroughly research their remediation options - and especially, not to fall for "cheap fix solutions" nor "expensive fix solutions" that can't possibly work.  The following is our SMH opinion, based on advice we have received from scientists, physicians specializing in environmental exposures and mold, researchers, and other top experts in the field, as well as from the experiences of school districts throughout the United States. Please refer to our Disclaimer when using any advisement found on this website. (SMH)

WE DO NOT APPROVE OF CUSTODIAL OR OTHER REGULAR SCHOOL STAFF CONDUCTING MOLD REMEDIATION. IT IS DANGEROUS FOR THEM AND THE OCCUPANTS AND CAN CAUSE THE ENTIRE BUILDING TO BECOME CONTAMINATED.

WARNING: SCHOOL DISTRICTS OFTEN REMEDIATE INCORRECTLY AND FURTHER CONTAMINATE BUILDINGS, HARMING STAFF, STUDENTS, AND WORKERS, WASTING TAX PAYER FUNDS. 

SMH RECOMMENDS: Use highest industry standards (AIHA) when conducting remediations

WARNING: US GOV'T AND SOME SCHOOL HEALTH ORGANIZATIONAL PUBLICATIONS MUST BE CHECKED FOR THE DATE THEY WERE ISSUED OR LAST UPDATED. USING OUTDATED ADVICE CAN BE DANGEROUS.

SMH RECOMMENDS:  Use highest industry standards (AIHA) when conducting remediations

WARNING: USE OF UNTRAINED OR SCHOOL PERSONNEL IS LIKELY TO BE HAZARDOUS TO THE WORKER AND HEALTH OF THE OCCUPANTS OF THE SCHOOL, NO MATTER WHAT THE AMOUNT OF MOLD YOU THINK YOU HAVE.

SMH RECOMMENDS:  USE OF THE AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE ASSOCIATION (AIHA) STANDARDS FOR MOLD REMEDIATION.

SMH RECOMMENDS: PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE): PROTECT THE ENTIRE BODY AND RESPIRATORY SYSTEM, EVEN WITH SMALL AMOUNTS OF MOLD, AS THERE IS NO SAFE LEVEL.

PEOPLE SHOULD CONDUCT MOLD REMEDIATION VOLUNTARILY, WHO ARE PROFESSIONALLY TRAINED AND FULLY INFORMED RELATING TO THE HAZARDS, WITH FULL PPE AND PROFESSIONAL REMEDIATION CONSULTANT OVERSEEING THE PROJECT. Protect the entire body and respiratory system, even with small amounts of mold, as there is no safe level.

ANY REMEDIATION NOT STRICTLY FOLLOWING AIHA ADVISEMENT IS LIKELY TO FAIL AND BE DANGEROUS TO WORKERS AND FUTURE OCCUPANTS.

IF YOU READ AND FOLLOW THE ADVISEMENT BELOW, YOU WILL BE MORE LIKELY TO SUCCEED WITH YOUR MOLD REMEDIATION PROJECT AND PROTECT HUMAN HEALTH.
REMEMBER:

    * IMMEDIATELY VACATE WATER-DAMAGED OR MOLDY BUILDINGS: DO NOT WAIT FOR VACATIONS TO REMEDIATE. EVERY DAY COUNTS (EXPOSURES CAN MAKE PEOPLE IRREVERSABLY ILL IN A SHORT TIME, SOMETIMES IN ONE DAY.)

    * REMOVE THE OCCUPANTS AND LEAVE CONTAMINATED MATERIALS BEHIND TO BE THROWN OUT OR PROFESSIONALLY REMEDIATED.

    * USE REMEDIATION PLANS RECOMMENDED BY AIHA (SEE BELOW).

    * ESTABLISH LONG-TERM PLACEMENT FOR OCCUPANTS DURING THE PROJECT. This may include renting healthy alternative locations or combining schools. Beware of the use of rented portable buildings during this time - many portable classrooms have leaks, mold, and high levels of formaldehyde, even new ones, due to shoddy construction, according to US EPA and researchers.

    * IDENTIFY AND STOP THE SOURCE OF THE MOISTURE FIRST.

    * HIRE INDUSTRIAL HYGIENISTS WHO ARE MEMBERS OF AIHA TO OVERSEE PROJECT.

    * INSIST ON PRE AND POST TESTING THAT INCLUDES ERMI, DEVELOPED BY US EPA, AS ERMI detects hidden mold in dust, through DNA analysis.

    * REMOVE MOLD ONLY ACCORDING TO AIHA STANDARDS.

    * MAKE OPTIONAL, LONG-TERM ARRANGEMENTS FOR PREVIOUSLY SICK PEOPLE TO ATTEND OR WORK IN ALTERNATIVE, NON-WATER-DAMAGED SCHOOLS. Many of these may be so sensitized to molds and chemicals that they may not be able to safely reoccupy a building with a history of water-damage, dampness, or mold problems, even after remediation. This could include those who have had any physical complaints or medical conditions such as - but not limited to -asthma or other respiratory illnesses, multiple chemical sensitivity, chemical sensitivities, neurological disorders, gastric disorders, skin disorders, vision problems, or cancers, such as leukemia.

    * THE SIGN OF A SUCCESSFUL REMEDIATION IS THAT THE BUILDING CAN SAFELY BE REOCCUPIED WITH NO ILLNESS.

        Monitor those reoccupying the building, carefully, for signs of illness. Allow any ill people the option above. If additional people complaining of illness, this can be a sign that the remediation has failed,  REGARDLESS OF TEST RESULTS, WHICH ARE NOT ALWAYS VALID.

    * WARNING: DO NOT FALL FOR DANGEROUS  MOLD SCAMS OR CLAIMS :

    There is no machine, fogging device, or chemical that will solve an existing indoor mold problem - no matter what the contractor or product salespeople tell you. They are out to SELL you something at a profit that does not exist. Further, the chemicals are often not safe for people (they harm all living organisms) and the US EPA does NOT recommend use of fungicides or chemicals to solve mold problems for these reasons. Laws do not seem to cover this problem yet, when it comes to mold and particularly with regard to the health of children.  Beware!

    Dead (non-viable) mold is just as unsafe as live (viable) mold. The toxins mold produces are chemicals, non-living substances that cause harm whether the mold is living or dead. That is why the goal is not to kill mold, but to remove it.

    * WARNING: Bleach doesn't work! It bleaches mold (turns it white) so it can't be seen, but that does not make the mold stop growing from beneath the surface, nor does it eliminate the dangerous toxins, which remediation does, when properly conducted. Further, the fumes from bleach are very dangerous to humans. Lastly, scrubbing the mold disturbs and further aerosolizes it - and thus, contaminates the building. Federal guidelines have not caught up with science and industry standards, in this respect.

SMH RECOMMENDS: Use of the AIHA guidelines will explain how to clean and remediate without bleach.

    * WARNING: TEARING OUT MOLDY MATERIALS AS A CONSTRUCTION PROJECT WITHOUT THE USE OF STRICT REMEDIATION TECHNIQUES CONTAMINATES THE WHOLE BUILDING AND FUTURE OCCUPANTS MAY END UP SICKER THAN THEY WERE BEFORE.

SMH RECOMMENDS: Conducting all work in a professionally sealed environment by a company skilled in mold remediation.

    * WARNING: SOME PROFOUNDLY WATER-DAMAGED, MOLDY BUILDINGS MAY NOT BE SALVAGEABLE AND MAY NEED TO BE DEMOLISHED and rebuilt with new (not salvaged, contaminated) materials, and set up with new materials for students (not old, contaminated ones) as the only safe choice. Care must be taken that the new building is properly maintained and that any leaks are addressed within hours, as an emergency, following all industry/federal guidelines.

SMH RECOMMENDS:  Have the building evaluated for remediation by a third party (not a remediation contractor), expert in mold evaluations, such as an Industrial Hygienist with an excellent reputation, member of AIHA.

   * WARNING: WE DO NOT AGREE WITH THE TEN SQUARE FEET OF MOLD RULE PUBLISHED BY EPA 11 YEARS AGO and widely used in the industry. Much mold can be hidden in the walls, ceiling, or floor, behind a small, visible amount of mold. Further, disturbance of a colony of mold, of any size, particularly ten square feet and even less, can cause hazardous chemicals, spores, and fragments to be released into the airstream. For instance, we know of a previously healthy teacher who now has contracted a serious case of aspergillosis (mold colonization of her lungs) following a botched, so-called mold remediation of less than ten square feet, conducted by untrained district personnel during her kindergarten class session. Imagine what this did to the kindergarteners in her inner-city classroom - unbeknownst to their parents! The next teacher (who did not believe mold could harm and volunteered to occupy that classroom) died of a newly-contracted case of virulent breast cancer within several years.

SMH RECOMMENDS: OBTAINING A PROFESSIONAL OPINION ON THE EXTENT OF THE MOLD WITHIN THE BUILDING FROM A QUALIFIED MOLD PROFESSIONAL, preferably, a member of AIHA who is expert in mold evaluation or the equivalent, EVEN WHEN A SMALL AMOUNT IS SEEN. IT CAN BE THE "TIP OF THE ICEBERG", SO TO SPEAK.

    * WARNING: MUCH ADVICE ON THE INTERNET AND FROM FEDERAL SOURCES (IN 2010) IS OUTDATED AND THEREFORE, DANGEROUS TO FOLLOW.

SMH RECOMMENDS: The SAFEST, MOST UP-TO-DATE ADVICE comes from AIHA, the American Industrial Hygiene Association, below:

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SMH RECOMMENDS: REMEDIATE MOLD CORRECTLY IN A 2010 STATE-OF-THE-ART MANNER:

The following book, available electronically in Preview this book, describes the highest industry standards accepted for 2008 - 2010. This is the advice that Industrial Hygienists must recommend, as it is the standard for the AIHA, the American Industrial Hygiene Association . We strongly recommend following this advice and making sure that your contractors do, as well, supervised by an Industrial Hygienist who will adhere to these guidelines:

Recognition, Evaluation, and Control of Indoor Mold (2008)

A new book edited by J. David Miller, Don Weekes, and Brad Prezant

published by the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA)

includes information by contributing author, Dr. Harriet Ammann

Book overview

click link above to view contents and some chapters from the book, in electronic format
  ------------------------------------------------

SMH RECOMMENDS: Protect the entire body and respiratory system, even with small amounts of mold, as there is no safe level.

Thus, we are not in total agreement with United States EPA advice, updated in 2008, found in

"Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Buildings"

Investigating, Evaluating, and Remediating Moisture and Mold Problems

http://www.epa.gov/mold/i-e-r.html#Personal%20Protective%20Equipment%20%28PPE%29

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

If the remediation job disturbs mold and mold spores become airborne, then the risk of respiratory exposure goes up. Actions that are likely to stir up mold include: breakup of moldy porous materials such as wallboard; invasive procedures used to examine or remediate mold growth in a wall cavity; actively stripping or peeling wallpaper to remove it; and using fans to dry items.

The primary function of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is to avoid inhaling mold and mold spores and to avoid mold contact with the skin or eyes. The following sections discuss the different types of PPE that can be used during remediation activities. Please note that all individuals using certain PPE equipment, such as half-face or full-face respirators, must be trained, must have medical clearance, and must be fit-tested by a trained professional. In addition, the use of respirators must follow a complete respiratory protection program as specified by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (see Resources List for more information).

Skin and Eye Protection

Gloves are required to protect the skin from contact with mold allergens (and in some cases mold toxins) and from potentially irritating cleaning solutions. Long gloves that extend to the middle of the forearm are recommended. The glove material should be selected based on the type of materials being handled. If you are using a biocide (such as chlorine bleach) or a strong cleaning solution, you should select gloves made from natural rubber, neoprene, nitrile, polyurethane, or PVC. If you are using a mild detergent or plain water, ordinary household rubber gloves may be used. To protect your eyes, use properly fitted goggles or a full-face respirator with HEPA filter.  Goggles must be designed to prevent the entry of dust and small particles. Safety glasses or goggles with open vent holes are not acceptable.

Respiratory Protection

Respirators protect cleanup workers from inhaling airborne mold, mold spores, and dust.

• Minimum: When cleaning up a small area affected by mold, you should use an N-95 respirator.  This device covers the nose and mouth, will filter out 95% of the particulates in the air, and is available in most hardware stores.  In situations where a full-face respirator is in use, additional eye protection is not required.
• Limited: Limited PPE includes use of a half-face or full-face air purifying respirator (APR) equipped with a HEPA filter cartridge. These respirators contain both inhalation and exhalation valves that filter the air and ensure that it is free of mold particles. Note that half-face APRs do not provide eye protection. In addition, the HEPA filters do not remove vapors or gases. You should always use respirators approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (see Resources List).
• Full: In situations in which high levels of airborne dust or mold spores are likely or when intense or long-term exposures are expected (e.g., the cleanup of large areas of contamination), a full-face, powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) is recommended. Full-face PAPRs use a blower to force air through a HEPA filter. The HEPA-filtered air is supplied to a mask that covers the entire face or a hood that covers the entire head. The positive pressure within the hood prevents unfiltered air from entering through penetrations or gaps. Individuals must be trained to use their respirators before they begin remediation. The use of these respirators must be in compliance with OSHA regulations (see Resources List).

Disposable Protective Clothing

Disposable clothing is recommended during a medium or large remediation project to prevent the transfer and spread of mold to clothing and to eliminate skin contact with mold.

• Limited: Disposable paper overalls can be used.
• Full: Mold-impervious disposable head and foot coverings, and a body suit made of a breathable material, such as TYVEK®, should be used. All gaps, such as those around ankles and wrists, should be sealed (many remediators use duct tape to seal clothing).