More on Lab Testing

[Guest guest]

I thought you all might find interesting an ongoing discussion on

IEQuality among the professionals that do mold testing. As you know,

I've been preaching the inaccuracies of testing and the

misinterpretation of what the results mean to the point that no one

really knows. So why spend money on something that is inaccurate and

isn't needed except in specific legal or medical situations?

Add to the the list above the inconsistent identification by trained

professionals. The latest information is that when the same

professionally collected samples are sent to different labs the

results are frequently vastly different. In the most notable example,

each of 8 different labs gave greatly different results to the same

sample. Not just the numbers, but THE KINDS`OF MOLD they found. Other

examples I'm familiar with found Stachybotrys but others didn't. Some

identified non-mold debris, like talcum powder or soot, as mold.

If the professionals, especially those who believe our claims and are

interested in helping, can't get reliable results, how are we getting

anything better from our own efforts, Home Depot or not?

Again, testing can be valuable. But it must be done to answer a very

specific question based on a sampling plan developed from a

hypothesis as the result of appropriate inspection, assessment and

preliminary determination. It can never be used to answer the general

questions of " Is it safe? " It may not be but that is a different

test. " Is it hurting me? " It might but that depends on your

sensitivity, which is a different test. " Should it be removed? " Yes.

" How should it be removed? " Removal methods don't change based on the

kind of mold and should be according to a standard of care based on

such authorities as EPA, ACGIH and S520.

Carl Grimes

Healthy Habitats LLC