to propose bill to regulate mold remediation

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to propose bill to regulate mold remediation

Saccoia | Sunday, November 5, 2006 at 12:30 am

Savannah Morning News - Savannah,GA

http://savannahnow.com/node/172834

Practicitioners will be required to hold a certificate

A Georgia state representative said Tuesday that he's proposing a

bill that will require anyone who practices microbial inspection and

remediation to have a license, in hopes that mold remediation will

become more safe and organized.

Earl L. 'Buddy' , representative for House District 159, said

the new bill, called the Microbial Professionals Licensing Act, will

have to go through a lengthy process in order to be passed. If

passed, the bill will set new statutes, including established

standards for collecting, sampling, analysis and reporting of

microbial contaminants.

" (Licensed) people can tell their customers, 'I've been trained in

the minimal amount of training, and I'm going to be held responsible

for the work,' " said. " It can cause physical problems and

people have suffered because of it. We need to have some rules and

regulations. "

The bill states, " ...it is necessary in the interests of the public

health, safety, and welfare to prevent damage to the real and

personal property of the residents of this state and to avert

economic injury to the residents of this state to regulate

individuals that hold themselves out to the public as qualified to

perform microbial assessments and microbial remediation. "

This bill is not a new concept, according to . He said he

proposed a similar bill last year, but it didn't pass. said

he plans on submitting it again this year and hopes to do so on Nov.

15.

The importance of the bill, he said, is to assure people they are in

safe hands.

" People have approached me about these horror stories where they've

hired a company off the street to come clean up mold, and all they

did was wash it off, " said . " A lot of people have been

getting ripped off because of this. "

said other tragedies such as Hurricane Katrina have driven

him to submit the bill, which explains in detail a five-person

committee, chosen by the governor, to establish standards,

qualifications and a disciplinary policy for those who violate

provisions.

" We're in a hurricane area. We'd have this problem as well as suffer

as the same consequences as they have in New Orleans, "

said. " It will not be a problem if we can get legislature passed. I

was somewhat surprised that there were no (Environmental Protection

Agency) regulations. "

Kurt meyer, Assistant Area Director for the Organizational

Safety and Health Administration, said it's difficult to determine

fully the validity of molds just by performing a swab sample and

that air samples are key. He said he wishes there were set standards

for OSHA to reference because it would make the process a lot easier.

" There's nothing in the works as to changing regulation

requirements, " meyer said. " EPA has a mold remediation book.

They're not regulatory standards, they're just simply suggestions. "

According to meyer, there are good reasons why there haven't

been limitations over toxins. One reason is because some toxins

naturally exist in the environment.

" Most of these mycotoxins normally exist in the air, " said

meyer. " They are in the open air. We walk outside, and you're

open to levels. "

Also, some people are just more sensitive to molds than others,

according to meyer, which makes it difficult to set limits for

people with different mold sensitivities. meyer said OSHA does

the best it can with the complaints.

Who will do the job?

The proposed Microbial Professionals Licensing Act, if passed,

requires that a professional must possess a certificate in order to

evaluate and remove any " Fungi that causes disintegration of organic

matter and produces spores. This term includes any spores, hyphae,

aflatoxins, and mycotoxins produced by mold. "

" To perform microbial assessment, (you must) be certified as an

industrial hygienist by the American Industrial Hygiene Associate "

and " have completed an approved course of study, as determined by

the board, in microbial assessment... "