|
We have recently
received test results that were conducted in an office building that we
own in Gainesville, FL. In December of 2002, we were made aware of
leaking around some windows and some bubbling of indoor drywall near the
floor. We hired a contractor, who removed the entire wall (a 32 foot
length) and basically replaced the entire structure. There was
extensive mold visible and it was discarded with the rotten studs.
There was new insulation installed and the footer and soffit line were
sprayed with fungicide solution .New drywall was installed and painted.
Last week, another
leak area was reported . This was in a small closet area approximately
12 feet by 12 feet. There was a musty odor and upon careful inspection,
the same condition was visible (this is in a location close to the wall
that was replaced in December). The contractor had to order materials
and has not begun work on this wall. The tenants of the building have
been reported to be experiencing respiratory ailments and allergy-like
symptoms. They ordered an IAQ Report. In the large room that had the
long wall replaced in December, the results indicated 171 spores/m3
of Aspergillus/Penicillium, 256 spores/m3 of Cladosporium,
and 85 spores/m3 of Stachybotrys in a volume of 150 liters.
The small, closet size space had the following results: 184,320
spores/m3 of Aspergillus/Penicillium, 512 spores/m3
of Chaetomium, 64 spores/m3 of Cladosporium, and 15,061
spores/m3 of Stachybotrys.
The company
gathering this data has recommended that we quarantine the building.
Their estimated time for clean-up is 4-6 weeks. This will put the
business “out of business” and, of course, we will lose our tenants.
Having never dealt with anything like this, we need another opinion. We
have been told to put the drywall repair etc. on hold as more spores
will be released during any fix-it procedure. In the mean time, people
working in the office are feeling ill. What is your opinion of the
spore count? Can the closet space that has registered numbers “off the
scale” be taped off while removal and repairs are completed? What can
we do to correct this problem? We are ordering another test from
another company to be completed immediately.-Randy and Anne, Texas
The overall spore count in the long
room where the wall was replaced is relatively low. The presence of
Stachybotrys indicates that either cleanup was inadequate or not all
infested materials were removed. I suspect that cleanup was not
adequate as all infested materials (most likely drywall) would have been
removed.
The small closet-like space is of
course heavily infested with mold and requires remediation. It is
possible that there may be some migration of mold spores from this room
into the adjoining long room. However, the Aspergillus/Penicillium
to Stachybotrys ratio in the closet space to long room are not
consistent with such a migration.
I rarely recommend quarantining a
building. That is a very extreme step especially when the infestation
is relatively localized. I recommend instead that the infested space be
isolated from the rest of the building. This would include shutting off
any supply and return air outlets and covering them with heavy-duty
plastic sheeting and adhering them with duct tape.
The remediation can be conducted in two
parts. Mold remediation which includes removal and cleanup can be
accomplished in days (up to a week) followed by post-cleanup
construction activities. This type of abatement is commonly conducted
with asbestos and works very well.
Recommending that a building be
quarantined is easy advice to give as it provides a consultant a great
degree of liability protection. Liability considerations are a major
factor in such recommendations.
April 24, 2003
Indoor Environmental Quality (2000), Thad Godish Ph.D., C.I.H
|
