Mold in Housing - Update on National Activities

Public & Private Sector Members Important Issues Call Summary
July 25, 2005

Claude Cooper, Richmond & AMCBO Chair
David Hattis, Building Technology Incorporated
Dr. Grace Harper, City of Los Angeles
Barbara Vassallo, National Apartment Association
Steve McClure, American Power Conversion Corp.
Larry Swaziek, Wisconsin
Rick Lucerno, New Mexico
Michael DeWein, BCAP
Greg Burgoon, Akron
Lon Larson, Oliver Technologies
Kevin Baker, Simonton Windows
Pat Robinson, Simonton Windows
Cindy Bocz, Texas
Dick Thomson, New York State
Jim Martin, Garden Grove, CA
Robert Bennett, Louisiana
Frank Nadeau, PCI
Dwayne Torrey, Canadian Standards Association
Jabeen Quadir, Canadian Standards Association
Robert Wible, NCSBCS

Claude Cooper, Chairman of the Association of Major City and County Building Officials, welcomed everyone to the July Joint AMCBO/NCSBCS Public and Private Sector Members Important Issues Call on the issue of mold in residential construction.

Mr. Cooper and Robert Wible, NCSBCS Executive Director, introduced the guest speaker, David Hattis, from the National Institute of Building Sciences BETEC and Building Mold Alliance.

Overview of Issues: Mr. Hattis opened by going over the provisions of Congressman John Conyers’ Bill, HR 1268, that was introduced in the previous Congress as the U.S. Toxic Mold Safety Protection Bill of 2003. He noted that the bill didn’t go anywhere in the previous Congress but that Congressman Conyers’ office is going to reintroduce it this session with changes to make it less harsh.

The Congressman had expressed the desire in redrafting the bill to reach out to industry to make bill more palatable. Staff members in Congressman Conyers’ office have asked the Buildings and Mold Alliance for help.

(A copy of the above bill can be obtained by going to www.gpoaccess.gov/bills/index.html - "Current Congress Only - Quick Search – "h.r. 1269".)

The NIBS Buildings and Mold Alliance feels that Conyers’ office staff is sincere in improving this bill and some parts of industry have expressed interest in working with his office. Congressman Conyers is the locus for citizen requests for help on mold issues.

This is a nationwide problem. It is not just from one region. State most noted has been Texas.

Overview of Federal Agency Action on Mold: EPA/CDC/NIH/HUD – Several federal agencies are addressing aspects of the mold problem, but there is no single federal agency taking the lead on this issue.

HUD has a Healthy Homes Initiative. EPA has an extensive database on indoor air and mold but has not developed mold guidance. The National Institute of Medicine (NIM) issued a report earlier this year that was viewed as final state-of-the-art of the science of mold and indoor air/health.

A pre-publication version of that report is quite extensive but doesn’t use the term toxic mold but does say that dampness causes mold and that additional research and development of consensus guidance on managing indoor moisture and mold in new and existing buildings should be developed.

Two years ago HUD Healthy Homes Initiative held a workshop on mold at NIST and recommendations were made to develop guidance on this issue. A draft report, however, was never issued concerning the issue of controlling moisture in buildings. It appears that the HUD Healthy Homes Initiative is not developing guidance.

NIH is awaiting the issuance of a Surgeons General Report on mold based on the previously mentioned NIM report. It is expected that the Surgeons General Report will adopt the same recommendations found in the NIM report.

CDC was developing an action plan to implement NIM recommendations but so far that plan has not materialized.

Buildings and Mold Alliance at NIBS: In a two-day workshop at NIST, participants got together to develop basis for industry consensus for guidance on this problem. A mix of private and public groups at the workshop included most of the stakeholders in six categories.

Following the NIST workshop, a group was formed within NIBS and established a framework called the Buildings Mold Alliance in August 2003 as a NIBS council. The following private and public groups are participants: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (multi-family), Mortgage & Environment Bankers, AGC, BOMA, National Multi Housing Council and AAMA, ASHRAE, American Forest Products and Paper Association, NAVFAC, Army Corps of Engineers, GSA, Air Force, VA, DOE - (but not HUD or EPA).

The Alliance generated a proposed program plan for existing and new buildings.

The program includes developing building condition assessment protocol, development of building operation and maintenance guidelines, and remediation and new-design guidance and construction specifications. Also discussed were provisions for delivery and storage of materials on construction site and guidance of handling materials upstream through the supply chain.

Each of the above areas has a proposed budget and timetable. However, NIBS will not start work on this initiative because they are still looking for funding resources. Some organizations have pledged some funds, but so far funds pledged do not match levels to do the job right. The Buildings and Mold Alliance is looking for more contributors to fund this project.

The Conyers Bill would require HUD to develop some of these products (BMA).

One conclusion reached thus far at the national level is that there still is no single federal agency that will step in here and is capable, interested, or charged with developing these guides. CDC (funded Medicine Report) has not come up with budget required to do so.

Codes and Standards Activities: ASTM has several committees that are addressing aspects of this issue. NFPA/ICC/ASHRAE all have code provisions that are impacted by the issue of mold.

I have witnessed the sessions at ASTM, and these are fairly limited in scope as ASTM is trying to solve a limited problem, i.e., protocols for identifying visible mold in buildings. Still no consensus on how to measure it and define it even if you see it.

This work is being done by ASTM E50 on Environmental Assessment, Risk Management and Corrective Action, the same ASTM committee that developed environmental standards. The work is primarily being driven with support from insurance, lending and remediation industries.

Other ASTM and National Activities: These are specific product related and include the manufacturers of gypsum boards and insulation materials. The owners and mangers of buildings are concerned with the broader issue of how to adopt program to protect their tenants and themselves from being sued.

This concluded Mr. Hattis’ remarks and Mr. Cooper asked if there were any questions for the speaker.

Q – Will federal work legislation/regulation be just for multi-family, or will it include single family as well?

A – Right now there is too much debate on issue to include single family housing. Probably first action will be for multi-family housing.

Q – Are we close to achieving a national recognized standard on mold?

A – No we are not really close to a national standard on mold though the conditions for mold growth - moisture and food source are known and many building materials are a known food source. Moisture and leaks are the problems and so building standards will need to address. The real dispute is at what levels does exposure to mold present a medical problem?

Q – Has anyone drawn a connection between the current mold problem and the energy conservation codes adopted since the 1980’s?

A – There are a lot of anecdotal information and statements on this. So far the largest potential pledge of funds to the NIBS Buildings and Mold Alliance is from DOE that doesn’t want to see energy conservation standards eroded to deal with this issue.

Q – Is there any relationship between vinyl siding on homes and mold?

A – Yes a relationship exists between designs and construction of the building envelope and moisture penetration. They are having problems in Oregon and New Mexico as well as Texas and here (mid-Atlantic) so the guidelines on prevention and abatement of mold will need to be region specific.

For example, in Florida mold problems were caused by wind driven rain that pounded homes for very long periods causing leaks through walls and not just around doors and windows. (Something we don’t test for.) Flashing is an issue. We are looking in Florida at these issues and have been trying to get FEMA to fund some research here.

Q – The city of Los Angeles has some mold cases and they go through the county health department. Is that where this goes in other jurisdictions?

A – Yes, in general. Looks like from a review of the cases, however, that this is not just a low cost housing, multi-family housing problem. It impacts expensive homes as well. I suggest that you "google" mold and take a look at all of the information that you will find there.

Q – Are there any court precedents set on mold cases yet?

A – Thus far there is a lot of litigation, and they are going after the deepest pockets. However, thus far the outcome of that litigation is not publicly available.

Q – Is there any data available on pre-1980 mold cases?

A – Don’t know. This issue has been out there for a long time and building materials are a growth medium. Corrections to problem require research. They may require tightening our installation standards. The science to solve these problems exists but the commitment to do something about it doesn’t seem to exist.

Q – Is this because even though there is a long history of mold problems we are just beginning to become aware of it or is mold more resilient in our housing now?

A – Don’t know which - this is a medical problem. We know that asthma is related to mold. We need further research.

Q – Which federal agency should be the lead for airborne pollutants?

A – CDC probably on the issue of toxicity. CDC has included damp indoor spaces in their report on the mold issue.

HUD would be subordinate but its Healthy Homes Initiative is not moving forward at this time.

Q – The mold issue seems to be cyclical and seasonal and in some of our states has become a business opportunity for scam artists. What’s being done about that?

A – I have heard that some states like Florida and Texas may include licensing requirements for mold remediators. Other states will probably have to also license and regulate remediators.

Also one product that could be of help is a remediation guide.

Q – When do you know that you can remediate with Clorox or have to have people in white suits go in?

A – Lacking any publicly defined standard, it is hard to tell what remediation effort is going to be "good enough." Perhaps ASTM and NIBS can get a standard here. One of our problems remains that CDC hasn’t declared that toxic mold actually exists.

Q – Is there a list of references or points of contact to address this problem?

A – There is no single clearinghouse for information. The insurance industry has some; the Environmental Bankers Association has some. EPA is the best place to start.

Go to their website - www.epa.gov.

BTI has on its website (www.bldgtechnology.com) the draft report on the NIST two-day workshop on mold that I mentioned earlier (click on "sample products" and then "Mold in Housing…"). This, too, is a good source of information on this problem.

Q – Was there an estimated budget for the NIBS Building Mold Alliance?

A – Yes, it is about $200,000 to $300,000 per product that were mentioned earlier in this call. Contact Earle Kennett at NIBS (202-289-7800) if you have any questions for further details.

There being no further questions for Mr. Hattis, Mr. Cooper thanked him for being the guest speaker for this month’s joint public and private sector members Important Issues Call.

Mr. Wible indicated he would contact Congressman Conyers’ office for an update on his bill prior to sending out the call summary notes. (See notes earlier in this summary as result of that contact. Additional information is available by contacting Jack Segal in Congressman Conyers’ office at 202-225-5126.)

At 1:15 p.m. the AMCBO chairman thanked everyone for being on the NCSBCS/AMCBO call and adjourned the session.

The next NCSBCS/AMCBO important issues call will be held in late August. The August Members e-Bulletin will carry the topic and time/date for that call.