ASSE: Problems infest Fla. mold bill

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April 11, 2003

ASSE: Problems infest Fla. mold billRobin Londner The American Society of Safety Engineers said it urged key Florida House leaders in letters sent this week to reject a bill they said would require the government to license all safety, health, environmental and engineering professionals who work on mold analysis and remediation in Florida except for industrial hygienists.

The Des Plaines, Ill.-based group said the bill, HB 1659, may be intended to set standards for mold analysis and remediation, but instead would reduce consumer access to needed mold professionals in Florida and provide a loophole for certified industrial hygienists to avoid consumer protection provisions mold licensing would provide.

"It's disturbing that a licensing bill meant to protect Floridians from fraud and unqualified people would exempt one kind of practitioner," said ASSE President Mark Hansen. "Why would one group even want to exempt themselves from rules to protect consumers? You don't see one kind of lawyer or one medical specialty trying to get out of Florida's licensing laws. Most professionals understand the benefits to the people they serve."

The 92-year-old ASSE has 30,000 members. While the group did not estimate mold costs in Florida and the state did not have figures, the Insurance Information Institute said the average cost of ridding a Texas house of mold was $35,000 in 2002.

Mold can live on anything from drywall to carpeting pads, feeding on Florida moisture to grow. But, the fungi can cause respiratory problems and exacerbate asthma. When mold strikes apartment complexes, for example, the health risks may lead property owners to pay tenants' moving costs and other expenses, as occurred in Doral in December, as reported by the South Florida Business Journal.

Mold problems in Florida may be accelerating, which may have moved the fungus farther up in the legislative agenda.

"Complaints regarding mold are probably the fastest growing category of grievance coming into the division," the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation reported in October. The department urged people who suspect they have a mold infestation to consult a professional immediately, adding: "Serious financial and legal consequences may result from not properly addressing known problems.

But the ASSE's Hansen suggested not only might the licensing exemption clause in the mold bill hinder consumers from properly addressing their mold problem, but also a second problem could be that the bill puts mold professional licensing under the Florida Department of Health, not the Department of Business and Professional Regulations. The latter department licenses all other professions in Florida, Hansen said.

"Not being treated like other professionals would create an unfortunate conflict of interest," he explained. "A mold professional representing a client could be in a position of having to negotiate with the department over remediation issues. If the Department of Health holds that professional's license, how can he or she independently represent a client?"

Hansen indicated he did not disagree with licensing safety, health, environmental and engineering professionals. However, he did say those people should be licensed in the same way Florida licenses its other professionals.

Finally, Hansen urged the state to act with caution on all mold-related issues. Before moving to combat mold problems, he suggested lawmakers consult medical, environmental, safety and engineering experts.

"Given the cost that Florida taxpayers will be asked to pay in setting up another new licensing bureaucracy, not to mention requiring mold remediation and analysis standards to be written by the state, it seems best to make sure that any investment made will address actual health threats," he said. © 2003 American City Business Journals Inc.