Madison sees need to license mold pros

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Madison sees need to license mold pros

BY BILL BOWDEN

Arkansas Democrat Gazette - AR,USA

Posted on Saturday, March 14, 2009

http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/254865/

State Sen. Sue Madison, DFayetteville, filed a bill in the Arkansas Senate on

March 5 that would require mold investigators to be licensed by the state and

won't allow mold investigators also to perform mold remediation.

Since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in 2005, real estate companies and

potential homeowners in Arkansas often request an inspection of houses for mold

infestation. A misdiagnosis can affect property values, result in unnecessary

work being done either to eradicate mold that isn't there, or fail to clean up a

mold problem, Madison said.

" Everybody who had ever worked on an air conditioner suddenly became a mold

expert, " said Miriam Lonon, manager of environmental health and safety at the

University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

Lonon, who spent six years working for the National Institute for Occupational

Safety and Health, has been advising Madison on Senate Bill 803, which would

require licensing for mold investigators and sets standards for mold

investigations. Arkansas currently has no law requiring a license.

The biggest problem, Lonon said, is that some people who claim to be mold

investigators also promote themselves as mold eradication experts. " That's a

conflict of interests, " she said.

SB803 states, " A licensed mold investigator shall not perform services to

remediate mold. "

" Well, that's ridiculous, " said Phil Gawthrop, owner of Mold Solutions LLC of

Bella Vista, who does both mold investigations and remediations. " It's a free

market. Isn't this America? Provide references. ... Talk to people they worked

for. That's part of doing any construction job. "

But, Gawthrop said, some mold investigators in Arkansas are " pretty shady. "

" I think she has a point where every jackleg that comes along and does not have

a job says, 'Well, I'll be a mold inspector,' " he said.

To obtain a state license, the bill would require mold investigators to be

either certified as an industrial hygienist by the American Industrial Hygiene

Association, certified by a microbial consultant by the American Indoor Air

Quality Council or have completed at least 20 hours of college course work in

microbiology.

Gawthrop, who doesn't have certifications listed above, said taking 20 hours of

college course work would be expensive.

" Doctors don't even have that, " he said. " They get five hours of fungi in

college. "

SB803 also outlines procedures for on-site mold investigations, stating that

analysis of mold samples must be examined by a laboratory participating in the

American Industrial Hygiene Association Environmental Microbiology Accreditation

Program.

Under the proposed bill, the State Plant Board would administer and enforce

licensing for mold investigators. The license fee would be less than $150 per

year.

Lonon said her motto for mold removal is " Clean it up, dry it out. "

" If your house has mold in it, it's an indication that your house is leaking

water from some place, " Gawthrop said, " so fix it. "

Gawthrop said he refunds the inspection cost if he's hired to do mold

remediation. He charges about $250 to investigate a three-bedroom house. The

cost of mold remediation varies with the amount of infestation, but it can cost

as much as $50,000 for serious problems, he said.

" In the last two weeks, I've told half a dozen homeowners how to clean up mold

themselves, " Gawthrop said. " I don't go on every call I get. "

SB803 has been referred to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and

Economic Development. Madison said she is working on an amendment, which

probably will be filed next week.

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