There is a new law in NY State which mandates anyone who is involved in assessing for mold, mold remediation and even home inspectors who inspect for anything which can lead to mold growth be licensed.
This law was the result of state legislators who after Sandy felt it was time to regulate the industry.
Unfortunately, the lawyers who wrote the law did not fully understand the ramifications of this poorly worded document.
Let me begin with there are NO FEDERAL STATE or LOCAL regulations on what is actually elevated mold or even what fungi are more harmful than others. An independent lab or the hygienist generally determine if the lab results are deemed elevated by using disproportional comparisons with an outside baseline sample.
The law states: "Mold" means any indoor multicellular fungi growth capable of creating toxins that can cause pulmonary, respiratory, neurological or other major illnesses after minimal exposure, as such exposure is defined by the environmental protection agency, centers for disease control and prevention, national institute of health, or other federal, state, or local agency organized to study and/or protect human health.
Creating toxins is the phrase that is not easy to define.
No basic mold assessor report breaks down the mold genre into specific species which may produce toxins.
The law requires that no remediation company can touch your home without an independent third party mold assessor writing a remediation plan. On top of that, once the remediation job is completed, the assessor must come back to review the project and perform a clearance report. Here is the problem. You the homeowner prior to the law called me up to say I have mold in my closet. I would visit and determine, yes it is obviously mold and the cause was XXXX. It will cost $1,600 to remove, HEPA vacuum, clean and dry the area out. No need to test since we can see and smell the obvious. In fact, the EPA has stated
that there is no reason to test if you have visible mold. You, the homeowner, with a bit of common sense would agree that this is straightforward. Now comes NY State. The remediator must not touch the project until you get an assessor in to evaluate and write the protocol which will cost between $400 – 600. The clearance can cost an additional $400 – 600. The $1,600 job just became 2,400 +.
that there is no reason to test if you have visible mold. You, the homeowner, with a bit of common sense would agree that this is straightforward. Now comes NY State. The remediator must not touch the project until you get an assessor in to evaluate and write the protocol which will cost between $400 – 600. The clearance can cost an additional $400 – 600. The $1,600 job just became 2,400 +.
The remediators and the assessors now will be developing relationships that will foster their best interests. Yes, you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. Any politician knows this because they play that game the minute they announce they are running for a political position. So now consumers must have the services of 2 companies instead of one, costing more money to get rid of mold. Will more people be in danger of mold's effects if they can't afford remediation?
I am not saying the mold industry did not have unscrupulous individuals but which industry doesn’t. The laws should be designed to not only protect the consumer but not add additional costs that will discourage the consumer from have the job done by a professional mold company.
Please contact us for more information.
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