Mold Testing Made Easy!
Bio-Scan400...the new tool for screening mold

Aspergillus spp., Penicillium spp., Fusarium spp., Stachybotrys spp., Alternaria spp.; the list goes on. These are the names of the newest pathogens that have become household names that many business owners and homeowners are dealing with everyday. They are all forms of mold that are causing waves though the local, national and international communities.

News stories of “TOXIC MOLD” indicate a problem with pandemic proportion, whether real or perceived. This Mold monster has caused the young, the old, the rich and the poor to flee their homes and businesses, all the while creating havoc in the insurance industry. Residential and commercial exposures and toxic mold claims are rivaling construction defect claims.

A recent insurance client retained Pure Air Control Services to perform a routine IAQ/Mold due diligence to determine the actual mold damage and to determine if the remediation contractor was in fact taking them to the cleaners.

The respective home was valued at $70,000, and the private adjuster determined that he could get about $70,000 worth of new drywall, fixing’s and furniture for the client. Upon further review the assessed damage due to the water “incident” was about $15,000. Quite a shock to the homeowner and public adjuster that thought they could retire early.

There is little doubt that mold can and has been devastating to homeowners and business owners across the country causing billions in damage structurally and physically, and will continue to be problematic. The Center For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that asthma affects 17.3 million people (10 million adults and 7 million children each year), costs over $10 billion for medical care, causes over 10 million missed school days and more than 5000 deaths per year. It is a wonder why the media has created a mass hysteria condition regarding indoor molds causing health concerns.

And a recent Finnish Institute of Occupational Health study concluded that indoor dampness and mold shows “new evidence of the relation between workplace exposure to indoor molds and the development of asthma in adulthood.” Mold exposure can trigger common allergic reactions ranging from wheezing, sneezing, shortness of breath, skin rashes, upper respiratory irritation, coughing, eye irritation, headaches, lethargy and more. Allergic Bronchopulmonary Mycosis, Allergic Fungal Sinusitis, Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis, Pulmonary Mycotoxicosis and Extrinsic Allergic Alveolitis are examples of medically defined uncommon allergic syndromes. Mold cases, too numerous to mention, are occurring all over the country and totaling in the billions of dollars. There are over 10,000 mold related suits pending in the nation, a 300 percent increase since 1999.

The causes of mold propagules range from:
• building deficiencies (resulting in water intrusion, inadequate window installation, improper exterior coating, negative pressure design condition, building materials, sloping landscape);
• HVAC installation (over/under sizing, faulty drains, improper duct sizing);
• reconstruction practices (build while tenant occupancy, water leaks not cleaned within 24 hours, deferred maintenance practices, no O & M practices, no containment protocols while remediation is occurring); and
• insurance companies (slow response to water intrusion or bulk water intrusion, no concern for secondary issues resulting from occurrence, low budget mentality to identify or fix environmental deficiencies).

The list goes on.This morning, I received a call from a very reputable environmental consultant in Arkansas. Her request was typical of the type of calls I field, “People are asking me to do mold evaluations. What can I do to help them?” My answer to her was simple, Bio-Scan400. Bio-Scan400 is designed to quickly and cost effectively evaluate an environment for the type of mold present. Direct surface samples are easily collected by using Bio-Scan400.

The Environmental Diagnostics Laboratory (EDL) at Pure Air Control Services utilizes Bio-Scan400 via direct microscopy to provide information on the quantity and quality of fungal elements expressed in counts per centimeter square. No culturing is required for this technique, so turn around times can be as rapid as 12 hours.
Bio-Scan400 is the quickest, easiest and least expensive ($25.00 /per sample) way to obtain preliminary data on surface environments that are suspected to be contaminated.

Additional lab analysis by EDL includes: Mycotoxin trichothecne, Mycology, Bacteriology, Allergen (e.g. dust mite, cat and cockroach), Endotoxin, non-viable particulate, microscopy assays among others. EDL is an AIHA EMLAP participant # 102795. Pure Air Control Services (www.pureaircontrols.com) is an indoor environmental consulting firm with more than 350 million square feet of building/home diagnostics and Mold Remediation experience in over 9,000 buildings/homes, over 45,000 environmental laboratory samples identified and over 80 legal IAQ related cases. o

Alan Wozniak, CIAQP, is president/CEO Pure Air Control Services

(800) 422-7873, Ext. 802. Email him at awozniak@pureaircontrols.com.