Should A Mold Remediator Perform Mold Assessments?
Jason Yost • November 29, 2022
Should A Mold Remediator Perform Mold Assessments?
There are many reasons why the answer to this question is no, but let’s look at the most obvious: The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration Certification’s (IICRC’s) S520 Standard for Professional Mold Remediation and its companion book, the IICRC R520 Reference Guide for Professional Mold Remediation, define such practices as a “conflict of interest”. What does this mean?
Well, the Standard and the Law see these practices as unethical; in fact, the Law established that conflict of interest doesn’t have to be proven, in and of itself, only its potential need be established. Therefore, actual and potential conflicts are against the law. Here are two examples of conflict of interest commonly practiced in Florida:
- The mold remediator who performs an assessment prior to remediation may sway or misrepresent his or her findings in favor of extensive, costly mold remediation because they have something to gain by saying such a problem exists.
- The mold remediator who performs a post-mold remediation verification assessment (PRVA) may falsely report findings to show remediation was successful just to get paid.
Allow me to show you a chart, found in the IICRC R520 (Chapter 8: Inspection and Preliminary Determination, pg. 99), that describes who does a mold assessment and who does the mold remediation: (Note: the term "Remediator" refers to a person or company who performs mold remediation while the term "IEP" stands for an independent (of the mold remediator) Indoor Environmental Professional.)
You'll notice that the only professional who should perform "Pre-remediation assessment", "laboratory data interpretation and report", and "Post-remediation verification" is the independent IEP.
What the R520 states just prior to this chart is this: “It is important that individuals who perform the tasks listed below have sufficient training and experience for those specific tasks, and that conflicts of interest between parties performing remediation processes and assessment activities be avoided.” (With this in mind, I plan on writing a follow-up blog describing what to look for in a mold assessor.)
Inevitably, there will be mold remediation companies out there who will disagree with this blog. In response (and for the protection of my readers), I will point out two things:
- Firstly, the resources that I've shared in this blog are not of my own opinion. They are industry-based standards of care that govern the mold remediation industry.
- Secondly, the law is clear that, while a company's intention may be good, a conflict of interest isn't defensible. There are good reasons for this, some of which I'll cover in another blog.
If you're dealing with a known, suspect, or potential mold problem and would like to speak to someone about having a mold assessment performed, contact us for a free, no-obligation review of your situation.
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