EVACUATION OF BUILDINGS DUE TO MOLD CONTAMINATION

A Review of Current Documentation

By: Vik Ahuja, CIAQP

Vahuja@PureAirControls.com

(800) 422-7873, ext. 804

The issues of whether to evacuate mold contaminated buildings have captured the attention of a large number of people, including owners and occupants of commercial and public buildings, homeowners, and environmental health professionals.  Because no federal or state standards for mold remediation exist, people are often unsure how to proceed.

USEPA considers protection of the health and safety of building occupants and remediators the remediation manager’s highest priority.  Isolation of portions of a building undergoing remediation, described in the preceding section, can be useful in protecting both building occupants and remediation workers from the high levels of airborne fungal materials that can arise during remediation activity.  In some cases, however, protecting the health of building occupants might require the evacuation of a portion or all of the building undergoing remediation.

The question of whether to vacate a building, partially or completely, during remediation is an important one.  Evacuation can result in significant costs for provision of alternative living or work facilities.  Evacuation can also result in lost revenue for businesses that must vacate their workspaces.

In general, current guidance documents recommend that people who experience adverse health effects associated with exposure to fungal materials should be evacuated immediately from a building undergoing remediation and remain out until the work has been completed.  For other potentially affected groups, USEPA and NYC DOH offer some specific guidance for deciding whether to evacuate part or all of a building during remediation.  USEPA describes at least four evacuation criteria, including:

o       The size and type of the area(s) affected by mold growth.

o       The type and extent of health effects reported by building occupants.

o       The potential health risks associated with debris generated by the remediation activities.

o       The amount of disruption likely to be caused by the remediation activities.

USEPA also recommends that, when possible, remediation activities be carried out during “off-hours,” when the building is normally unoccupied, to minimize the effect on occupants.

NYC DOH recommends that work areas be unoccupied during remediation activities.  Vacating of areas adjacent to work areas is deemed to be not necessary by NYC DOH but is recommended for potentially sensitive individuals, including infants under 12 months of age, people who have recently had surgery, immune-compromised people, and people with chronic inflammatory lung diseases.  NYC DOH recommends against a building-wide evacuation unless cases of widespread fungal contamination are linked to illnesses throughout the building.  NYC DOH further recommends that decisions about medical removals from an occupational setting be made by a trained occupational or environmental health practitioner, based upon the results of a clinical assessment.

For more information:

Vik Ahuja, CIAQP

Vahuja@PureAirControls.com
(800) 422-7873, ext. 804