BOMA Position
BOMA International promotes high standards to protect the health and safety of building occupants. To that end, BOMA International supports additional research to examine potential health effects of mold in indoor environments. Research should address construction practices, building materials, building design, operations and maintenance, and tenant behavior, and it must be based on reliable evidence and sound science, not supposition. To that end, Congress should move to expand the scope of research on this public health issue, as is it a largely unsettled matter as to which molds at what levels pose a threat to human health.
BOMA International opposes any initiatives by federal, state and local authorities to write model building codes and standards regulating mold and moisture. Building codes and standards designed to address mold and moisture should be developed through the industry standards consensus process. The federal government should support the development of these standards through research and public education.
BOMA International opposes legislative and regulatory initiatives advocating overly broad mold-related disclosure requirements in the sale of office properties that might confuse consumers or expose sellers and lessors to unpredictable and unreasonable liability.
BOMA International supports laws, regulations and policies that will ensure that adequate insurance coverage for mold claims is available to the commercial real estate industry at a fair and reasonable cost.
Background
The science on mold toxicity and causation of ailments is unsettled. Public health experts say it could be years before research proves or disproves whether certain molds (and there are hundreds found indoors) cause the kind of severe health problems being alleged in recent litigation. In some instances the stachybotrys form of mold, one of the most threatening of the potentially so-called "toxic molds," has been blamed for a range of physical ailments.
In May 2004, the National Academy of Sciences released a mold report clarifying that there is no evidence that supports an association between mold and the wide range of health complaints that are attributed to it. It does provide evidence linking damp conditions in homes and buildings to asthma symptoms and other upper respiratory tract symptoms in healthy people.
Unlike many other known toxins, such as lead, mercury, or cadmium, there are no standards for levels of mold toxicity and no known permissible mold exposure limits for the indoor environment. No state or federal agencies currently offer testing of mold samples.
Recent Activity
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released a Safety and Health Bulletin on Mold giving recommendations on the prevention of mold growth and the safety of workers when conducting a clean up. The document gives basic information and its causes, recognizing when a problem exists, and steps to take in the remediation process.
The Safety and Health Information Bulletin was prepared for the benefit of building managers and others responsible for building maintenance. It offers recommendations on how to prevent mold growth, proper use of personal protective equipment, ways to assess mold or moisture problems, and methods to clean-up damage caused by moisture and mold growth.
Please click here to be taken to the bulletin on the OSHA website.
Action Requested
BOMA International members should urge Congress to not allow funds to be used by any federal agency to establish mold exposure guidelines for public and private office buildings until such time as relevant federal agencies carry out other pertinent research, if necessary.
BOMA International encourages its members to use proven management techniques to help ensure moisture control and take a proactive approach to reducing the likelihood of mold growth in their buildings.