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Project
Report For Indoor Environment Connections
- 8/19/2003, Bozeman
Nobody would suspect severe mold contamination in rural
Montana where dry land farming and drought conditions
dictate economic and social life. However, just minutes
from where Lewis and Clark had once camped on their journey
to find the passage to the Pacific, a brick farm house
and the microbial contamination inside had caused this
farming family to vacate and consider the options for
themselves, the structure and generations of belongings.
The assignment began with a phone call from an adjuster
whose insured suffered several catastrophic water losses.
The insured suspected a mold problem as the results of
water intrusion from a break in the main water supply
line from an artesian well that had been discovered by
natural gas exploration in years past. The owners explained
that the water line had burst several times over the recent
years due to the highly alkaline mineral content of the
water corroding the galvanized supply line. The water
was never immediately extracted and dried, due to the
owner’s absence or preoccupation with the year’s
wheat harvest. With the spirit of self-reliance that makes
Americas’ farmers survive, the insured attempted
a good-hearted attempt to rid the house of the unsightly
and smelly gypsum board. It was ripped out, packed up
the steps from the basement, through the upstairs living
space and into a grain truck for disposal in the “back
forty” -landfill sites. The owners had recently
vacated the property complaining of health problems.
The occupants were reporting health complaints consisting
of allergic type reactions, including skin rashes and
problems with concentration. This led them to submit tape
mounts to a microbiological lab. The most notable fungal
types that were identified included; Stachybotrys sp.,
Stemphylium sp. and Aspergillus sp. These fungi are consistent
with those normally recovered from construction materials
that have been subject to elevated moisture and humidity
for extended lengths of time. Upon our initial site investigation
the owners completed a health information form, which
revealed that, both of the occupants are over sixty years
old, currently under a doctors care, and had respiratory
problems including asthma. One of the owners had undergone
surgery for the removal of their stomach and spleen, hip
replacement and several back surgeries. It was clear that
the owners had multiple medical conditions that could
make them at high risk for reactions to fungal contamination.
The residence is a 1500 square foot ranch style brick
home with three bedrooms, three baths, living, family
and laundry rooms. There is also an attached two-car garage
with access from the main floor. Downstairs is a finished
basement with two bedrooms, A Photographic dark room,
food pantry, wet bar, full size billiards table and playing
area as well as 700 square feet of family room that was
being used as storage of family items. The ceiling was
suspended acoustic tile. Also located in the basement
was a fuel oil forced air furnace and a storage area for
pesticides. There was no door to the basement and a handrail
with balusters separated the two levels.
Ben Yanker CR, WLS, CMR, president of Buffalo Restoration
Inc. of Bozeman Mt. performed the initial site investigation
at the request of the owners and the insurance adjuster
in the fall of 2001. Some of the basement contents had
been moved during the owner’s partial removal of
the gypsum wallboard. Moldy and rotted baseboard was still
on top of the pool table. In the bedroom, pantry and billiards
room the exposed framing was water stained and had visible
fungal growth. Rot and decay on the lower portions of
the framing was also noticeable. Some of the remaining
gypsum wallboard in these areas had visible mold growth
two to three up from the floor. Some of the contents also
had fungal growth on them. The adjacent family room was
not as badly contaminated, with only small areas of visible
fungal growth. The upstairs main floor showed no signs
of visible fungal growth but was suspected of secondary
contamination due to previous demolition efforts and the
HVAC air-handling unit being located in the basement adjacent
to the most severely contaminated areas.
After the initial inspection Ben Yanker suggested that
the owners do not enter the residence and that a Certified
Industrial Hygienist with experience in dealing with microbial
contamination and current remediation practices be contacted
for sampling and protocol preparation. The insurance adjuster
contacted Ms. Robin Billau, CIH of Indoor Air Quality
and Occupant Health of Bozeman Montana.
Robin’s site investigation and sampling was designed
to include the following, perform a visual inspection,
surface and air sampling, evaluate sampling results and
prepare a remediation protocol to reduce occupant exposure
to fungal contamination. A “Zefon” air sampling
pump and “Air-O-Cell” cassettes was used for
trapping airborne particles. The results provided by a
qualified lab are in Table 1. (See insert). In addition,
tape lifts were taken and submitted for microscopic analysis.
Tape samples taken upstairs indicated the presence of
several types of fungi including Stachybotrys sp. and
Aspergillus/Penicillum sp. Based on the testing and visual
inspection it was determined that spores from the active
mold growth in the basement had contaminated the entire
structure and contents due to air movement and occupant
activities.
The guidelines referenced for removing the fungal growth
and reducing the contamination indoors at the residence
were from the following. The New York City Department
of Health, Environmental & Occupational Disease Epidemiology,
Guidelines on Assessment and Remediation of Fungi in Indoor
Environments November 2000, EPA 402-K-97-200, Should you
have the Air Ducts in your Home Cleaned? October 1997,
The National Air Duct Cleaners Association Standard 1992-01
and the IICRC S500 Standard and Reference Guide for Water
Damage Restoration. These guidelines were chosen because
of the expertise of the individuals who created them and
the applicability of the documents to the project in question.
Specifically, remediation and restoration of the residence
included the following items in addition to meeting the
guidelines mentioned above. All contents of the house
were to be removed and processed by HEPA vacuuming, wiped,
washed or dry-cleaned. Those content items that could
not be processed were to be disposed of or enclosed in
an impermeable covering. The occupants and Buffalo Restoration
Inc. decided that many of the contents were no longer
of useful value and should be disposed of even though
they could potentially be processed. This highly subjective
task was complicated by the fact that the occupants were
advised to not re-enter the residence without respirators
and protective clothing and the sensitivity they may have
developed to exposure to fungal contamination.
A health conscious and cost effective procedure was implemented
by constructing a staging area with shelving units in
an outside porch area that was protected from the weather.
The contents were removed from the house to the staging
area where the occupants could view them from a distance
and direct the remediation workers as to their wishes
regarding salvagability. Items that were selected for
processing were then air washed prior to inventory and
packing. Buffalo Restoration Inc. in conjunction with
the CIH instituted a quality control program for the processing
of the contents that will be discussed latter in the article.
The chemicals stored in the photo dark room and pesticides
stored under the stairs were to be removed outside the
house to a safe location prior to cleaning. Workers were
notified of the chemical residuals on the shelves and
floor and wore chemical resistant gloves, boots and clothing
and organic/acid gas/HEPA filter cartridges when working
in these areas. Cleaning solutions and materials used
for these areas were not to be reused in other areas to
avoid cross contamination.
The structural remediation/decontamination efforts were
similar to that which readers are familiar with, including
removal and disposal of moldy building materials, vigorous
cleaning and then encapsulating stained structural members
that remained.
However, prior to reconstruction project manager Everett
Flikkema, discovered that moisture was still present in
the basement slab. The original basement slab(s) had been
poured over several years as funds and concrete were available.
The elevated moisture was present at the “cold seams”
some of which were over 2 inches in size. Reconstruction
not started until the moisture source was identified and
corrected.
Investigation revealed that the house did not have rain
gutters or downspouts and that the grading around the
residence allowed rainwater to migrate through cracks
in the foundation and slab. To remedy the situation the
perimeter of the foundation was excavated, foundation
cracks were sealed from the outside, window wells were
removed and reset to accommodate a new final elevation
grade that sloped away from the residence, gutters and
downspouts were installed. As additional drying was performed
the size of the cold seam cracks was reduced and equilibrium
moisture levels achieved.
It is important to note that the goals of the remediation
efforts were clearly defined by the CIH at the outset
of the project. Specifically, for all indoor spore trap
results the spore counts for Stachybotrys sp. should be
less than 87 spores/m3,(1 spore or less in a 5 minute
sample at 15 liters per minute), no visible mold should
be present and relative humidity levels in the home should
be below 60%.
The processing of the contents was performed in a 2,000
square foot facility dedicated to mold remediation. Chambers
were constructed to allow for an employee break room,
donning and doffing areas in addition to storage and processing
areas. Contaminated items were passed through flap doors
from “dirty” storage to a work area equipped
with downdraft tables, HEPA vacuums, compressed air and
cleaning items. For further inspection, sampling and packing;
the processed items were then passed though flap doors
to a separate chamber, which was slightly more pressurized
than the processing, and “dirty” storage room.
Finally, the processed items were passed through to a
“clean” storage area to await delivery.
As part of the internal quality control program, tape
lift samples were randomly taken by the supervisor at
the end of each shift and sent overnight to a qualified
lab. The results were sent to, Robin Billau CIH and then
on to Buffalo Restoration Inc. via e-mail. The non-viable
samples of spores and fragments were quantified, from
lowest to highest: “Trace”, “Minor”,
“Major” and “Abundant”. The values
were meant to show relative quantities only. The amount
of spores, fragments or particulate would indicate the
effectiveness of the processing efforts.
It was agreed with the CIH that our processing goal was
to only allow “trace” or less amounts of Stachybotrys
or Penicillium sp. /Aspergillus sp. All contents processed
for a particular work period would be held in the packing
room until sampling results were received. Processed work
that met the criteria would then be moved to a final storage
area. If the results showed minor, major or abundant amounts
the entire work shift production would be reprocessed
and tested again.
At the beginning of the project several batches of contents
did not meet the agreed upon criteria. Subsequently, the
CIH visited our restoration facility to evaluate air-
flow management and processing procedures and assist with
the refinement of the procedure to accomplish the goals.
It was determined that a more thorough wiping and wet
cleaning was required to remove particulate material as
well as spores and sporulating structures. By increasing
diligence during the wet side cleaning and wiping along
with thorough drying prior to packing, proved to provide
the anticipated results.
Final verification/clearance for the remediation of the
mold growth at the residence consisted of a site visit
by the CIH for a visual inspection, air and surface sampling
to indicate the effectiveness of the remediation and reviewing
and documenting that the clean up protocol was followed.
The air sampling results can be seen in Table 1. Prior
to receiving the sampling results which indicated that
the project goals had been achieved, it was determined
that additional cleaning was required for the ducts and
the appliances. There was some soot dispersal in the ductwork
from the fuel oil furnace. The appliance mechanical systems
were given additional HEPA vacuuming and wiping. Following
the sampling results and “clearance” the foundation
walls and floor joist were coated/encapsulated prior to
reconstruction.
The entire project consisting of investigation, sampling,
project goal agreement, content inventory/pack out, demolition,
structural decontamination more sampling and verification
reconstruction and resetting the contents took a little
more than 12 months to complete. To put that in a different
perspective it was the about the same amount of time it
took Lewis and Clark and the Corps of discovery to travel
from St. Louis to the nearby campsite.
The Author Ben Yanker CR, WLS, CMR is president of Buffalo
Restoration Inc. of Bozeman Montana. Buffalo Restoration
Inc. is a full service restoration company that serves
Southwest Montana. Ben is currently the chairman of ASCR’s
Water Loss Institute (WLI). He also has a marketing and
education degree from Montana State University.
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