Do you want another environmental law? An environmental law that regulates that pesty and sometimes dangerous natural living fungi - MOLD? Another environmental four letter word, another regulation to comply with, more training and records retention, and yes, more cost to comply. After substantial thought, substantial experience, substantial conversation with others and several hurricanes, as a national respected environmental expert with more than 20 years hands-on experience, the answer is yes! Not because I want more regulation and government to dictate my life. Not because I want more responsibility and accountability. Not because I want more cost to comply. I am an advocate of mold regulations for a number of more important and costly reasons.
First, and most importantly, the role of our government is to serve and protect the people. After experiencing Katrina, Irene, and recently Sandy, working decades with landlords and property owners/managers, developers, and homeowners, what I clearly see is without some form of regulation followed by accountability with a recognized and accepted, (not smoke and mirrors or wonder products), series of best practices/protocol's, mold evaluation and remediation has been and will continue to be The Wild West! Whereby, property owners (sellers and buyers), contractors, Realtors, home inspectors, real estate professionals, lawyers and all others involved with a mold or suspect mold occurrence and/or a moisture event will be at risk! I have seen and unfortunately experienced it with my own two eyes, too frequently. If you are an individual who prefers litigation on a regular basis versus regulation, then you would not be in favor of a mold law. However, for those of us who do not prefer litigation, a mold regulation with a well-defined outline of prior experiences required of its practitioners, best evaluation practices, and corrective actions coupled with accountability of those who don't comply, will substantially eliminate the very real occurrence and growth of mold litigation (no-pun).
Mold is a naturally occurring living fungi. Nature, God, and evolution wanted it and we need mold on earth for our existence as part of our total ecosystem. Mother Nature wanted it this way and as the very old expression goes, "You cannot beat mother nature!" Molds are also allergens, and some of us are genetically more sensitive to allergens than others. Some allergens can be lethal, such as bee stings or peanut butter; so, agreeing with the fact that some of us are more susceptible to some allergen's than others.
The fact that mold is a living thing that likes to eat carbon-based matter, inclusive of building materials, so long as there is sufficient moisture. The fact mold spores are almost everywhere in nature. Concludes, molds can NOT stop from migrating into our living environments unless a very expensive and well-designed decontamination and building wide air filtration system is installed (LOL). Since it would be very challenging and costly to prevent mold spore migration, and Murphy's Law shares that we cannot constantly predict the next moisture event, it is inevitable that over time, every property will most likely experience a moisture/mold germination event. In light of the facts above, and a current industry state of Cowboys and Indians, whereby property owners and all associated are at risk of being taken advantage of, substantial money and time is being wasted, litigation is actively occurring and Mold will grow back!
So I conclude that one of the functions of our government is to protect and serve the people it governs. To prevent fraud and advance public well-being and health, as well as, create those regulations and enforce those best practices as are necessary. Since the mold industry is here, the litigation of it is active, the costs are being incurred and many people are being harmed, I strongly encourage you to agree with my evaluation of the need and consider the importance of mold regulations in your community sooner than later!
Lee Wasserman is the president of LEW Corporation, Mountainside, N.J. Tags: