Minimize The Risk Of Mold Claims Nbi Miami Fl April 4 2006
1. Minimize the Risk of Mold Claims
April 4, 2006
SEA, Ltd.
7349 Worthington-Galena Rd.
Columbus, Ohio 43085
Ron Thaman, MS, CSP
800-782-6851
rthaman@sealimited.com
Atlanta ● Baltimore/Washington ● Chicago ● Cleveland ● Columbus ● Ft. Lauderdale ● Houston ● Jacksonville ● St. Louis ● Tampa
2. Let’s Review the Fundamentals
Handling of Mold & Mildew Claims
• Must act quickly to
determine extent of
damage.
• Mold growth starts
immediately and is visible
in 24-48 hours.
• Need to engage services
of industrial hygiene firm
and then a remediation
company to stop damage.
Atlanta ● Baltimore/Washington ● Chicago ● Cleveland ● Columbus ● Ft. Lauderdale ● Houston ● Jacksonville ● St. Louis ● Tampa
3. What Signs Warn of Necessity
for Calling an Industrial
Hygienist and/or Civil Engineer?
• Water intrusion problem has existed
for over a week.
• Mold growth is already taking
place.
• Large quantities of water are
involved (greater than 5 gallons).
• School, hospital, or office building.
Atlanta ● Baltimore/Washington ● Chicago ● Cleveland ● Columbus ● Ft. Lauderdale ● Houston ● Jacksonville ● St. Louis ● Tampa
4. CONSTRUCTION!
• Fact of life that
modern construction
practices favor mold
growth at the job site.
• Storage of building
materials outside in
the elements.
• General Contractor is
responsible for order
of subs.
Atlanta ● Baltimore/Washington ● Chicago ● Cleveland ● Columbus ● Ft. Lauderdale ● Houston ● Jacksonville ● St. Louis ● Tampa
5. Construction Practices
• Lumber is not protected
from elements on job site.
• Building not always
weather tight before mold-
susceptible elements are
installed.
• Trades not caring about
other trades work in
progress
Atlanta ● Baltimore/Washington ● Chicago ● Cleveland ● Columbus ● Ft. Lauderdale ● Houston ● Jacksonville ● St. Louis ● Tampa
6. Construction Practices (cont’d)
• Selection of building
materials .
• New technology may
help.
• Vinyl wall coverings
for hotels and condos?
• Mold resistant
wallboard.
Atlanta ● Baltimore/Washington ● Chicago ● Cleveland ● Columbus ● Ft. Lauderdale ● Houston ● Jacksonville ● St. Louis ● Tampa
7. General Contractor Responsibilities
• Should be concerned about
rain/snow effects on
cellulose-based building
components.
• Don’t schedule the drywall
installation before roof is on
and building weather tight.
• Be aware of leaks in building
envelope.
Atlanta ● Baltimore/Washington ● Chicago ● Cleveland ● Columbus ● Ft. Lauderdale ● Houston ● Jacksonville ● St. Louis ● Tampa
8. Real Life Scenario
• Firewall between two adjacent
tenants.
• Usually sheetrock (2) is
inserted in a track and then
mud applied (may cover
multiple stories)
• Roof completion followed fire
wall installation – mold growth
on sandwiched sheetrock.
Atlanta ● Baltimore/Washington ● Chicago ● Cleveland ● Columbus ● Ft. Lauderdale ● Houston ● Jacksonville ● St. Louis ● Tampa
9. Real Life Scenario (cont’d)
• When mold developed, sheetrock had been
mudded and rooms formed.
• Since the building was for 1 million +
condos; an extensive mold remediation was
prepared and the project was set back
several months due to poor planning by the
GC.
Atlanta ● Baltimore/Washington ● Chicago ● Cleveland ● Columbus ● Ft. Lauderdale ● Houston ● Jacksonville ● St. Louis ● Tampa
10. Property Management
• Reporting of water
intrusions to maintenance
from tenants is crucial.
• Maintenance needs to
understand the problems of
water intrusions and how to
correctly mediate them.
Atlanta ● Baltimore/Washington ● Chicago ● Cleveland ● Columbus ● Ft. Lauderdale ● Houston ● Jacksonville ● St. Louis ● Tampa
11. Routine Moisture Measurements
Can Save $$$
• Maintenance
personnel can do
routine moisture
measurements to
quickly identify and
start early remedy
before many
thousands of dollars
are expended.
Atlanta ● Baltimore/Washington ● Chicago ● Cleveland ● Columbus ● Ft. Lauderdale ● Houston ● Jacksonville ● St. Louis ● Tampa
12. Real Life Scenario
• Country Club had water
intrusion in subterranean floor
where golf pros change and store
clubs. Heavy rain responsible
and drain at top of ramp clogged.
• Country Club called a contractor
that did cleaning for them. The
cleaning contractor accepted job
and proceeded to wet vac, etc.
Atlanta ● Baltimore/Washington ● Chicago ● Cleveland ● Columbus ● Ft. Lauderdale ● Houston ● Jacksonville ● St. Louis ● Tampa
13. Real Life Scenario (cont’d)
• The rug “cleaning”
company should never
have accepted the job.
• Rug cleaning company
was interested in getting
into the remediation field.
• Remediation delayed due
to inability of rug cleaning
company to properly
remediate.
Atlanta ● Baltimore/Washington ● Chicago ● Cleveland ● Columbus ● Ft. Lauderdale ● Houston ● Jacksonville ● St. Louis ● Tampa
14. Pictures From The Field
Atlanta ● Baltimore/Washington ● Chicago ● Cleveland ● Columbus ● Ft. Lauderdale ● Houston ● Jacksonville ● St. Louis ● Tampa
15. Pictures From The Field
Atlanta ● Baltimore/Washington ● Chicago ● Cleveland ● Columbus ● Ft. Lauderdale ● Houston ● Jacksonville ● St. Louis ● Tampa
16. Are Tenants Setting You Up
for a Large Loss?
• Carefree attitude.
• It’s not “my” building.
• We will call property owner
tomorrow.
• Makeshift temporary repairs.
Atlanta ● Baltimore/Washington ● Chicago ● Cleveland ● Columbus ● Ft. Lauderdale ● Houston ● Jacksonville ● St. Louis ● Tampa
17. Maintaining Buildings
Atlanta ● Baltimore/Washington ● Chicago ● Cleveland ● Columbus ● Ft. Lauderdale ● Houston ● Jacksonville ● St. Louis ● Tampa
18. Maintaining Buildings
Atlanta ● Baltimore/Washington ● Chicago ● Cleveland ● Columbus ● Ft. Lauderdale ● Houston ● Jacksonville ● St. Louis ● Tampa
19. Differences Between Water
Intrusions & Mold Losses
• Whenever water enters
a business or
residence, it is called a
“water intrusion”. Just
because there is water,
does not mean that
there is mold. It takes
time for the mold to
grow.
Atlanta ● Baltimore/Washington ● Chicago ● Cleveland ● Columbus ● Ft. Lauderdale ● Houston ● Jacksonville ● St. Louis ● Tampa
20. Water Intrusion v. Mold Loss
Water Loss Mold Loss
• Response is • Health issues need to
everything be addressed
• Hidden spaces immediately
• No health issues • Prevent spread of the
• MUST be complete in contamination
the initial investigation • Litigation is a sure bet
• Dry appropriately
Atlanta ● Baltimore/Washington ● Chicago ● Cleveland ● Columbus ● Ft. Lauderdale ● Houston ● Jacksonville ● St. Louis ● Tampa
21. Due Diligence Investigations
• Cause of most water intrusions are
determined by Civil Engineers. Did the
faulty windows leak and cause water
damage? Did the 20 year-old roof leak and
cause damage to the computer floor of the
business? Is the slope wrong at the site
causing water to drain inside?
Atlanta ● Baltimore/Washington ● Chicago ● Cleveland ● Columbus ● Ft. Lauderdale ● Houston ● Jacksonville ● St. Louis ● Tampa
22. Due Diligence Investigations
• Health related issues surrounding a “mold
problem” are ALWAYS investigated by a
qualified health and safety professional.
Anytime there are questions regarding
allergic reactions or headaches from the
suspect building, ALWAYS employ an
industrial hygienist.
Atlanta ● Baltimore/Washington ● Chicago ● Cleveland ● Columbus ● Ft. Lauderdale ● Houston ● Jacksonville ● St. Louis ● Tampa
23. How Can I Recover All Those Lost
Dollars? Subrogation! Who May
• Architect
Be At Fault?
• Builder
• Carpenters
• Engineers
• General Contractor
• Subcontractors
• Finishers
• Industrial Hygienists
• Rug Cleaners
• Remediation Contractor
Atlanta ● Baltimore/Washington ● Chicago ● Cleveland ● Columbus ● Ft. Lauderdale ● Houston ● Jacksonville ● St. Louis ● Tampa
24. Contents Evaluations
(Hard Goods v. Soft Goods)
• Rarely is there any
damage to hard goods
(glass, ceramics, metal
and wood furniture.
• Soft goods can be
damaged IF left in
high moisture
conditions.
Atlanta ● Baltimore/Washington ● Chicago ● Cleveland ● Columbus ● Ft. Lauderdale ● Houston ● Jacksonville ● St. Louis ● Tampa
25. Condition of Contents: Proving
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
• Must sample suspect goods
(hard & soft) at loss site in
strict adherence to chain of
custody. A industrial
hygienist with content
evaluation experience is
highly recommended. All
environmental conditions
MUST be obtained at time
of sampling.
Atlanta ● Baltimore/Washington ● Chicago ● Cleveland ● Columbus ● Ft. Lauderdale ● Houston ● Jacksonville ● St. Louis ● Tampa
26. Procurement of Exemplar
Merchandise a MUST
• Obtain identical or
near identical
merchandise from
same store chain in
another State.
• Store suspect &
exemplar merchandise
in SEPARATE sealed
containers.
Atlanta ● Baltimore/Washington ● Chicago ● Cleveland ● Columbus ● Ft. Lauderdale ● Houston ● Jacksonville ● St. Louis ● Tampa
27. Proving The Case (Merchandise
is damaged or not)
The scientific approach:
• Surface swab Polo Shirt Comparison
sampling of suspect 4
and exemplar hard and 3
3.5
soft goods. 2.5
CFU/in2 2
• Data is returned in 1.5
1
Colony Forming
0.5
0
Polo Shirt from New Polo Shirt form
Units/square inch Orleans Columbus Ohio
(CFU/in2)
Atlanta ● Baltimore/Washington ● Chicago ● Cleveland ● Columbus ● Ft. Lauderdale ● Houston ● Jacksonville ● St. Louis ● Tampa
28. Proving The Case (Cont’d)
• Multiple samples of
suspect and exemplar
merchandise are
helpful in proving
statistically that
merchandise is either
compromised or not
from the water
intrusion.
Atlanta ● Baltimore/Washington ● Chicago ● Cleveland ● Columbus ● Ft. Lauderdale ● Houston ● Jacksonville ● St. Louis ● Tampa
29. Odor Panel Evaluation (ASTM)
• Double blind evaluations.
• Human olfactory system is
employed in scientific
study that can stand the
test of Daubert.
• Odor panel evaluate both
suspect and exemplar in
controlled lab
environment. Intensity of
odor and type of odor is
obtained.
Atlanta ● Baltimore/Washington ● Chicago ● Cleveland ● Columbus ● Ft. Lauderdale ● Houston ● Jacksonville ● St. Louis ● Tampa
30. Three Strikes Your Out!
• Mold -
• Asbestos
• Lead
Experts hired to do any
of above referenced
inspections may need
to be certified for each
discipline. Different
states require different
certs.
Atlanta ● Baltimore/Washington ● Chicago ● Cleveland ● Columbus ● Ft. Lauderdale ● Houston ● Jacksonville ● St. Louis ● Tampa