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Dr. Spurgeon has a multidisciplinary doctorate degree in Analytical Chemistry and Environmental Health from the University of Pittsburgh; and was a Certified Industrial Hygienist from 1993 – 2013. He has performed over 4,000 residential and commercial investigations involving water intrusions and microbial contaminants; has taught courses on mold investigations, sampling, and data interpretation methods; and has served as an expert witness in numerous mold cases. Additional articles from Dr. Spurgeon are available at www.bi-air.com. His books are available at expertonmold.com.
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Dr. Spurgeon takes on critical issues on Post Remediation Verification testing that no one wants to discuss. IICRC defines Post Remediation Testing in a peculiar way: as testing for spores in settled dust. Not air testing. As discussed in Spurgeon’s short PowerPoint, clearly air testing outside the containment is required to make sure that there has not been a containment breach that could impact the health of occupants.
Dr. Spurgeon addresses clearance criteria for mold remediation work. With no published Federal Guidelines, Spurgeon defines a reasonable set of guidelines for assessors to develop on their own. His recommendation is to take a look at 30-100 Post Remediation Air Sample Test results which you classified as passing. From those, analyze the values and make some generalizations as to what is passable and what is not.
For instance, outside the containment your data might have you conclude that below 1000 is marginal pass; and below 500 pass. Consideration of trace levels of Stachybotrys and Chaetomium will come into play, of course. This will be “your” guidelines based on your experience. Others would rather compare to the outside air which makes it easy to pass bad work.
What are your criteria for passing PRV air testing?
Rating Breakdown
Why 5-Star? Dr. Spurgeon takes on critical issues on Post Remediation Verification testing that no one wants to discuss.
1-5 Stars System
- Positive: Greater than or equal to 4 (4.0 – 5.0) MUST READ
- Neutral: Greater than or equal to 3 but less than 4 (3.0 – 3.9)
- Negative: Less than 3 (2.9 – 0)
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There are no Federal standards for Elevated or Not Elevated Airborne Mold Spores. To some, this means that it makes no sense to take Post Remediation Air samples to prove you have not left the job site indoor air contaminated.
But just because there are no Federal Standards does not mean one cannot determine a range of what is Pass or Not Pass.
Dr. Spurgeon explains a practical approach for doing so.