Real Estate Journal — Owners, Developers & Managers — May 30 - June 12, 2014 — 9B
www.marejournal.com
M id A tlantic
S afety & S ecurity
By Lee E. Wasserman, LEW Corporation Mold, Mold & More MOLD!
I
she experienced made her open to the possibility that small amounts of mold can harm people! “The odor just made me feel horrible, and I thought, ‘Aha!’ Maybe there’s some- thing in these gasses,” said Bennett “I became a con- vert.” From that research, she and her colleagues had located a chemical emit- ted by mold that gives fruit flies the symptoms of Par- kinson’s disease. More and more research is document- ing adverse health effects
attributed to molds as well as benefits. Unfortunately, if you do not have a very well managed mold program and quickly address your mois- ture intrusion events, this four letter word will invite unnecessary litigation, fines, penalties and violations once the states begin to pass laws, currently states will exercise their public health codes to help manage concerns. Don’t wait until you get sued, get an action plan in place NOW! A real ac- tion plan, not just a dusty,
off the shelf generic Mold Operations & Maintenance program that nobody pays any attention to. Instead, work with a professional experienced environmental consultant with real exper- tise in this area and create a Mold O&M program with staff properly trained on what to do and how to do it, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE! Lee E. Wasserman is president of LEW Corp. and a nationally respect- ed mold subject expert. n
f you think Mold is a four letter word that is losing i ts lus -
Rutgers University’s mold expert Dr. Joan Bennett who historically had been a skeptic of “sick building syn- drome” is now a BIG believer in mold related illnesses. Dr. Bennett lived in NewOrleans during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. During which time she collected samples of the mold from impacted properties. During collection of samples, Dr.Bennet expressed that she immediately felt ill, despite wearing gloves, a mask and protective gear. The dizzi- ness, headaches and nausea
ter, you re- ally ought to think again!! F r e e z i n g c o l d t em - p e r a t u r e s this winter caused rup- tured water
Lee Wasserman
lines and ice damming, Hur- ricane Sandy memories still current and mold litigation is on the rise. So what does this really mean to you as a property manager or owner? It means if you do nothing you will be setting yourself and your organization up for a BIG LOSS!! If you do not have a current and easy to follow, well writ- tenMold Operations &Main- tenance Program, you better get one quickly and assure its compliance. CDC, after get- ting financially sequestered in 2012 thru 2013, now has a healthy budget and cur- rently has a bid on the street designed to find out the cur- rent status and enforcement of mold legislation/regulation in the States affected by Su- perstorm Sandy. The expectation is that the CDC Bid will recommend various mold laws to be draft- ed for multiple states, so get ready now!! Several states, already have mold laws and if you are not aware, both houses of NJ (Senate & As- sembly) have passed a mold bill (NJ Assembly 1588 )that went to Governor Christies desk to only get a pocket veto due to end of session. The bill is still alive and still has LOTS of legs, espe- cially since the after effects of Hurricane Sandy are still seen and felt daily along the coastal areas, whereby keeping lots of pressure on the state to institute a NJ Mold law. I can assure you what hap- pens in Jersey DOES NOT stay in Jersey. Mold legisla- tion will follow all around the country, as will Mold related litigation. “Mold can really put people at risk and cause breathing problems and ev- erything else,” said Jeff Tit- tel, the director of the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club. “So to have standards to make sure it’s done prop- erly would really make a lot of sense, .......”
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