Press Release:  NH Mold Task Force Publishes Standard of Care

PORTSMOUTH, NH, December 6, 2012-  In the interest of public safety, most types of environmental contaminants, such as pesticides, lead and asbestos, are strictly regulated. Mold, however, is completely unregulated in the state of New Hampshire, and the NH Mold Task Force (NHMTF) claims that this is affecting the health and well being of NH citizens.

The New Hampshire Mold Task Force (NHMTF), co-founded and sponsored by the American Lung Association in New Hampshire, is working to raise awareness of indoor mold and its affect on human health. The NHMTF has just published a "Standard of Care" for the NH Mold industry, which provides information to citizens not only about the causes of indoor mold, the possible health risks and prevention measures, but also about the mold industry in general, including best practices and tips for hiring consultants and contractors.

Guy Sylvester, CEO of Absolute Resource Associates (ARA) in Portsmouth, NH and co-founder of the NHMTF, states that this Standard of Care is just the beginning. "The first goal of the NHMTF was to get this document published and available to the public. We have a meeting in a few weeks to begin the next phase, which is to develop language for new legislation. We will be working with Industry Associations, the DES (Department of Environmental Services) and obviously IAQ Industry Leaders in New Hampshire to propose mold legislation to the NH Senate in the Fall of 2013."

In 2009, House Bill 482 , relative to mold assessment, testing, and remediation and sponsored by NH Representatives French, Beck, Petterson, and Merrill, was presented on the floor and did not pass, losing by just one vote. The NHMTF hopes that their Standard of Care and the new bill language, combined with raising public awareness about this issue, will help make mold legislation a reality in the state of NH as early as next year.


NH Mold Task Force Members as of December 1, 2012:

  • Chair: Philip Alexakos, Manchester Health Department
  • Tim Carr, Able Restoration
  • David Choate III, Grubb & Ellis Real Estate
  • Cathy Coe, Environmental Health Inc.
  • Dennis Francoeur, RPF Environmental
  • Lee Gilman, American Lung Association
  • Scott Knightly, Envirovantage
  • Jeff May, May Indoor Air Investigations
  • Ed Miller, American Lung Association
  • Jessica Morton, NH Department of Environmental Services
  • Chair: Rick Rumba, Keene State University
  • Chris Sullivan, Certrex LLC
  • Chair: Guy Sylvester, Absolute Resource Associates

 

About Absolute Resource Associates:
Absolute Resource Associates provides a broad range of environmental services to clients throughout New England and beyond. Services include Environmental Laboratory Testing, Indoor Air Quality Services as well as Federal Project Management. Woman Owned SBA WOSB, EDWOSB, SDB, DBE, NELAC, ISO/IEC 17025 and DoD ELAP. For more information visit www.absoluteresourceassociates.com.

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