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AGMA Winter Meeting Scheduled
 The 2005 AGMA Annual Winter Meeting will take place March 16-20, 2005 at the Loews Miami Beach hotel. The hotel is a four star resort located in the art deco district of South Beach. Plenty of restaurants, nightlife, and shopping are close by.
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The meetings will once again be scheduled for the morning hours so that attendees can enjoy the afternoon hours to take in all that South Florida has to offer. The last two years representatives from District Council #21 have joined us and we have had labor/management meetings on two of the mornings.
Last year Arch Aluminum generously sponsored the cocktail hour and J.E.
Berkowitz has been generous with past events. This year a few more AGMA
Suppliers have told me that they will be joining us. With AGMA members,
suppliers, and DC # 21 Representatives this should be the best attended
Annual Meeting to date. Please make sure you sign up early so that hotel
rooms can be reserved. If you have any questions call the AGMA office at
215-557-0777.
TOXIC MOLD
by Curt Wittman, MS, CIH
Sr. Safety & Health Consultant
High Safety Consulting Services, Ltd.
Toxic Mold, Toxic Fungi, Black Mold - chances are you have probably heard of these terms as of late. Even Erin Brockovich was talking about her toxic mold experiences on CBS's 48 Hrs.( . Her house is literally being eating by Stachybotrys. So, what's all this recent hysteria about? First off, the terms mold and fungi are interchangeable, and this author will use fungi throughout this article.
Gradually, over the past decade, Mycologists, scientists who study the life cycles of fungi, have been discovering that these ever-present organisms are more dangerous than originally thought. Health effects associated with toxic fungi are not new. In fact, the Spartans were afflicted with Ergotism in 430 BC when they mistakenly ingested rye bread contaminated with Cleviceps pupurea. In 1960, 100,000 turkeys died from ingesting Brazilian Peanut meal on which Aspergillus flavus was growing. The "Curse of the Mummy's Tomb" is suspected to have been exposure to certain Penicillium and Aspergillus species. These are just a few, among many, famous fungal exposures.
What is it in fungi that are causing humans to become ill? There are two main illness-producing parts on fungi-their outer cell walls and their mycotoxins. The outer cell walls of fungi have a substance called (-(1-3)-D-glucans, which are known to reduce macrophages in the lungs. Macrophages are the lungs' last line of defense against inhaled fungal spores and/or bacterium. Once these macrophages are destroyed by the
(-(1-3)-D-glucans, opportunistic fungi and bacteria can reproduce causing lung illnesses such as Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis (HP).
Mycotoxins are thought to be a fungus' natural defense against other fungi and/or bacteria. Most fungi reproduce by sporulation. As fungal spores settle on a suitable food source, ingestion begins and mycotoxins are generated as a secondary metabolite. Mycotoxins kill other fungal species and/or bacteria vying for the same food source. Thus, a fungus with a strong mycotoxin can rise to be the dominant species. It is important to note that not all fungi produce mycotoxins, and those that do produce mycotoxins, don't produce mycotoxins all of the time. For instance, a particular fungus may feed on both corn and lettuce. A particular bacterium may feed on corn, but not on lettuce. Therefore, through eons of evolution, the fungus has developed a mycotoxin as a secondary metabolite when feeding on corn-instinctually knowing that it must survive against the bacterium feeding on that same corn. Since the bacterium is not present on the lettuce, the fungus doesn't produce the same mycotoxin.
Some of these mycotoxins produce ill effects in humans. One of the most well known and talked about fungi, along with its associated mycotoxins is Stachybotrys chartarum
(S. chartarum)produces Trichothecene mycotoxins that have been proven to cause headaches, sore throats, hair loss, flu-like symptoms, diarrhea, fatigue and dermatitis. Aspergillus flavus produces a mycotoxin called Aflatoxin B1. Aflatoxin B1 is the most potent known human liver carcinogen, and is used as a measure against which the carcinogenicity of other chemicals is evaluated.
How do you know if you are being exposed to fungi and their potentially toxic materials? The answer to this question generally comes from an evaluation of your work area, in which bulk, swab or air samples for fungi are taken. The bioaerosol survey should be conducted by taking viable and non-viable samples in at least the complaint area, one non-complaint area and outdoors. This survey technique is used to show amplification of fungal species from one area of the building to another, and compared to outdoor samples. Fungi are ubiquitous and a trained Industrial Hygienist can illustrate whether or not the samples appear to be of the same species and/or if amplification is occurring. Because of the potentially serious health effects, a bioaerosol survey should only be completed by a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) with a background in Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). The potential for litigation from exposure to bioaerosols is gaining momentum, and certification in this field reduces your liability if the survey is conducted improperly.
Are there safe exposure levels? There currently are no standards
regarding the amount of fungal contamination on surfaces or in the air.
There are; however, numerous guidelines to assist IAQ professionals with
comparing their survey data to study data. The 1992 Netherlands IAQ
Workshop named certain Indicator Organisms that may signal the presence
of moisture or a potential for human health problems, if above a
baseline level (yet to be established) in air or surface samples.
continued
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Design and functionality work
in building a web site.
(sounds a lot like what you do, huh?)
by Don Rich, President Dalton, Rich & More
Thinking before doing. It's an idea that is as old as quality
craftsmanship, but as new as the next project, whether it's a gorgeous
tower of glass, or presence on the web. Quality in, quality out.
Follow the process, do it well, and the result will be as pleasing as
it is effective.
The first question to answer in building a web site for your company is:
"is it necessary?" Sometimes, the answer is no. But increasingly, even
the least likely companies can find a way for a basic site to benefit
their business. And, if the answer to the first question is 'not sure'
or 'yes', then the second question is: 'what information would help my
prospects, customers, prospective employees, and current employees do
their jobs faster, easier, or more effectively.
Many times, it's really as easy as that. Gather the information. Make
sure it's concise and absolutely necessary for the intended audience.
Make sure you're not sharing information you wouldn't want your
competitors to know. Then organize it in categories that may reflect
exactly the intended audience. About Us can target all audiences.
Success Stories could, as well, but would be especially useful to
prospects and prospective employees. Directions to your business.
Contact information. Etc.
Once the categories and content are set, begin design. Most new web
sites don't require the use of expensive database programming. That
means it's simply a matter of developing several "looks" which should
reflect your company's personality. Then, after one design is selected,
similar pages are developed for each section. The menu should make it
easy to get from any section of the site to any other section of the
site.
Setting a budget isn't that difficult. A brief conversation with a web
development company will give them the information they need to give you
a number. If you have some of the organization and content developed
first, that makes the job of estimating that much easier (and cheaper
for you). Have them develop content, and you add to the cost. A good web
developer will also provide the programming and even help you find
affordable hosting services.
Plan it well. Design it well. Build it well. It works that way for the
web, too.
Don Rich's company, Dalton, Rich & More recently designed and developed the AGMA web site.
Toxic Mold continued
Canadian Guidelines are similar in that if certain toxic fungal species
are amplified over non-complaint areas of the building as well as
outdoor samples, appropriate action should be taken. The American
Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) also spells out that certain toxic
fungi, if amplified over non-compliant and outdoor samples, require
appropriate action. The American Conference of Governmental Industrial
Hygienists (ACGIH) takes a more conservative approach in that they
recommend stopping any active indoor growth of fungi. They assume that
exposure to any fungi may be unhealthy and amplification and/or
speciation are not necessary. California leads the rest of the nation in
trying to pass the first legislation - SB 732, the Toxic Mold Protection
Act. SB 732 will attempt to define a dose/response relationship.
Lastly, if fungi are present, it is because of a food source, and more importantly, a water source. In order to permanently remove fungi, the source of water must be stopped, only then can the fungi be properly removed. In general, chlorine bleach only kills mold on non-porous materials, such as tile. Since chlorine is a highly reactive material, it disassociates too quickly to kill fungal roots, called hyphae, in porous materials. Therefore, there is a very real potential that the fungi will come back, if there is another water intrusion episode. Fungicides, such as Quaternary Ammonium compounds do a much better job at killing fungi in porous materials, such as particle board or soft woods.
So, how do you remove fungi? The New York City Department of Health (NYCDOH) has guidelines on fungal remediation that are based on the square footage of fungal contamination to be removed. Do you need to be a certified fungal remediator? The answer is a resounding, NO! Too many of these companies have the "Mold is Gold" or "The Mold Rush" attitude that has tarnished this field of endeavor. At present, there are no requirements to be certified as a fungal remediator. As a matter of fact, this author has successfully guided many contractors in remediating fungal contamination at their own construction sites. One in particular, involved the remediation of 58 town homes for the housing authority of a large city in the Northeastern United States.
If you choose to conduct remediation on your own, you must have your employees trained in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Hazard Communication standard, 29 CFR 1910.1200. At a bare minimum, employees must use a National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-approved N100 respirator so that they do not inhale fungal spores. You must ensure that they have been medically cleared to wear the respirator and have been fit tested according to OSHA's Respiratory Protection standard, 29 CFR 1910.134. All skin should be covered, and hypoallergenic gloves should be worn. Since mycotoxins are the main hazard of concern, do not allow workers to eat, drink or smoke during remediation activities.
Curt Wittman is a Certified Industrial Hygienist with a Master's degree in Environmental Health from Temple University. He currently is pursuing his PhD in Health Studies at Temple University. He has over 17 years experience conducting IAQ investigations, assisting clients with IAQ assessments. He works for High Safety Consulting Services, Ltd. in Lancaster, PA and can be reached toll free at (877) 285-1129 or he can be visited at www.highsafety.com.
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