EVALUATING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF HEALTH – RELATED GUIDELINES DURING PROFESSIONAL ASSESSMENT AND REMOVAL OF INDOORS MOULD DAMAGE

Mould can cause allergic, toxic or infectious reactions (Bardana 2003). The lack of quality standards for assessment and removal of indoors mould has caused the German Federal Environmental Office (germ: Umweltbundesamt, UBA) to issue several health-related guidelines (UBA 2002). This study recorded to what extend these recommendations has been realized by experts for assessment and removal of indoors mould damage in Greater Bielefeld, Germany. The expert companies conducted either assessment (“inspectors”) or removal (“craftsmen”) or both, assessment and removal, of mould (“case managers”). Out of 150, companies 58 (39%) completed the quantitative questionnaire about their procedure with indoors mould damage. The lowest agreement with UBA recommendations was found for health-related recommendations: While for the inspection companies the occupants ‘health status had the least priority, for the craftsmen and the case managers it was the use of recommended materials, machines, and employment protection. 74 % of the case mangers and 63 % of the craftsmen agreed with the employee protection guidelines. Most of the companies indicated interest in continuing indoor mould education (inspectors 96%, craftsmen 66 % and case managers 100%). To improve the implementation of health-related guidelines we strongly recommend to distinctly highlight the importance of mould based health issues during these advanced trainings. Service companies need to become aware of and sensitive to the health dimension of their work