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The IICRC S520 Mold Remediation Standard
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Form
by Jeff Bishop, IICRC Technical Advisor
The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) is a non-profit (501 C-6, State of Washington) standard setting body and certification registry, which was founded in 1972 to establish and monitor educational programs and standards for the inspection, cleaning and restoration service industries. The IICRC is controlled by 16 non-profit trade associations located in Australia, Canada, England and the United States. It has 27,500 registrants in 21 countries throughout the world.
The IICRC mission is to serve as a non-profit certification body; set and promotes industry standards and ethics; work to advance communication and technical proficiency within the industry; serve as a conduit for information exchange with industry partners; promote the protection of consumers, industry workers and the environment; and advance the science of inspection, cleaning and restoration.
The IICRC has promulgated several standards addressing carpet cleaning, upholstery cleaning, water damage restoration and now, mold remediation.
These standards include:
S100 - Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Carpet Cleaning
S300 - Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Upholstery Cleaning
S500 - Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Water Damage Restoration
S520 - Standard and Reference Guide for Mold Remediation
The IICRC also provides certification in 18 inspection, cleaning and restoration categories.
Development of IICRC's most recent standard on mold remediation is nearly completed. At its semi-annual meeting on October 5-6, 2003, the IICRC Board approved this standard, subject to legal review and final edits, for publication.
From the perspective of the IEQ professional, many of whom are represented by IAQA, the Foreword to S520 states in part:
Remediators and other parties to the remediation process often request specific guidance regarding action levels that trigger
remediation activities or confirm remediation success. Quantifying visible levels of mold growth alone are not feasible as an action level decision criterion, because of the wide range of occupant susceptibility and the imprecise measurement of exposure, along with insufficient science to support conclusions in this area as yet.
Thus, S520 provides a philosophical shift away from setting numerical mold contamination action levels. Instead, it establishes mold contamination definitions, descriptions and conditions (1, 2, 3), and general guidance, which, when properly applied, can assist remediators and others in determining criteria that trigger remediation activities or confirm remediation success.
This standard was written over the course of some four years. A minimum of 18 meetings were held in various parts of the US. There were about 35 professionals on the S520 standard development committee, with an additional 60-70 serving on various
subcommittees. The first draft was sent out to some 350 industry professionals during the peer review process. The editing
committee got back 827 comments, all of which were cataloged, read, and evaluated, and either incorporated into the document, or we recorded the reason for exclusion. Legal review has been accomplished by four lawyers (including lawyers who represent both plaintiffs and defendants).
Although this is not an ANSI-compliant standard, the procedures used in its development followed basic ANSI standard writing
protocols.
In summary:
- over 20 associations were involved in the process
- writers included DrPH, MDs, PhDs, CIHs, IHs
- associations included IAQA, IEI, NADCA, AmIAQC, AIHA, ISCT
- over 120 individuals worked on committees that developed S520
- 4 lawyers conducted a legal review
- 350 individuals were involved in peer review
- there were four professional editors
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