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Every few weeks I hear about some new government legislation about enforcing standards on indoor air quality and mold growth in public buildings, namely schools. There is a constant discussion about this in Florida, one of nation’s most hot and humid states where moldy schools and constant mold removal are a fact of life.

In 2003, a grand jury laid out a 44-page report strongly recommending changes to the state of Florida about forcing school districts to maintain their indoor air quality. The report emphasized the harmful effects of mold on children, none that I would disagree with. Since then, a handful of South Florida lawmakers have introduced bills that would require schools to aggressively monitor and address mold problems.

And yet today, no such legislation exists. But should it? This issue, like the mold itself, is very tricky and difficult to identify.

There is no question that mold should not be in public schools and these school districts should take stronger action. However, like many, I worry that government regulation would exacerbate rather than help the problem.

How can they enforce this standard without some kind of monetary penalty? If these schools had money, they would probably have more funds to clean up this mold.

The schools argue that this is a funding problem. They are trying to save money by raising the temperature in schools and shutting off the air conditioning on nights and weekends. These decisions contribute to the mold growth. Of course, more funding would also allow them to address mold problems.

As you know by now, mold is a problem that requires a proactive, rather than a reactive, solution. Mold removal is something you have to pay for when you made a mistake. Tallahassee attorney Mike Levine, who has represented school employees in mold-related lawsuits, has shared some incredible wisdom that the school boards and legislatures should pay attention to:

“The root of the problem is fourfold: poorly trained maintenance workers, long-neglected buildings, air-conditioning systems that were not designed for Florida’s weather and administrators who are slow to acknowledge problems.”

These are the problems that need to be addressed, not with more money or more government regulations. Education is more valuable when it comes to eliminating the factors that cause mold growth before they create a very expensive and unhealthy problem.

If the government wants to do something to address this problem, then they need to fund the EPA to put together a guide on how to build a maintenance program for public schools that frequently checks for mold and water intrusion. There is currently a guide on inspecting your home for mold that you can download from this website, but I have yet to find one for public buildings or offices.

Tagged as: air quality, EPA, florida, Indoor Air Quality, legislation, litigation, mold growth, mold problems, Mold Removal, schools, standards, water intrusion

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