IAC2 vs. American Indoor Air Quality Council

[Nick Gromicko]

Douglas writes:

I don’t see IAC2 listed as a mold trainer for Texas.

IAC2 is not a school. It is a trade association. IAC2 has no courses in anything.

[Nick Gromicko]

Doug writes:

outdoor samples are interesting, sometimes
1 in front and 1 in back
then other times 1 in front and 1 in back before and after the visual inspection.
2 in front and 2 in back is not that unusual
of course upwind and downwind can also be a factor.

ANSI approved IESO standard is fine, so is the ESA standard and I like IAC2 standard also; everyone should be aware of all three.

Doug, sounds like you agree with IAC2 that at least 2 outdoor samples are needed ?

[James E. Braun, CMI]

Can somebody explain the notation of the outside samples vary so much. I have several times taken an outdoor mold sample in Jefferson City and my industrial hygienist (the top mold expert in the state) taken one in Springfield (3-4 hours away) and we get basically the same Asperigillus/Penicillium mold counts. In a matter of fact, they do not change much from day to day.
Is anybody else getting consistent levels like we are? It has been like this for years.

[James E. Braun, CMI]

As soon as the top mold experts in the country, that do not work for labs, adopt the two samples policy then I will. I am going to follow what the top experts say for now.

[James E. Braun, CMI]

Originally Posted by douglas

outdoor samples are interesting, sometimes
1 in front and 1 in back
then other times 1 in front and 1 in back before and after the visual inspection.
2 in front and 2 in back is not that unusual
of course upwind and downwind can also be a factor.

Do not take it in the wind. Take it in an area no stronger than a breeze. That might be the problem. The stiller the air the better.

[Douglas Wall]

IAC2 is not a school. It is a trade association. IAC2 has no courses in anything.

My mistake, one of my senior moments, I’ll rephrase the question.
I don’t see InterNACHI listed as a mold trainer for Texas.
Does InterNACHI expect to be a mold trainer for Florida when the new Florida mold law becomes effective?
I did see ESA on the list for Texas.
As for the outdoor samples, depends on the job, weather, etc. (we're in South Florida - rained 5 times today) Some our national clients require a certain number of outdoor samples for whatever reason.

[James E. Braun, CMI]

That would make sense about the rain.

[Nick Gromicko]

Doug, no. We only develop approved, accredited courses based on the best and highest Standards of Practice (see discussion above regarding IAC2 requiring twice as many control tests as AIAQC and IESO): www.nachi.org/education.htm We don't teach them in classroom settings anywhere (other than online), and no plans to start opening schools in Texas, Florida or anywhere else. However, many Community Colleges already use our curriculum to teach classroom courses as do many inspection industry educators.

[Joe Farsetta]

One should use ratified and accepted standards. More testing does not necessarily prove anything. For those who have ever read the NYC protocol used for remediating mold, it is nearly the defacto standard, and is the one adopted by cities, counties, states, and some Canadian provinces. I work with the CIH who actually WROTE those standards for NYC.

You should hear him laugh about some sampling protocols and spore counts.

If you want to see recognized testing protocols and precautions, research which ones hospitals use, expecially since aspergilliosis was blamed for two deaths of severely immunocompromised patients at a major metropolitan hospital.

As to IAC2 versus any other, join an association for what you GET from it. Sift through the hype and boil it all down to who does more for the member. Right now, IAC2 is still an unknown to many, including industrial hygenists.

I guess you need to consider WHO developed any standard calling for more sampling, then ask yourself WHY...

[Nick Gromicko]

I guess you need to consider WHO developed any standard calling for more sampling, then ask yourself WHY...

Or I guess you need to take a background sample in the front yard, then one in the back yard, see how different they are, then ask yourself WHY...

[Thomas Bloore]

Originally Posted by jfunderburk

I know very little about mold training and certification. I'm wondering about the perceived value of IAC2 vs. that provided by the American Indoor Air Quality Council.

Comments are appreciated.

Thanks Joe...for starting this, very useful information was compiled.
The beauty of the message board at work.

Tom Bloore