Ethics Issue

I have an ethics issue that I would appreciate any feedback on. I am temporarily employed by a Pennsylvania State University during the summer in an unofficial capacity painting dorms. As a Pennsylvania State Inspector am I ethically obligated to report a wide spread serious health issue that is being covered up? From what I have seen there are hundreds possibly thousands of students unknowingly being affected with possibly black mold. I am unable to sample it to be 100% positive. I have been ignored when I express my concerns and was told to paint over it. I also know that the custodial personal are cleaning some of it with bleach water and wiped off the surface. I have heard that they have been trained in the removal of it, but it is obvious that there training is outdated. Have you or any of our members dealt with an issue like this or similar to this before? And if so, what was the outcome? Do you have any information on any organization that can help?

Tim

Put this same paragraph in your local paper, you’ll get all kinds of help then. Title it "Is your child being exposed to toxic black mold at PSU?

You can definately go public, Penn state doenst need to add that to the list of black marks on the record right now.

You may start by skipping your immediate supervisor in the chain of command before you really rock the boat though.

How do you know that it is mold? Have you had it tested? Is it viable?

how do you determine it is toxic?

Lick it and wait 24 hours! :twisted:

“Toxic” and “black” are media terms which are thrown around very loosely and cause undue alarm. The color of the mold you mention means nothing as there is nearly every color of the rainbow in molds. While the position of whistle blower is exciting and even sometimes lucrative, you would be better off doing a simple swab test from a local hardware store before you jump to unsupported conclusions. They involve swabbing any surface with a q-tip which I’m sure you would have the opportunity to do. That will only tell you the types present in the tested area but it is more information than you currently have.

As far as the treatment you describe, it sounds quite similar to what the EPA recommends so I doubt you are looking at a “coverup”. Mold is an issue which can easily get overblown and misused for personal and financial gain. Contact an industrial hygienist and ask your question to them, they are the experts in the field, not the media and not mold removal contractors.

The “toxic” should never be used at is is a relative term.

Toxicity is determined by dose and sensitivity to the agent.

Take a sample and have it tested by a lab. The students are not the only ones being exposed…you are! If for no other reason you can be justified in looking out for yourself at the same time as the students. Know what you are talking about before making accusations such as these. Once you have the results you will know. It could just be mildew (a cute name for mold).

Doug,

Your post brought back a memory of a class I took many years ago with regard to mold.
The class was for Owners of Water and Fire Damage Remediation companies and Contractors involved in this type of Repair and Remediation. Only a handful of Home Inspectors.

Most of the subject matter was not for testing and clearance testing for the Consumer. It was related to conducting tests and retaining data to defend the potential for a Workman’s Compensation Claim in the future…

I took a course like that too…years ago and the instructor harped endlessly on the inspectors and even their families exposure to harmful substances. We have a tendency to forget WE are exposed almost daily and many of these substances have an accumulative effect. That course made a huge impact on my thinking and approach to inspecting.

Wow! Where do you come up with the crazy stuff you type?

http://www.epa.gov/mold/table1.html

Funny how the word toxic is used twice and black never.

You are free to point out any untrue statement I’ve made. The link you posted does not apply, though, as it only discusses water cleanup or moisture damage cleanup to prevent mold. The link you wanted would be Table 2 which is for mold removal.

Read through the methods described for cleanup on the correct page(Table 2), consider the OP’s scenario and then get back to us.

You need to read that, I have read it years ago. It says nothing about using bleach and painting over mold like you implied.

You have come a long way. Thanks for taking the time to understand the subject.

As I suspected, you did not read it. Not really surprising as you didn’t even post the correct link and now you are attempting to re-interpret what I said. Let’s review, shall we:

And here is what the EPA says on that page you claimed to have read so thoroughly years ago:

Of course the method used depends on the amount of damage, growth and the material it is growing on. But we don’t know all of that so a good middle of the road method seems reasonable. Regardless, the only cleaning methods seen on that page at all are the ones quoted above.

But I guess you are correct, it was crazy of me use the word “similar”, as the EPA recommendations only begin with plain water. :roll::):roll:

Timothy,
In your position as Painter…
are you the Contractor or an Employee of the Contractor?

Do you know why they recommend plain water? Think about it really hard on what they are trying to remove with the water.
Hint: Is is not mold growths.

Try to stay on target and tell us what I said that was incorrect and “crazy”.