Environmental Health Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Environmental Health Assessment - Essay Example E.J). Mold formation can be seen in various places - indoor and outdoor. The commonly found species of molds are Aspergillus, Stachybotrys, Cladosporium, Fusarium, Pencillium, Memnoniella, Alternaria, Mucor and Mycotoxins (Mold Types - Common Species of Mold. 2008, Mold Removal Unit. 2003). Of these, Stachybotrys and Memnoniella are very toxic and the others are common house molds. They require moist cellulose areas like wet wood, paper and cotton to grow (Mold Removal Unit. 2003.) .Mold is usually spotted on moist open areas like wet walls, open water in/outlets, leaking walls, decaying plants, wet soil, wet carpet etc (Mold Types - Common Species of Mold. 2008, Mold Removal Unit. 2003 ). Though there are many methods prevailing that can detect some types of mold, they are not 100% efficient due to the following factors: Mold detection does not imply that it should be removed. Though health advisors / conscious people would prefer that molds be removed effectively once it is detected, there’s no legal obligation for the same except in few countries (Testing for Mold. 2008.) Owing to the possible environment health hazards of molds and growing public concerns & litigations over molds, the Toxic Mold Protection Act of 2001 (Mold Bill) and United States Toxic Mold Safety and Protection Act of 2003 (The Melina Bill) were formed in the United States. The Mold Bill, though not a law, has asked the Department of Health Services (DHS) of California to organize a special team consisting of medical and health experts, mold removal experts, government representatives, representatives from Californian companies and workers, and affected consumers and industries. The team will analyse the possible health hazards due to various types and intensity of molds and set criteria for estimation, detection and remediation of mold. The team was to be effective from 2002. Due