Shortly after evicting a commercial tenant, a client found that the restaurant had flooded because a water heater valve that had been left open. Following the initial emergency drying efforts, CSC was engaged to investigate the property to determine if the drying had been effective and to determine if any mold growth had occurred due to this incident. CSC inspected the site within 24-48 hours of receiving the “go-ahead” from the client for both the initial visit and the follow-up visits. The reports were issued within one business day after the inspections. Each day, the client was informed of the status of the job site by telephone and follow-up e-mails.
Following the initial site visit, CSC issued a report recommending additional drying efforts. CSC returned to the site to re-inspect, but found that the contractor had not followed many of our recommendations and that deficiencies remained. This problem continued to occur with repeated site visits. Finally, CSC met the contractor’s crew on site and specifically directed the work, including instruction on where and how to set up containment, how to perform cleaning of contaminated surfaces (e.g. use of HEPA-vacuuming and damp-wiping instead of dry sweeping), and correct use of HEPA-equipped air-scrubbers to control air flow in the work area. CSC found several reasons why the selected contractor was not passing the inspections, including:
- Lack of mold-related training of the personnel assigned to the project
- Absence of the project manager/supervisor from the site while the work was being conducted
- Lack of necessary tools, such as ladders and flashlights
However, with our technical guidance, assistance during remediation activities and provision of some of the missing tools, CSC was able to work with the contractor to obtain clearance. Because the client had a pressing need to access the site, air samples were collected approximately one hour following completion of the remediation activities and analyzed on a rush basis. In spite of the very limited time which elapsed between completion of the remediation work and the time of the sampling, the air samples passed, suggesting that the control measures, clean-up techniques and ventilation employed during the remediation under CSC’s guidance were highly effective.