T
he Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Cer-
tification (IICRC) has released a new draft standard and
reference guide for professional mold remediation for
45-day public comment.
The revised draft ANSI/IICRC S520 Standard for Professional
Mold Remediation and R520 Reference Guide are available now
for public review. Download the draft Standard and submit your
comments online until February 6. You can follow the same links to
comment on the Reference Guide as well.
The IICRC is an American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
member and accredited Standards developer. ANSI is responsible for
overseeing the development of national consensus Standards and ver-
ifying that the requirements for due process, consensus, and other cri-
teria for approval have been met by the Standard's developer.
The first edition of S520 was published in 2003, a second edition
came out in 2008, and the third edition in 2015. The 2015 version is
still being sold on the IICRC website. The current consensus body chair
for S520 is Jim Pearson, and vice chair is Scott Armour.
The IICRC S520 Standard describes the procedures to be followed
and the precautions to be taken when performing mold remediation
in residential, commercial, and institutional buildings, and the systems
and personal property contents of those structures. The ANSI/IICRC
S520 is a procedural standard for the remediation of mold damaged
structures and contents. The ANSI/IICRC S520 is based on reliable
remediation and restoration principles, research, and practical expe-
rience, and attempts to combine essential academic principles with
practical elements of water damage restoration for technicians facing
"real-life" mold remediation challenges. The S520 and R520 are writ-
ten for use by those involved in the mold remediation industry and is
the result of collaboration among microbiologists and other scientists,
public health professionals, industrial hygienists, remediation contrac-
tors, restoration service companies, cleaning and restoration training
schools, trade associations that service the professional restoration in-
dustry, allied trade-persons, and others with related professional and
practical experience.
Word on the street is that there will be a S520
"consumer guide" developed in the future.
In addition, the draft IICRC S590 Standard for Assessing HVAC
Systems Fol-lowing a Water, Fire, or Mold Damaged Event is avail-
able for public re-view. Download the draft Standard and submit
your comments online until Febru-ary 6.
The current consensus body chair for S590 is Tom Yacobellis, and
vice chair is Richard Lantz.
As part of the ANSI 45-day public review period, all comments for
the drafts must be submitted using the online comment form which
also can be found on the IICRC website. Incomplete comments may
not be responded to.
The IICRC is a global Standards Developing Organization (SDO),
accredited through the American National Standards Institute (ANSI),
as well as a credentialing body that certifies individuals in 20-plus cat-
egories within the Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration Industries. The
IICRC, in partnership with regional and international trade associa-
tions, represents the entire Industries it serves with nearly 49,000 Cer-
tified Technicians and 6,500 Certified Firms in 22 countries. For more
information, visit www.iicrc.org
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