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Contents List of Abbreviations ........................................................................................ iv Glossary............................................................................................................. vi Executive Summary ......................................................................................... 10 I. Introduction .................................................................................................18 A. New York State Toxic Mold Task Force legislation ................................................................ 18 B. Task Force strategy and scope ................................................................................................... 19 C. Public Comment Period ............................................................................................................. 20 II. Task Force Findings ...................................................................................20 A. Mold background........................................................................................................................ 20 1. What is mold? ............................................................................................................................ 20 2. What is "toxic mold?" ............................................................................................................... 21 3. Mold ecology ............................................................................................................................. 21 4. Dampness vs. mold in buildings ................................................................................................ 23 5. Conclusions – mold background ............................................................................................... 23 B. Health effects of mold and dampness exposure ....................................................................... 24 1. Current scientific evidence ........................................................................................................ 24 2. Mold in New York State............................................................................................................ 31 3. Conclusions – health effects ...................................................................................................... 38 C. Actions taken by state and local governments and other entities........................................... 39 1. Survey approach and results ...................................................................................................... 39 2. Building and housing codes and industry standards.................................................................. 39 3. Regulatory approaches to mold problems in buildings ............................................................. 42 4. Outreach and education ............................................................................................................. 57 5. State mold task force laws ......................................................................................................... 57 6. Conclusions and recommendations – state and local actions .................................................... 59 a) Codes ...................................................................................................................................................................59 b) Regulation of mold assessment or remediation services......................................................................................60 c) Education and outreach........................................................................................................................................61 d) Research...............................................................................................................................................................62 e) Other possible actions ..........................................................................................................................................63 D. Mold exposure limits................................................................................................................... 63 1. Existing exposure limits ............................................................................................................ 63 2. New information available to the Task Force ........................................................................... 66 3. Building clearance limits ........................................................................................................... 68 4. Conclusions and recommendations – exposure limits............................................................... 70 E. Methods to control and mitigate mold ...................................................................................... 71 1. Prevention .................................................................................................................................. 71 2. Remediation methods ................................................................................................................ 72 a) Laboratory studies................................................................................................................................................73 b) Remediation studies in water-damaged buildings................................................................................................76 c) Summary of remediation and mitigation studies .................................................................................................83 3. Conclusions and recommendations – mold control and mitigation .......................................... 84 III. References ................................................................................................86 IV. Acknowledgements..................................................................................93 V. Appendices..................................................................................................94 ii

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