STAND. COM. REP. 3328

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: S.R. No. 100

S.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Health and Energy and Environment, to which was referred S.R. No. 100 entitled:

"SENATE RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO CONVENE A DANGEROUS MOLDS WORKING GROUP TO IDENTIFY KEY ISSUES REGARDING DANGEROUS MOLDS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to request the Department of Health (DOH) to convene a dangerous mold working group to identify key issues regarding dangerous molds.

Testimony in support of this measure was received from the Department of Health, Hawaii Association of Realtors, Indoor Air Quality Association, Chelsea Group, Ltd., and the American Industrial Hygiene Association. Testimony in opposition was received from INALAB, Inc. and Architectural Diagnostics, Ltd. The Hawaii Insurers Council submitted comments.

Your Committees find that small amounts of mold growth in workplaces or homes, such as mildew on a shower curtain, are not major concerns. However, your Committees further find that large quantities of mold growth may cause nuisance odors and health problems for some people. Furthermore, mold can damage building materials and in some cases cause structural damage to wood. Mold is a problem in Hawaii due to the State's high humidity level, and poses a threat that should be investigated.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting "dangerous" from "dangerous mold", including amending the title of the measure to reflect this;

(2) Incorporating recommendations provided by the American Industrial Hygiene Association, which include:

(a) Using proper definitions of mold assessment and mold remediation;

(b) Setting permissible exposure limits to mold in indoor environments; and

(c) Having a certified industrial hygienist as part of the molds working group;

(3) Deleting all references to articles from the New York Times; and

(4) Including all groups requesting to be part of this molds working group.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Energy and Environment that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.R. No. 100, as amended herein, and recommend its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.R. No. 100, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Energy and Environment,

____________________________

J. KALANI ENGLISH, Chair

____________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair