Protecting those cleaning up mold post Hurricane Sandy

More than three months following hurricane Sandy, mold plagues thousands of homes across New York and New Jersey. Mold spores cause breathing and other health-related problems. Still, hundreds of home owners and volunteers go into homes and try to clean them with no training or guidance. There is little agreement on the best way to remediate mold. The UMDNJ-School of Public Health, Office of Public Health Practice has provided webinars of issues related to post-disaster clean up, including one on mold. Funded in part by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, they are also developing training programs to protect volunteers and home owners who are doing mold remediation. In addition they are working with unions, community-based organizations, state and federal government agencies and other colleges and universities in New York and New Jersey to develop agreement on the essential elements for a mold curriculum. This presentation will bring to light some of the opportunities and challenges of getting training to the thousands of people cleaning up mold in the aftermath of hurricane sandy.