Industrial hygiene is the science and art devoted to the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, prevention, and control of those environmental factors or stresses in or from the home/workplace which cause sickness, impaired health, and well being, or significant discomfort among occupants.

Industrial hygienists are scientists and engineers committed to protecting the health and safety of people in a workplace or community.

A professional industrial hygienist is a person possessing either a bachelor's degree in engineering, chemistry, or physics or a bachelor's degree in a closely related biological or physical science from an accredited college or university, who also has a minimum of three years of industrial hygiene experience. A complete doctoral in a related physical, biological, or medical science or in a related engineering can be substituted for two of the three year requirement. A completed master's degree in a related physical or biological science or in a related engineering can be substituted for one year of the three year requirement. Under no circumstances can more than two years of graduate training be applied toward the three year period.

While this definition does not include certification, the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) recognizes the need for such certification by every professional industrial hygienist as an appropriate hallmark by one's peers and strongly urges all eligible members to obtain American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH) certification.

The ABIH has established that successful candidates for certificates shall attain the status of Diplomat of the American Academy of Industrial Hygiene subject to compilance with requirements established by the American Board of Industrial Hygiene.

The active ABIH certification requires that one person be admitted to examination based upon academic training and 4 years experience for the Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH), successfully pass a one day examination, and maintain active professional involvement by re-certification on a 5-year cycle following first exam.

The goal of the industrial hygienist is to keep workers, their families, and the community healthy and safe. They play a vital part in ensuring that federal, state, and local laws and regulations are followed in the work environment.

In general, when it comes to any kind of air sampling for mold, there area few things the IH has to take into consideration. First of which, mold is everywhere. So let's say Mrs. Smith calls an IH into her home because she thinks she has a mold issue. The IH will perform a visual inspection. He/She will also use his/her meters to find out if there is any wet building materials because that is the main ingredient for mold growth. The IH will then take air samples in the area in question. The number of air samples taken in a given area varies depending on size, occupants, and conditions. The IH will then take an air sample from the outside environment. Again, the number of samples may vary depending upon size of building, occupants, and conditions to name a few. They take a sample from the outside air and use those levels as a base line to compare it against the levels found in the indoor environment.

In a perfect world, the interior sample levels should be at or below the exterior samples. So let us say for example, the total outside spore counts are 500. The levels inside should be about the same. There are some situations where the total spore count of the exterior baseline sample is higher than the total spore count of the interior samples but there is a species of mold that is higher in concentration inside than outside. That shows that there might be an issue that needs to be addressed and further inspection would be necessary if the source is not found. The IH also does not want to find a species of mold in the indoor environment that is not found in the exterior base line sample(s). That is usually indicative of an issue as well.

The IH will then take all this information gathered through an inspection, sampling, and interviews of occupants and write a mold remediation protocol for his client. The protocol contains in writing the environmental controls and recommended scope of work necessary to bring the interior air quality to acceptable levels. The client then gives that written protocol to prospective remediation companies so they can provide estimates for the work that needs to be done. A professional remediation company MUST abide by the written protocol. If during the course of the project, the contractor uncovers something that was not in the protocol, work should stop until verbal confirmation is obtained by the IH and all interested parties are notified and everyone is satisfied about plan of action.

Please understand that mold is EVERYWHERE. There is no such thing as a mold free environment, unless the space is setup as a "Clean Room" or an operating room.   Advanced Restoration's technicians can remediate an area, have it tested by an Industrial Hygienist (IH), and receive the clearance from the IH. As soon as the containment is broken down and remove all the air handling equipment we have introduced mold into the area from the surrounding areas ambient air. The mold test kits sold to the public are ALWAYS going to find mold.  Leave the little petri dish in any normal environment the test will come back positive. The thousands of mold spores that are everywhere are going to get caught in culture.  It will show you that there is mold present in the environment, but will not indicate the type and quantity of mold spores, which are the important factors.