The American Industrial Hygiene Association® (AIHA) is recommending that the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) make some corrections in on the draft alert entitled “Preventing Occupational Respiratory Disease From Dampness in Office Buildings, Schools, and Other Nonindustrial Buildings,” as was published in the Federal Register on May 18, 2011, Volume 76, No. 96, Page 28789.

 The association’s Biosafety and Environmental Microbiology Committee reviewed the document and developed the comments.

“While the document has been reviewed carefully and is supported by AIHA, the AIHA Committee recommends NIOSH conduct a more thorough review of the document to correct some minor changes and include more modern references,” according to a statement released by the AIHA.

The committee objected to sarcoidosis being listed among the effects of exposure to building dampness and mold, noting that the alert fails to cite evidence to back up that claim. Additionally, it asked NIOSH clarify several terms and re-word some sections that could cause confusion among readers.

The AIHA said that it supports NIOSH’s efforts to protect worker health with administrative policies based on “sound science and effective business practices.”

The full comments can be viewed at: http://www.aiha.org/newspubs/govtaffairs/Documents/comment11_NIOSH-IEQ-07-12-11.pdf.