Sec. 304. Improving mold and health standards
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/bill/118/hr/10009/ih/section-304·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
In this section: The term indoor residential mold means any form of multicellular fungi in indoor environments, including cladosporium, penicillium, alternaria, aspergillus, fusarium, trichoderma, memnoniella, mucor, stachybotrys chartarum, streptomyces, and epicoccumoften found in water-damaged indoor environments and building materials. The term residential mold inspection means an inspection, by a certified or licensed mold inspector or other indoor environmental professional, including through the Real Estate Assessment Center, of real property that is designed to discover— indoor mold growth in residential properties; conditions that facilitate indoor residential mold growth; or indicia of conditions that are likely to facilitate indoor residential mold growth.
The term toxigenic mold means any indoor mold growth that may be capable of producing a toxin or toxic compound, including mycotoxins and mVOCs, that can cause pulmonary, respiratory, neurological, gastrointestinal, or dermatological illnesses, or other major adverse health impacts, as jointly determined by the Director of the National Institutes of Health, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences at the National Institutes of Health, in conjunction with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the President of the National Academy of Sciences, and the Chair of the board of directors of the National Institute of Building Sciences shall jointly conduct a comprehensive study of the health effects of indoor residential mold growth, using the most up-to-date scientific peer-reviewed medical literature.
The study conducted under subparagraph
(A)shall ascertain, among other things— detailed information about harmful or toxigenic mold, as well as any toxin or toxic compound such mold can produce; the most accurate research-based methods of detecting harmful or toxigenic mold; potential dangers of prolonged or chronic exposure to indoor residential mold growth; the hazards involved with inadequate residential mold inspections and improper indoor residential mold remediation; the estimated current public health burden of new or exacerbated physical illness resulting from exposure to indoor residential mold, including its disproportionate impact on vulnerable communities, including children and seniors; improved understanding of the different health symptomology that can result from exposure to mold in indoor residential environments; ongoing surveillance of the prevalence of idiopathic pulmonary hemorrhage
(AIPH)in infants; and longitudinal studies on the effects of indoor old exposure in early childhood on the development of asthma and other respiratory illnesses. Not later than the expiration of the 3-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the results of the study conducted under subparagraph
(A)shall be submitted to Congress and the President and made available to the general public. Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall, using the previous two years of inspection data, establish a geographic information system mapping tool that identifies areas which are impacted by a known presence of indoor residential mold. The Secretary shall include, as part of the mapping tool— inspection documentation; management and occupancy reviews; transfers of budget authority for contracts under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 ( 42 U.S.C. 1437f ); and any additional information, as required by the Secretary. The Secretary shall update the mapping tool with the latest inspection data not less often than once per year. The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and the heads of any other relevant Federal agencies, as determined by such Administrator and Secretary, shall jointly develop and carry out a public information and education campaign regarding indoor air quality and related issues that provides information required under this section on a recurring and annual basis through public outreach. The campaign shall commence within 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act. The information and education campaign shall include information on the dangers and prevention of indoor residential moisture and mold, volatile organic compounds, dust, smoking, pollution, indoor origins of smoke, including cooking, and any other health risks, as determined by such Administrator and Secretary. The information and education campaign shall include, at minimum, the following information regarding indoor residential mold: The conditions that facilitate indoor residential moisture and mold growth. Guidelines for inspecting indoor residential mold growth. Guidelines for remediating indoor residential mold growth. The dangers and health risks of exposure to indoor residential mold growth. The importance of ventilation and methods to prevent moisture accumulation in indoor residential environments. Any other information as determined appropriate by the heads of the agencies referred to in paragraph (1). The public information and education campaign shall provide education and information through modes of communication that are commonly utilized and able to be easily consumed by relevant individuals or organizations, which shall include communication through advertisements on public transit in all 50 States and in territories and possessions of the United States, and distribution of the pamphlet developed pursuant to paragraph
(9)as required under such paragraph. All education and information that is part of the information and education campaign shall be made publicly available on the websites of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and any other applicable Federal agencies. The public information and education campaign shall be designed to reach tenants, tenant organizations working directly with tenants in project-based rental assistance and other types of federally-assisted housing, resident groups, landlords, health professionals, the general public, homeowners, prospective homeowners, the real estate industry, the home construction and renovation industries, the health, property and casualty, and life insurance industries, technical and vocational schools and colleges, and other academic institutions. The public information and education campaign shall include information about warning signs of mold and other indoor air exposure pollutants and shall include education for health professions on mold-related illness, including for health professions who work with vulnerable populations and children in school or daycare settings. In developing and carrying out the public information and education campaign, the heads of the agencies referred to in paragraph
(1)may coordinate with the Ad Council. All information provided under the public information and education campaign— shall be provided in at least two languages, as determined by the Secretary, based on the most common languages spoken in the neighborhood, tribe, municipality, State, or region, and may be provided in additional languages based on the most common languages spoken in the neighborhood, tribe, municipality, State, or region, as determined by the Secretary; and shall be provided in language that is at a sixth grade reading level and is easy to understand. The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, in consultation with the Director of the National Institutes of Health, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the heads of any other agencies the Secretary considers appropriate, shall develop, publish, and revise, not less frequently than every 5 years, a pamphlet regarding indoor residential mold hazards. The pamphlet required under this subsection shall— contain information regarding the health risks associated with exposure to indoor residential mold growth; provide information on the hazards of indoor residential mold growth in federally-assisted and federally-owned housing; describe the risks of indoor residential mold exposure for persons residing in a dwelling with toxigenic mold; provide information on approved methods for evaluating and reducing indoor residential mold growth and their effectiveness in identifying, reducing, eliminating, or preventing indoor residential mold growth; provide advice on how to obtain a list of persons certified to inspect or remediate indoor residential mold growth in the area in which the pamphlet is to be used; include a statement that a risk assessment or inspection for indoor residential mold growth is recommended prior to the purchase, lease, or renovation of target housing; include a statement that certain State and local laws impose additional requirements related to indoor residential mold growth in housing and provide a listing of Federal, State, and local agencies in each State, including address, telephone number, and electronic mail address, if available, that can provide information about applicable laws and available governmental and private assistance and financing; provide information considered by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to be appropriate or necessary to promote awareness of the hazards posed by indoor residential mold; include information on indoor air quality safety generally, including best practices when cooking, taking a shower or bath, and smoking cessation; be publicly available on the websites of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other applicable Federal agencies; and include any other information considered by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to be appropriate or necessary. There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this subsection. Not later than the expiration of the 3-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit a report to the Congress analyzing and assessing the communication, as applicable, between public housing agencies, landlords, and tenants over resolving problems with the health, safety, or other issues of dwelling units that are federally subsidized and inspected through subpart G of part 5 of title 24, Code of Federal Regulations, landlord responsiveness regarding such issues, opportunities for improvement in such communications, and how tenants understand their rights and how they are responded to when issues arise, including protocols for responding to tenant complaints and tenant understanding of such processes. The report shall include recommendations for how to improve such communications and the physical quality of the housing stock for which such assistance is provided.
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Sec. 304
Improving mold and health standards
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