Hi all,

Production workers have complained that wood they are cutting has black mold on it and this is percieved by them as being very dangerous.

The production team cuts wood for manufacturing crates and has good controls for the commonly produced hazardous; wood dust, controls are deemed suitable for wood dust with minmal exposure.

Is black mold (Stachybotrys chartarum) 'more' dangerous than wood dust?

Are additional controls required? The LEV's mitigate wood dust to a sufficient level so face masks are not required, this would be the only additional control I can think of but feel it's likely unnecessary as exposure to mold is controlled by the existing controls for wood dust.

Thanks

"more" is a relative term but in this case yes

mold releases spores that can travel or be carried back to the workers home causing breathing issues particularly in the vulnerable (asthmatics, COPD etc.) trasferring risk beyond the factory gates

mold is very prevalent in cold damp housing (current socio economic conditions will favour its growth)

the spores will be in constant circulation at your works especially each time the wood is moved and handled

deal with the hazard at source: get rid of the moldy wood. think about it-of you make a product from the moldy wood it will be moldy too and so on until someone buys it. 

Self and Hasty

To some extent it will depend on whether the mouldy wood will be treated.

Long, long time ago I spent a Summer working in a factory producing a very well known food product where the primary semi-solid ingredients was dates.

Said dates came in wooden crates.

Apparently the dates were typically bought about two years before and two years before there was an international wood shortage so the crates were made from rather poor wood.

As a result the crates were not very intact and lots of dates got mouldy.

But, we used them anyway. One of the bosses said words to the effect of "the customer will never notice".

AND he was right. These dates once into production were boiled in vinegar more than once. All mould would be stone dead.

But the other point, "mold" is a big issue in US litigation. There used to be at least one expert witness who basically made his entire living out of helping defend "mold" cases.

"Mould" has never found as much legal fame in the UK.

So, I think that you need to assess the risk largely as being separate from the dust, but my guess is that the risk is probably not as high as might be initially imagined.

Originally Posted by: Self and Hasty

the company is penny pinching. there are 20+tonnes with surface mold that they are reluctant to scrap.

Well good luck keeping a lid on that one.... local press eventually pick up on issues in an area which is typically long after they have bounced around social media by which time the companies reputation has been shreded.

Mold on packaging is not suitable if the goods are leaving GB (even N.I. is now considered "overseas" thanks to the protocol) - as we are now a third country phytosanitary requirements apply to wooden packaging.

captcha tapp

https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/import-and-export-wood-and-bark

And you can’t treat the mold spores why ? My understanding sunlight kills it, but I’m sure there are other ways.

Originally Posted by: A Kurdziel

I am not sure where the idea that mould will die if left in sunlight comes from 

I got it from the internet a little while ago not for work or this question. It worked for me plus a little bleach to get into bits that could not be easily put into direct sunlight. My point was there has to be a way of treating it other than disposal.

Chris

Does sunlight get rid of black mold?

Yes. The type of ultraviolet light that can effectively get rid of mould is UV-C, which happens to be one of the three types of UV radiation produced by the sun. This is the reason sunlight is so effective at killing and preventing mould, and best of all, it does so without the need for harsh chemicals.

Bleach merely removes surface staining.

Mold has deep roots in porous surfaces such as wood and plaster so unless you kill the organism completely it will eventually reappear.

One method of preservation treatment for wood is through kiln drying.

Another is pressurised treatment which drives chemicals deep in to the wood.

AK - please don't encourage even more unorganised fireworks displays!