CHATHAM, N.J., October 1, 2002 — To assist property owners and managers who face a rising tide of so-called “toxic mold” claims and lawsuits, BEM Systems, Inc., a leading environmental and industrial hygiene consulting firm, has introduced an affordable but comprehensive Mold Action Planning and Prevention (MAPP) program. The two-part package consists of a proactive planning and training process designed to reduce or eliminate corporate risk and potential liability exposure. Increasingly, insurers are requiring policyholders to implement such a program before they will issue property damage or personal injury coverage for mold claims or of equal importance, a property owner must protect themselves in the case mold coverage is excluded from their policy.

Each MAPP program begins with the development by BEM of a customized

Typical MAPP Training Session

“Mold Action Planning and Prevention Plan”—in effect, a “blueprint” to enable property owners, facility managers, and maintenance personnel to proactively and quickly responds to (or better, prevent) mold issues. The organization also receives a customized training module, based on the plan, which serves as a hands-on educational forum to those on the “front line” of preventing and/or responding to water leaks and infiltration in buildings and other facilities. Total cost for the program generally ranges from around $1,000 up, depending on the number, nature, and size of facilities and the number of personnel requiring training.

“Many clients who have used our toxic mold consulting and remediation services asked if we could develop a more cost-effective, yet customizable way to help them deal with toxic mold,” said BEM President Mark Nardolillo. “This is the single fastest-growing area of litigation and workers’ compensation claims, and it’s pushing our clients into areas where the potential risk is extremely high, and yet many of the critical legal and technical issues are still highly unsettled. By building on our five-plus years of high-exposure experience in this area, we can now offer a uniquely valuable, yet cost-effective service that will make this whole issue much more predictable and controllable.”

“Our goal is to offer the ‘best of both worlds,’” explains Sharon Stecker, BEM’s Director of Client Services. “We standardize parts of the process to keep client costs as low as possible, yet still have the flexibility to customize the program to address each client’s specific needs. We have confidence these programs will really be effective because they are based on the wide experience of our Indoor Air Quality Services Group, which includes mold assessments and surveys, remediation design, oversight and clearance sampling, expert-witness testimony, and other litigation support.”

Molds can flourish readily in hard-to-reach areas.

“Anyone involved with buildings today—building owners and managers, construction and remodeling professionals, employers, attorneys and insurers—needs an independent source of objective, up-to-date, scientifically based guidance,” said Brian Ruffe, CIH, head of BEM’s Indoor Air Quality/Mold team. “The greatest value of this program for many clients is that it helps take the unwarranted fear out of the toxic mold issue, while also educating and informing those who might be tempted to treat the issue too lightly.”

BEM Systems, Inc., is an independent, employee-owned, multidisciplinary consulting firm of environmental engineers and scientists. Headquartered in Chatham, N.J., with offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Florida, Missouri, Arizona, and New Mexico, BEM provides a full range of environmental compliance, cleanup, prevention, and risk management services for public- and private-sector clients nationwide. BEM’s Indoor Air Quality group is a leader in workplace and residential exposure issues, including those involving mold and anthrax exposures.

Readers seeking information on the Mold Action Planning and Prevention (MAPP) program, or other indoor air quality issues, may visit BEM Systems online at www.bemsys.com or call Sharon Stecker at 908-598-2600, ext 118 or sstecker@bemsys.com.

Please note: additional information and/or color prints or digital files of the above graphics will be provided upon request. Please call (908) 598-2600 or email BEM at info@bemsys.com