Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Related to Mold Exposure Among Residents and Remediation Workers in Posthurricane New Orleans

Details

• Personal Author:
  Brown CM ; Cummings, Kristin J. ; Moolenaar RL ; Rao, Carol Y. ; Riggs MA ; Van Sickle D
• Description:
  To assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to mold exposure in postflood New Orleans, the authors surveyed 159 residents and 76 remediation workers, using logistic regression to explore associations. Nearly all answered "yes" to the questionnaire item, "Do you think mold can make people sick?" and most knew respirators were recommended for cleaning mold. Residents (87%) and workers (47%) said they believed that television or radio were the best ways to communicate information about mold. Workers (24%) also suggested employers provided the best means for communication of this information. Few participants reliably used all recommended protective equipment. Residents cited respirator discomfort and unavailability as reasons for noncompliance; workers cited discomfort and inadequate training, with 50% reporting respirator fit testing. Spanish-speaking workers relied on employers for information. Self-employed workers used protective equipment infrequently. The authors recommend that information on postflood mold exposure be disseminated through media and employers, that protective equipment be made readily available for residents, and that workers receive better training and fit testing. In addition, they suggest that targeted approaches may benefit Spanish-speaking workers and the self-employed. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Behavior Emergency Responders Environmental Monitoring Fungi Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Safety Surveys And Questionnaires
• Keywords:
  Attitude Author Keywords: Flood Behavior-patterns Emergency-responders Exposure-assessment Mold Molds Personal-protective-equipment Personal Protective Equipment Questionnaires Region-6 Remediation Worker Rescue-workers Respirator Respirators Respiratory-protective-equipment Work-practices

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• ISSN:
  1933-8244
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Georgia ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies ; DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  101-108
• Volume:
  61
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20032517
• Citation:
  Arch Environ Occup Health 2006 May; 61(3):101-108
• Contact Point Address:
  Kristin J. Cummings, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, Mail Stop 2800, 1095 Willowdale Road, Morgantown, WV 26505
• Email:
  cvx5@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2006
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Archives of Environmental & Occupational Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:193037717ec739fb9baadc845b3498cb9187a3f8a403fa4e7b4be1fda0424a845533aecb2658f6161f00a78764b69477c7af468f583b197a9c046361d40a9490
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/186457/cdc_186457_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.49 MB ]