After two years of waiting for promised funding that never materialized, the Indoor Environmental Remediation Board (IERB) has merged with the Indoor Environmental Institute (IEI) to form a much needed organization to complete it’s original mission. As stated in the original press release the IERB mission will be to develop and promulgate best practices in building remediation. An early focus will be on remediation of mold-contaminated buildings.

IEI and IERB will use several approaches to promote improvement in the practice of building environmental remediation. In addition to developing and defining best practices, it will test and certify individuals in specifically defined competencies in indoor environmental investigations. IERB will define areas where research is needed, support conferences and symposia on remediation topics, and encourage dissemination of information through meetings and publications. IERB will not provide training, which is available from numerous organizations across the country.

Cross-disciplinary efforts of IEI and IERB will build upon guidance documents already developed by several professional and government organizations. In addition to being a venue for combining expertise from different disciplines, industries and organizations, IERB will seek to unite the knowledge of academic, research-oriented scientists with that of hands-on practitioners of remediation who are working in damaged buildings.

The organization will broaden the involvement of industry experts by seeking formal involvement of numerous professional groups and by inviting a cross section of experts to participate in interdisciplinary working committees assigned to develop specific areas. Committee members will pool their knowledge of the scientific and practical aspects of remediation to define best practices. These will be updated as the knowledge base evolves.