Tennessee one of top states at risk for residential, commercial mold

Climate is not a major contributor to the risk of having mold present in U.S. residential and commercial properties, according to a recent report released by the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI), a non-profit organization that works with lenders and property developers on mold risk mitigation techniques.

The findings, which are based on a relative hazard ranking model used by GEI and developed by American Risk Management Resources (ARMR) - an insurance brokerage and consulting firm specializing in environmental insurance covering mold - are based on mold losses on insurance claims with premiums paid on property and liability coverage in each of the 50 states.

Tennessee has the ninth worst relative mold loss rate at 1.33. The report identifies Wisconsin as having the best relative mold loss rate (.06) and Texas as having the worst (2.95) based on the relative frequency of insurance claims.

Mention mold right now and the Gulf Coast comes to mind first, but the contamination on real estate hit by hurricanes was generally less significant overall than mold growth caused by inferior building materials or poor construction," said Carl Smith, CEO/executive director of GEI in a press release distributed by GEI.

Tennessee bridge rehab wins PCA bridge award

The Elk Avenue/Doe River Bridge Rehabilitation in Elizabethtown, Tenn., has been named a winner in Portland Cement Association's (PCA) Tenth Biennial Bridge Awards Competition.

The competition, instituted in 1988, recognizes excellence in design and construction of concrete bridges. Roads and Bridges magazine was a co-sponsor of this year's competition.

The 2006 program attracted 79 entries from Canada and the United States, covering a variety of structure types and construction methods. All structures were completed between June 2004 and March 2006.

The winners will be recognized at the American Concrete Institute's Fall Convention in Denver.

Winning projects were selected based on creativity, functionality and economy by a jury of three prominent bridge professionals: Daniel Dorgan, State Bridge Engineer, Minnesota Department of Transportation; Mary Lou Ralls, Ralls Newman LLC, Austin, Texas; and Louis Triandafilou, High Performance Structural Materials Specialist, FHWA Resource Center, Baltimore, Md.