HERTSMI-2 (Health Effects Roster of Type-Specific Formers of Mycotoxins and Inflammagens, second version) is a scoring of five of the water-damage mold species from the ERMI panel, used as a shorter, cheaper re-occupancy screen for sensitive individuals.
What is HERTSMI-2?
HERTSMI-2 pulls five species out of ERMI's 36 (including Aspergillus and Penicillium groups, Stachybotrys, Wallemia, and Chaetomium) and applies a weighted scoring scale to estimate whether a building is likely tolerable for a person with mold-related illness. It comes out of the same dust-DNA (MSQPCR) lineage as ERMI and shares its limits: it is a research-derived index, not an EPA- or CDC-endorsed clearance standard, and it measures accumulated dust history rather than current airborne conditions. Like ERMI, it cannot point to a source or confirm that remediation worked.
Why it matters to a mold inspection
HERTSMI-2 shows up most often when a chemically or mold-sensitive client wants a re-occupancy decision, so an inspector needs to frame it honestly: it is a screening number, not a pass/fail backed by a consensus standard. The CDC notes that no acceptable airborne mold level has been set and that response should key on visible growth and moisture, not a single index (CDC, About Mold). Pairing it with post-remediation verification and a moisture map is far more defensible than leaning on the score alone. See ERMI explained and the ERMI vs air sampling comparison.
MoldMind stores a HERTSMI-2 score and its component species alongside the rest of the structured findings, so it reads as one input to a re-occupancy judgment, not the judgment itself.
Try MoldMind free, 3 jobs, no card.
Sources
- EPA, Mold: dust-DNA indices originate as research tools, not endorsed clearance standards.
- CDC, About Mold: no acceptable airborne level set; respond to visible growth and moisture.