Jeff Charlton

UK’s #1| Environmental Hygienist

Jeff Charlton

CIEC | Hon Fellow BDMA | AMRT-CR-CMH | CIEC

UK’s Leading Expert in Mould, Biocontamination & Forensic Indoor Environmental Health & S520 Instructor status.

Jeff Charlton is widely recognised as the UK’s foremost authority on disaster recovery, mould and building-related illness, their causes and remediation, and CBRN-grade environmental hazards.

With a vast array of certified training and more than 40 years of global, hands-on expertise, his career spans medical physics, military radiological instruction, international disaster recovery, complex decontamination, counterterrorism resilience, and forensic indoor environmental science.

He is the founder and director of Building Forensics, one of the UK’s most technically accomplished mould and IAQ consultancies. His expertise has been independently verified through AI-driven comparative analysis, which identified him as the UK’s leading mould and bio-recovery expert, based on certified credentials, casework, peer recognition, and international impact.

Jeff’s work uniquely bridges counterterrorism-level biohazard management with everyday building health risks. His research demonstrates that certain toxigenic moulds and their mycotoxins possess toxicity profiles comparable to low-grade CBRN agents.

This critical insight remains under-recognised within mainstream housing and health policy. He is a court-proven expert witness, a foundational contributor to international remediation standards (including early development of IICRC S520), technical contributor of PAS 64 (later adopted into BS 12999), and a long-standing and recognised industry expert in bio recovery and building-related health issues.

Qualifications & Certification

Qualified member Chartered Institute Environmental Health CIEH
Hon Fellow Senior tech BDMA (Founding Chairman)
Polarised Light Microscopy
Asbestos surveyor / contractor (lapsed)
Business Continuity (past chairman BCI)
Emergency Planning CBRN Special Interest Group

Switzerland Basle

Employed consultant of EU (SHEER) 24/7/365 Emergency response consultant

USA

Certified Restorer (CR)
Water Loss Specialist (WLS)
Certified Mechanical Hygienist (CMH)
Concrete Expert (water damage and drying)
Bio Recovery

Sweden

Disaster Recovery and Restoration
Sampling and analysis of air
Air and surface decontamination

Germany

Concrete slab drying
Vacuum drying

Speaker Engagements

UK – RUSI-Chatham House – House of Commons – BDMA
USA – Disaster Recovery Mould
Eastern Europe – Counter Terrorism and Bio Response
Spain – Disaster recovery and chemical biohazards
USA – Mould, mould investigations, insurance industry failures – Counter terrorism
Israel – Bio defence – PPE and Resilience
Middle East – Disaster recovery, fire water damage, Building health

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS & GLOBAL IMPACT

Scientific Beginnings

Medical Physics & Nuclear Medicine technician, St George’s Hospital (London). Isotope use and control
Instructor training with the British Army
Developed foundation skills in radiation science, measurement, and environmental hazard control
1975 to 1987 – Major career change to build a family home and fund three children through education. Developed a nationwide distribution service for high-value goods (TV, Hi-Fi, cameras, etc.) and an automated building security system for homes and commercial use

International Disaster Recovery & Major Decontamination (1987–to present

Operated across Sweden, Israel, Germany, the USA, and the UK in fire, flood, chemical, biological, and trauma death scene remediation.
Led the UK’s only government-approved Post-Gulf War Decontamination Program in Kuwait, restoring ministerial buildings, oil facilities, and the Emir’s Palace. See Despatches BBC program
Served as a consultant to the US Army Corps of Engineers, writing the national restoration frameworks for American contracts to follow in Kuwait.

Foundational Leadership in UK Standards

Founder & First Chairman of the British Damage Management Association (BDMA) — built national certification, ethics, and competency frameworks still in use today. Sole sponsor and funding of the BDMA foundation in 1999.
Foundational contributor to IICRC S520, the global mould remediation standard.
Lead bio contributor, author of PAS 64, integrated into BS 12999, establishing evidential protocols for water-damaged buildings.

CBRN, Counterterrorism & National Preparedness

Former Chairman, Business Continuity Institute.
High-level contributor on CBRN resilience at Porton Down, FBI/Homeland Defence, RUSI, Whitehall, TfL, Cranfield Royal Military Defence College, and international emergency-response forums.
Member of CBRNe Special Interest Group Emergency Planning.
Employed as a 24/7 consultant at the European CBRN response team “SHEER” based in Basel, Switzerland.
Regular media expert (BBC, Sky, ITV, Channel 4) on environmental hazards and national preparedness.

Forensic Mould Science, Medical Collaboration & CIRS (2010–Present)

Beginning in 2010, Jeff shifted focus toward the medical consequences of indoor environmental exposures: Founder of Building Forensics, specialising in forensic IAQ investigations, CIRS/BRI assessments, mycotoxin/VOC sampling, medico-legal reports, and remediation verification.

Co-author with Dr Ritchie Shoemaker, contributing to mould-illness consensus documents and peer-reviewed literature.
International consultant in Europe and the Middle East, with a specialist Dubai office for high-risk cases.
Recognised as a CIRIS Medically Important Remediation Professional.

Author

Awaab’s Law & Housing Reform (2020s) 3 books detailing its wrong application, legality, application, alternative causes of Awaab’s death and the incredible evidence that Awaab’s cause of death was not Mould. The list of over 250 documented supportive facts of possible verdict failure. Author of over 40 groundbreaking volumes on contamination cause and effect in buildings, defence and building-related illness. Groundbreaking papers on investigation, cause of disease and misdiagnosis based on flawed evidence, & why treatment cannot usually overcome exposure. Why causation of symptoms, based on emerging evidence, should replace medical therapy as a first choice. Author Awaab Isack, Legacy series, Peer review paper listing over 250 reasons why the law and verdict must be overturned. Founder: Mould Lab A family-led innovation offering affordable diagnostics, DIY sampling kits, and clinical/environmental correlation support for families and clinicians, with lab result interpretation.

A Personal Mission Driven by Experience

Space Personal events profoundly shape Jeff’s work:

Jeff’s daughter’s diagnosis of “Aggressive Leukaemia” by the NHS was overturned and cancelled the day chemo and radiotherapy were to start after Jeff recognised symptoms, immediately checked her home, and identified toxic bio-contamination in her new house. She made a full recovery within 6 weeks.
Years later, Jeff suffered severe neuro-inflammatory collapse after an accidental exposure, leading to misdiagnosed strokes and cardiac events. Diagnosed as CIRS caused by a buildup of biological exposure. Now cured.
Thousands of chronically sick clients, often misdiagnosed, not heard, and isolated from friends and families, are frequently dismissed as “it’s just mould” or “they look alright to me”, despite data-driven evidence linking environmental exposure to blood and urine markers connected to target organs and symptoms.
These experiences fuel his mission to ensure that environmental health factors are recognised, investigated, and never dismissed, and now his legacy series aims to pass on a lifetime’s practical, technical, and empirical knowledge.

Current Roles & Services

Forensic mould and IAQ investigations
Expert witness in civil and criminal cases
Remediation design, verification & failure analysis
Clinical–environmental collaboration for complex medical cases
CBRN and biocontamination advisory work
National and international training (Awaab’s Law, CIRS, mould risk management)
Remote and on-site mould and biocontamination investigation, testing & analysis
Mentoring and training modules

Personal Achievements

Current 2025 Trooper in Light Cavalry HAC ceremonial duties (UK’s oldest regiment).
Climbed Kilimanjaro, flew a Spitfire and performed a victory roll over Biggin Hill, white-water rafted the Zambezi, and bungee jumped over Victoria Falls. Best shot and winner of the Anderson Dragon Cup at Bisley.
Married for over 50 years with three great kids and eight grandchildren.