While occupational exposure to airborne pollutants such as asbestos and coal dust is known to cause lung cancer/mesothelioma and pneumoconiosis (black lung disease), consequences of exposure to air contaminants, especially bioaerosols, in homes and non-industrial work sites such as office buildings are not yet fully understood. In the 1970's and 1980's microbial contamination was identified as the primary cause for poor air quality in only 5% of more than 500 indoor air quality (IAQ) investigations conducted by National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH); while the remaining 95% resulted from inadequate ventilation, entrainment of outdoor air contaminants, contaminants in building fabric and unknown sources (NIOSH, 1989). However, in the last 10 years, microorganisms were the primary source of indoor air contamination in as many as 35-50% of IAQ cases (Lewis, 1994). This change has been attributed at least partially to a paradigm shift from chemical contaminant-based investigations to an interdisciplinary approach combining evaluation of physical, chemical and microbiological constituents of indoor air environments. This report specifically focuses on fungal contamination in office and home environments.

• fungi and molds in buildings and their envelopes : black lung disease
• IAQ - indoor air quality : black lung disease