To elucidate problems with microfungal infestation in indoor environments, a multidisciplinary collaborative pilot study, supported by a giant from the Danish Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, was performed on 72 mold-infected building materials from 23 buildings. Water leakage through roofs, rising damp, and defective plumbing installations were the main reasons for water damage with subsequent infestation of molds. From a score system assessing the bioavailability of the building materials, products most vulnerable to mold attacks were water damaged, aged organic materials containing cellulose, such as wooden materials, jute, wallpaper, and cardboard. The microfungal genera most frequently encountered were Penicillium (68%), Aspergillus (56%), Chaetomium (22%), Ulocladium, (21%), Stachybotrys (19%) and Cladosporium (15%). Penicillium chrysogenum, Aspergillus versicolor, and Stachybotrys chartarum were the most frequently occurring species. Under field conditions, several trichothecenes were detected in each of three commonly used building materials, heavily contaminated with S, chartarum. Under experimental conditions, four out of five isolates of S. chartarum produced satratoxin H and G when growing on new and old, very humid gypsum boards. A. versicolor produced the carcinogenic mycotoxin sterigmatocystin and 5-methoxysterigmatocystin under the same conditions.

• fungi: health effects
• fungi: moisture damaged house -- indoor microbial concentrations
• fungi: molds in buildings
• moisture source for building envelope

1. Determination of fungal spore release from wet building materials
2. Microbiology on indoor air'99- what is new and interesting? an overview of selected papers presented in Edinburgh, August, 1999
3. Microfungal contamination of damp buildings: Biological aspects
4. Production of mycotoxins on artificially and naturally infested building materials
5. Production of mycotoxins on artificially inoculated building materials
6. Symptoms associated to work in a water damaged school building
7. The Danish Research Programme: "moulds in Buildings" 1998-2001
8. The release of fungal spores from water damaged building materials  

1. Determination of fungal spore release from wet building materials
2. Growth of moulds on building materials under different humidities
3. Production of mycotoxins on artificially and naturally infested building materials
4. Production of mycotoxins on artificially inoculated building materials
5. Quality control of computational fluid dynamics in indoor environments
6. The release of fungal spores from water damaged building materials  

1. Determination of ergosterol on mouldy building materials using isotope dilution and gas chromatography--tandem mass spectrometry
2. Determination of fungal spore release from wet building materials
3. Growth of moulds on building materials under different humidities
4. Mould growth on building materials: Secondary metabolites, mycotoxins and biomarkers
5. Mycotoxin production by indoor molds
6. Production of mycotoxins on artificially and naturally infested building materials
7. Production of mycotoxins on artificially inoculated building materials
8. The Danish Research Programme: "moulds in Buildings" 1998-2001
9. The release of fungal spores from water damaged building materials