Hidden mold sometimes enters the indoor air
Morey, P., Andrew, M., Ligman, B. and Jarvis, J.
2002
Indoor Air 2002
Morey, P., Andrew, M., Ligman, B. and Jarvis, J., (2002), "Hidden mold sometimes enters the indoor air", Indoor Air 2002.
| Abstract: |
| Air sampling for culturable fungi was carried out in two new school buildings each with hidden mold colonization on envelope construction materials. An objective of the study was to determine if spores from the moldy envelope were entering indoor air. Penicillium, Aspergillus and Stachybotrys species were major colonizers of envelope construction materials in both buildings including stucco paper. Air sampling in one of the two buildings showed that Penicillium species from hidden mold reservoirs were entering the indoor air. However, Stachybotrys did not enter the indoor air in significant amounts in both buildings. A medical surveillance program concurrent with environmental monitoring was carried out to identify occupants with symptoms of new onset allergic disease.
Air sampling for fungi was carried out in a mid-rise building with chronic wall leakage and extensive hidden mold growth on various structural wall components. One of the objectives of sampling was to determine if fungal colonization of hidden construction materials in the exterior wall was associated with the presence of atypical fungi in indoor air. The building is clad with a stucco veneer applied to a paper-backed lath over steel studs. Mold growth on building paper in room exterior walls varied from minimal to extensive with Stachybotrys, Chaetomium, Penicillium, and Aspergillus species being dominant colonizers. Similar fungi colonized the wall cavity facer of the interior gypsum wallboard. Penicillium and Aspergillus species consistently dominated air samples in rooms with extensive mold colonization on envelope construction materials. Penicillium and Aspergillus species often dominated the air in these rooms even after room interior surfaces were cleaned with a HEPA vacuum. Cladosporium, Alternaria, and Epicoccum species dominated the outdoor air around the subject building. Stachybotrys dominated a few room air samples. Air sampling showed that Penicillium and Aspergillus spores sometimes dominated the room air in locations with minimal exterior wall fungal colonization. This finding suggested that fungal spores were being transported from remote colonized areas through exterior wall and interstitial wall pathways into rooms without extensive colonization. This study, in general, also suggested that fungal spores from hidden growth in the exterior wall were consistently entering the indoor air even though interior room surfaces were being repeatedly vacuum cleaned. A medical monitoring program has been initiated which combines both epidemiological and clinical methods and is intended to identify new onset allergic respiratory disease. |
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