| InspectAPedia® |
InspectAPedia
| |
Free Encyclopedia of Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, Repair | Ask a Question or Search InspectAPedia |
Mobile ViewENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS - INSPECT, TEST, REMEDY MOLD: A COMPLETE GUIDE to TEST CLEAN PREVENT ACCEPTABLE MOLD LEVEL ACCURACY OF VARIOUS MOLD TEST METHODS ACCURACY vs PRECISION of MEASUREMENTS ACTION GUIDE - WHAT TO DO ABOUT INDOOR MOLD ACTIVITY of MOLD in BUILDINGS AGE of MOLD - Old is the Mold? AIR CLEANER PURIFIER TYPES AIR FILTERS for HVAC SYSTEMS AIR POLLUTANTS, COMMON INDOOR AIR TEST FOR MOLD: ACCURACY AIR TEST SAMPLING CASSETTE STUDY AIRBORNE MOLD COUNT NUMBER GUIDE AIRBORNE PARTICLE ANALYSIS METHODS ALLERGEN TESTS for BUILDINGS ALLERGENS in BUILDINGS, RECOGNIZING ALLERGY & MOLD IAQ PRODUCTS ALLERGY TESTS for PEOPLE ALLERGY TEST ACCURACY ATTORNEYS and EXPERT WITNESSES ATTIC MOLD BASEMENT MOLD BASEMENT MOLD WATER IMPACT BATHROOM MOLD BROWN HAIRY BATHROOM MOLD BIBLIOGAPHY for ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, MOLD, IAQ BIOLOGICAL POLLUTANTS BOD WASTEWATER TEST BLACK MOLD, HARMLESS COSMETIC BLACK MOLD, TOXIC & ALLERGENIC BLEACHING MOLD, Advice about BLUE vs YELLOW COMBUSTION FLAMES BOOK MOLD, Moldy Book Cleaning BOOKSTORE - ENVIRONMENTAL CACTUS FUNGI / MOLD CAR MOLD CONTAMINATION CARPENTER ANTS CARPENTER BEES CARPET DUST IDENTIFICATION CARPET MOLD CONTAMINATION CARPET PADDING ASBESTOS, MOLD, ODORS CARPET FUNGICIDAL SPRAY CARPET STAIN DIAGNOSIS CARPET & other STAIN TESTS CARPET TEST PROCEDURE CARPETING & INDOOR AIR QUALITY CAT DANDER CHAIN OF CUSTODY - TEST SAMPLE CLEARANCE INSPECTIONS - MOLD CLEANUP CRAWLSPACE MOLD DIRECTORY of MOLD / ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERTS DIRT FLOOR MOLD CONTAMINATION Disinfectants Disinfecting Buildings with Bleach DO-IT-YOURSELF MOLD CLEANUP WARNINGS DRYWALL MOLD DUCT SYSTEM & DUCT DEFECTS DUST ANALYSIS for FIBERGLASS DUST, HVAC CONTAMINATION STUDY DUST SAMPLING PROCEDURE EFFLORESCENCE, Salts & White / Brown Deposits EMERGENCY RESPONSE, IAQ, GAS, MOLD FEAR of MOLD - MYCOPHOBIA Fiberboard Insulation Sheathing Mold FIBERGLASS INSULATION MOLD FIBERGLASS PARTICLE CONTAMINATION TEST FIELD INVESTIGATION SERVICE FIND MOLD, ESSENTIAL STEPS FIND MOLD in BUILDINGS, HOW TO FIRE DAMAGE vs MOLD DAMAGE FLOOD DAMAGE ASSESSMENT, SAFETY & CLEANUP FLOODS IN BUILDINGS-mold FLOORING MATERIALS, Age, Types FOXING STAINS on books & papers FUNGICIDAL SPRAY & SEALANT USE GUIDE GAS DETECTION INSTRUMENTS GAS EXPOSURE EFFECTS, TOXIC GAS EXPOSURE LIMITS & STANDARDS GAS TEST PROCEDURES HOUSE DUST ANALYSIS HOUSEWRAP AIR & VAPOR BARRIERS HIDDEN MOLD, HOW TO FIND HUMIDITY CONTROL & TARGETS INDOORS INDOOR AIR HAZARDS TABLE INDOOR AIR QUALITY & HOUSE TIGHTNESS INDOOR AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT GUIDE INSULATION MOLD ITCHY FABRICS LABORATORY SERVICES LAB PROCEDURES MICROSCOPE TECHNIQUES LEAD POISONING HAZARDS GUIDE Legionella Legionnaires' Disease Legionella BACTERIA & HVAC Equipment LIGHT, GUIDE to FORENSIC USE LP & Natural Gas Safety Hazards MEDIA BLASTING for MOLD REMOVAL METHANE GAS SOURCES MICROSCOPE DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY MEDIA BLASTING for MOLD REMOVAL METHANE GAS SOURCES MICROSCOPE DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY MILDEW in BUILDINGS ? MILDEW ERRORS - MOLD PHOTOS MILDEW REMOVAL & PREVENTION MOISTURE CONTROL in BUILDINGS MOLD: A COMPLETE GUIDE TO MOLD MOLD ACTION GUIDE - WHAT TO DO ABOUT MOLD MOLD APPEARANCE - WHAT MOLD LOOKS LIKE MOLD CLEANERS - WHAT TO USE MOLD CLEANUP GUIDE- HOW TO GET RID OF MOLD MOLD CLEARANCE INSPECTIONS MOLD COUNT NUMBER GUIDE MOLD CONSULTANTS / INSPECTORS MOLD CULTURE TEST KIT VALIDITY MOLD DETECTION & INSPECTION GUIDE MOLD or INDOOR AIR EMERGENCY RESPONSE MOLD EXPERT, WHEN TO HIRE MOLD FAQ's MOLD LEVEL IN AIR, VALIDITY MOLD ODORS, MUSTY SMELLS MOLD PREVENTION GUIDE MOLD RELATED ILLNESS GUIDE MOLD SAFETY WARNINGS MOLD SPRAYS, SEALANTS, PAINTS MOLD STANDARDS MOLD TEST KITS MOLD TESTING METHOD VALIDITY MORGELLONS SYNDROME MSDS Material Safety Data Sheets MVOCs & MOLDY MUSTY ODORS MYCOPHOBIA, STAINS MISTAKEN for MOLD MYCOTOXIN EFFECTS of MOLD EXPOSURE Nanomaterials Hazards NOISE / SOUND DIAGNOSIS & CURE ODORS GASES SMELLS, DIAGNOSIS & CURE OZONE for MOLD OR ODORS PAINTS & COATINGS ODORS IN BUILDINGS PARTICLE SIZES & IAQ Particulates & Allergens Indoors Pesticide Exposure Hazards PET ALLERGEN REMEDIES PLASTIC CONTAINERS, TANKS, TYPES PLASTIC HEATER VENT PLASTIC ODORS-SCREENS, SIDING PLUMBING SYSTEM ODORS POLLEN Photographs RENTERS GUIDE TO MOLD & IAQ ROBIGUS & Wheat Rust Fungus ROT RESISTANT LUMBER ROT, TIMBER FRAME ROT, TIMBER ASSESSMENT SLIDE PREPARATION, MICROSCOPE SMELL PATCH TEST to Track Down Odors SOUND CONTROL in BUILDINGS STAIN & BIODETERIORATION AGENT CATALOG STAINS on & in BUILDINGS, CAUSES & CURES STAIN DIAGNOSIS on BUILDING EXTERIORS STAIN DIAGNOSIS on BUILDING INTERIORS STAINS on INDOOR SURFACES: PHOTO GUIDE STAINS & Thermal Tracking TECHNICAL & LAB PROCEDURES TERMITES TEST KITS for DUST, MOLD, PARTICLE TESTS Thermal Expansion Cracking of Brick THERMAL EXPANSION of HOT WATER THERMAL EXPANSION of MATERIALS THERMAL IMAGING, THERMOGRAPHY THERMAL IMAGING MOLD SCANS THERMAL MASS in BUILDINGS THERMAL TRACKING & THERMAL BRIDGING TRAPPED MOLD BETWEEN WOOD SURFACES TRIM, INTERIOR INSTALLATION TRAPPED MOLD BETWEEN WOOD SURFACES TRUSS UPLIFT, ROOF TRUSSES, Floor & Roof Urea Formaldehyde Foam Insulation UFFI URETHANE FOAM Deterioration, Outgassing UV LIGHT BLACK LIGHT USES VAPOR BARRIERS & CONDENSATION in BUILDINGS VENTILATION in BUILDINGS VINYL CHLORIDE HEALTH INFO VINYL SIDING VINYL Siding or PLASTIC Window ODORS Volatile Organic Compounds VOCs WALL SIDING TRIM & FINISHES WALL FINISHES INTERIOR WALL CONSTRUCTION BARRIER vs CAVITY WATER BARRIERS, EXTERIOR BUILDING WATER ENTRY in buildings WATER ODORS, CAUSE CURE More Information |
Mold Standards for Exposure & Testing: this InspectAPedia technical article describes various current & proposed mold standards as well as the very substantial shortcomings in any mold exposure standard whatsoever. Here we also explain reasons for substantial variation in and interpretation of the meaning of airborne mold spore counts, moldy surface density, and other measures of the exposure level of allergenic, infectious, and levels of toxic mold in buildings. At what level is allergenic or toxic mold considered a problem in buildings? How do we obtain an accurate and meaningful measurement of mold exposure indoors? Green links show where you are. © Copyright 2013 InspectAPedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Author Daniel Friedman. What mold spore levels indicate contamination in buildings ?
Mold spore counts and mold culture results are not reliable alone for evaluating a mold problemWarning: fungal spore counts in indoor air, whether "viable" or "non-viable" counts, as well as swab and culture methods to identify just what mold is present in a building are questionable methods to characterize the presence or absence of a mold problem indoors. From experience carefully inspecting many buildings for mold problems and simultaneously collecting many types of field samples and examining them in our lab, our view is that anyone who makes one or a few indoor air measurements or relies on culture plates or swabs to "characterize" the mold level and mold species in a building is risking being way off target, particularly if the "test results" show low numbers. Reasons Simple Airborne Mold Counts Alone Are Not Good Indicators of Risk
See ACCURACY OF AIRBORNE MOLD SPORE COUNTS for more details about these issues. That said, here is a sampling of some indoor air mold spore exposure level criteria and comments Contamination levels of non-specific allergenic, pathogenic, or toxic fungal spores1. Baxter et als: Mold contamination is considered present in a building when the total mold spore concentration per cubic meter is above 10,000. Our own field and lab experience confirms this view. However in special cases, even low quantitative levels of certain particles or particle types (such as Pen/Asp spore chains in an un-treated building) may be diagnostic and may indicate a hidden mold reservoir that at least merits further investigation. 2. The National Allergy Bureau, reporting the NAB SCALE (National Allergy Bureau) of mold and pollen counts, considers mold counts in outdoor air of 0-6499 spores per cubic meter of air as low, to 6500 to 12,999 spores per cubic meter of air as moderate, to 13,000 to 49,999 spores per cubic meter of air as high, and above 50,000 as very high. At "high" levels most individuals with any sensitivity will experience
symptoms. AAAAI also provides absent, low, moderate, high, and very-high level level definitions for grass, tree, and weed pollen grains counted per cubic meter of outdoor air.
3. The University of Minnesota data presents this table for mold levels expressed in colony forming units per gram. WARNING: mold spores may be not viable (dead), wrong culture media may be used, or one species can overgrow another, etc. - so don't produce any colonies, but may be toxic if inhaled (such as some species of Penicillium). So we would not rely on culture data. But here it is: Concentration Qualitative Assessment of Mold Contamination LevelsColony Forming Units/gram - cultured mold samples as indicators of mold level in buildings
WARNING: about interpreting mold cultures: this is a very very inaccurate method for screening buildings for the level of mold contamination for many reasons, including that only 10% of all molds will grow on any culture under any condition. So this approach begins as 90% "wrong". Other mold level variables include the differences in settlement rate out of air as a function of particle size and weight, proximity to a mold contamination reservoir, and the problem that a serious toxic mold may be overgrown (if it grows at all) in the culture by a second mold species which hides the first one. See INDOOR AIR QUALITY METHODS COMPARED for details of these issues. 4.The American Conference of Government Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) stated (Harriet Burge et. al) stated in 1987 that indoor mold levels are generally less than 1/3 the outdoor level and that when indoor mold is at more than this level remedial action should betaken to find the source of the elevated counts and to clean it up. WARNING: this is an inaccurate and unreliable method for screening buildings for mold for many reasons, including:
See INDOOR AIR QUALITY METHODS COMPARED for details of these issues. 5. Other proposals for Mold Exposure Standards have included a limit of 500 CFU/ of mold spores per cubic meter of air in winter indoors in sub arctic climates (Reponen et al.1990). CFU means "colony forming units" of mold.
At MOLD CULTURE PLATE TEST ERRORS we have cited the range of errors and limitations of using cultures to check for viable mold, and we point out that depending on the particular mold genera and species present in a building, even non-viable mold may be allergenic or toxic. That is why experts in mold testing and remediation advise that the object is to remove mold or clean up mold in a moldy indoor environment, rather than attempting to "kill" mold indoors. Also see INDOOR AIR QUALITY METHODS COMPARED for details of these issues. Mold Exposure Levels - Sources of Variation in Mold Toxicity - a warning about single numbersSingle number "mold levels" are very unreliable as a measure of health risk in buildings for several reasons including at least the following: Particle levels vary widely over short time periods: The actual level of indoor particles in air varies by several orders of magnitude over very short few-minute intervals, making reliance on any single measurement questionable, particularly if the measurement does not show evidence of a problem. The absolute level of airborne particles in buildings varies enormously, possibly by a factor of hundreds to thousands, over intervals as short as a few minutes. Simple mechanical disturbance like turning on or off a fan can completely change individual measurement results. Short term measurements are therefore inaccurate and even longer term measurements are inaccurate if they do not consider the in-use variations in dust disturbance in a building. Human sensitivity to mold varies: Individual susceptibility to mold/mycotoxin/aflatoxin-related or allergy-related illness varies widely and human exposure is complex because people move among a variety of environments Finally, because of wide variation in individual human reaction and risk to mold, variation in allergenicity, pathogenicity, and toxicity among mold genera and individual species, and even additional variation in these levels depending on specific environmental conditions such as the substrate upon which a mold is growing (its food), quantitative risk-levels are better used as an overall indication of building cleanliness before and after a mold cleanup, and not as an absolute level of risk to building occupants. Mold Spore - Particle toxicity varies for many reasonsThere is very wide variance among the toxicity of individual mold species, ranging from none to probably highly toxic, pathogenic, or even carcinogenic Mold Spore size varies widely from less than 1 u to over 200u, so a large spore contains potentially more harmful material than a small spore of the same "toxicity," making a "count" that does not identify the particle and particle size ambiguous Mold spore toxicity may vary, even within an individual species, depending on what substrate the species is growing on in a particular instance, e.g. wood vs. drywall. Viable vs. non-viable toxic mold "spore counts"These mold spores vary in significance: procedures that use cultures to identify "viable" spores may omit high levels of non-viable spores which nonetheless remain highly toxic. Methods that rely on culturing have a high risk of identifying a mold which is present but is not the dominant or even the most problematic mold in the building. For more details see Mold Spore Counts: are indoor fungal spore counts valid? for further explanation. Other U.S. & World Government Mold Exposure StandardsFor the standards and references below, numbers are spores per cubic meter of air and do not consider individual or viable/non-viable or genera-species specific levels. There is a serious limitation of the standards since the spores of different genera and species vary widely in total size, mass, and toxicity. The level of airborne particles indoors varies enormously, by orders of magnitude, from moment to moment, making the strict interpretation of any "indoor air mold test" unreliable, as we discuss at ACCURACY OF AIRBORNE MOLD SPORE COUNTS. -DF
Note: Previous data provided at this web article had been obtained from a presentation by J.R. Tucker, EMS-sales, who presented data at the NC/SC Environmental Information Association 2005 Conference, Myrtle Beach, SC citing mold exposure standards from Brazil, mold exposure standards for Czechoslovakia, Mold exposure guidelines for Finland, Mold exposure standards set by the Nordic Council, mold standards cited by the World Health Organization WHO, and mold exposure standards for the Netherlands and lastly, mold exposure standards for Poland. Those figures were quoted in this article from the material provided at that conference. Mold exposure standard numbers were expressed spores per cubic meter of air and did not consider individual or viable/non-viable or genera-species specific levels. We have removed those data points at the request of Dr. Robert Brandys who informed us that he was and remains the original author. The Toxic Effects of Mycotoxins on Humans, Sheep, & Possibly on PetsMycotoxins are produced by some common molds found in buildings, including Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, Stachybotrys, and even Alternaria. Common classification groups of mycotoxins include aflatoxins, fumonisins, trichothecens, and ergot alkaloids. Arora has pointed out that the following conditions are necessary for mycotoxins to affect humans:
Human Health Complaints on Exposure to Problematic Mold, possibly including MycotoxinsGiven even these stringent criteria, field investigations of moldy buildings that we have conducted from 1986 to present, included both human building occupants and in some cases pets who appeared exhibit complaints or symptoms consistent with mycotoxin exposure. Some of these clients and their physicians confirmed that exposure by appropriate medical tests. Sheep Circling Disease and Toxic Mold ExposureA fellow aerobiologist who also has experience raising sheep, Larry Syzdek (PAAA member) informed us of a mold-related illness well known to occur in sheep which Syzdek explained has occurred in his experience in sheep exposed to moldy straw, called in lay terms, "sheep circling disease" (Listeriosis, however Listeria moncytogenes is the specific bacterium - not a mold - known to cause listeriosis, a disease which can affect both other animals and also humans, particularly pregnant women who are 20 times more likely than other healthy adults to get listeriosis). The author of this web article, (Friedman) has described field observations of dogs appearing to exhibit strange behavior (running in circles, falling down, disorientation, and occasional uncharacteristic aggressive behavior, and in one case, fatal internal bleeding after severe exposure to S. chartarum during a building demolition. These animals were pets of clients whose homes were severely mold-contaminated. With Syzdek, we have speculated on the possibility that other animals than sheep may be similar affected by exposure to some indoor molds and may be exhibiting behavior similar to that caused by Listgeriosis though the etiology of this disease is suspected to be different. These hypothetical remarks presented here intend to solicit additional field reports and data, possibly in support of future controlled studies. Readers should not assume that we have drawn conclusions from the suggestive anecdotal data currently at hand. Contamination levels of specific allergenic or toxic mold sporesSome species specific acceptable levels have been addressed and vary considerably by species, environmental conditions, and proponent. REFERENCE:A number of resources cited here are reviewed more carefully in "Comparisons of seasonal fungal prevalence in indoor and outdoor air and in house dusts of dwellings in one Northeast American County," Ping Ren,
Thomas M. Jaunkun and Brian P. Leaderer, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University School
of Medicine, New Haven Ct. and appearing in the Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology (1999) 9, 560-568.
http://www.stockton-press.co.uk See references below for important additional information such as mold testing, cleanup and mold remediation guideline resources. Stachybotrys chartarum in airAccording to A.S. Arora: Stachybotrys chartarum strain s72 contains 1.0x10-4 nanograms of satratoxin H per spore. 10 billion spores of s72 S. chartarum must be present in a single cubic meter of air to produce one milligram of satratoxin H per meter of air. Dr. Arora continues: "... it was calculated that a no-effect dose [in rats] corresponds to a 24-hour exposure to 3 billion spores per cubic meter of air for an infant [human], 9.5 billions spores per meter for school-age children, and 22 billion spores per cubic meter for adults." Dr. Arora did not expand his discussion to address any potential cumulative toxicity of longer term exposure to lower levels of mycotoxins in buildings. This "toxic black mold," Stachybotrys chartarum, infamous thanks to media attention, is not designed for airborne transmission, being large and sticky. Indeed we often find S. chartarum mold spores present in air samples when a dense colony of such mold is being mechanically disturbed, such as during demolition. But we have never seen it in air anywhere close to the levels cited as the "no-effect dose." We believe that we've been barking up the wrong mold-tree, and that one would be smarter to look in buildings for the Penicillium and Aspergillus families which spread throughout a building easily by airborne transmission REFERENCE: Content of this section paraphrased and others quoted from a guest column, "Understanding the Health Effects of Mold," by Dr. Ajit S. Arora, MD, PhD, appearing in AIHA's magazine "The Synergist," September 2003, in the AIH Diplomate section, Pages vi-vii. Dr. Arora is a forensic medical examiner and medical toxicologist in Los Angeles. See partheniamedical.com. Penicillium sp."Clean" residential buildings are typically 230/m3 +/- 630. We usually find only trace levels of Penicillium/Aspergillus indoors in residential buildings and offices, so counts even close to the "clean" level may make further investigation a reasonable course of action, particularly where the building houses occupants have complaints possibly due to mold, or occupants who may be at extra risk. Aspergillus sp.Holmberg (1987) associated Aspergillus spore levels over 50 CFU / cubic meter with sick building syndrome. We comment elsewhere that depending on culturing mold in buildings is unreliable since toxic or allergenic particles may be present but may be of a species or genera which either does not grow on a culture medium, or which is overgrown by something else on the medium. Further, relying on settlement plates to culture mold produces quantitatively skewed results since different particles settle out of air at different rates, confounding an estimate of their numbers. Anderson™ multi-stage samplers which develop culturable samples attempt to overcome the particle size problem.(C)Trap DJ Friedman Aspergillus sp. may be the most common and serious airborne mold problems in buildings: Opinion: from the author (DJ Friedman) based on extensive field investigations and laboratory work, we suspect that several species of Aspergillus are probably the most common and widespread problem mold found indoors in buildings. These spores are small, easily airborne, grow on a variety of surface materials, and move readily throughout a building almost like a gas (due to their small size) riding on building convection currents and remaining airborne for long periods of time. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about standards for acceptable or unacceptable toxic mold spore counts, levels, or measurements in building interiors.Question: can long term mold exposure affect the immune system?I have a friend who has been working as a kitchen manager at a nearby college for over twentyfive years. Six years ago she came down ill with something no doctor could diagnose. She was actually off on sick leave for just over a year before she could sufficiantly recover to go back to work. Every symptom named in Mold sickness were present. Now after being back at work for a couple years, same job, she is again crashing. Same symptoms. A couple months ago, there was a wall torn out to fix a leak behind the steamer that had been there for years. It came down the wall from an upstairs bathroom and it was a small leak that was tolerated and cleaned up daily. When finally the problem was fixed the walls inside the kitchen was evey color imaginable and a large portion was torn out and replaced. Mold remediation was not called in and a warning was given to the staff present at the time, that nothing could be said for surely the college would be shut down and extensive work would have to be done. She decided to retire since she it too tired to mvoe these days. I went with her today to clean out her desk. I have had chemical poisioning year ago and If there is any kind of chemical reaction going on, including mold, I immediatly fell the mold spores light, as if it were on my skin. It feels like a tiny pinprick and begins immediatly to itch and soon spread all over my body. I break out in red welts. I sat in her office today while she emptied her desk and locker. By the time we got back to the vehicle to drive away, I realized without a doubt that I had been in the presence of airborn mold spores. By the time we drove the twenty minutes home, I had to strip, take a shower, wash my cloths with bleach and take a benedryl. I think she has had long term exposure to the mold and therefore, her immune system is highly effected. What do you think? - Chaplain CJ Echols Reply:It sounds as if you and your friend needs to consult a doctor who is expert in environmental medicine for expert help in both diagnosis and treatment. Ask the doc what sorts of contaminants or exposures are most likely to cause or aggravate the complaints. Question: Accurate mold counts? How do we know if our school is safe?So reading this article it seems that accurately determining mold counts is very tough. So how do we know if our school is safe? We do know that there has been a lot of black mold found behind walls and other places. And that indoor mold counts in some classrooms is about 5000 count per cubic meter. But what do we do now? The administration just says 'It's fine.' - My school has mold Reply:My School: Reader follow-up comment: Yes.. I agree.. the 'All if fine' routine from admin and the superintendent is a bit worrisome. But no one seems to be doing anything about it. Any idea who or what department or agency I should call to look into this? Thanks!!! Reply: MOLD EXPERT, WHEN TO HIRE will give you some help in deciding if it's appropriate to bring in an independent expert; if so, you'll then have a credible third party who can provide information to your school administrators. There may be legal or procedural issues about who has authority to bring in someone - be sure you've resolved those before hiring anyone. Question: how to interpret airborne mold count levelsk, 1833 Aspergillus/Penicillium outdoors & 8553 indoors?My workplace has a mold problem and a air sample analysis was done in August. I just got a copy of it as my doctor requested it. Question is - report shows outside level of 1833 or 4.2% Aspergillus/Penicillium and inside count of 8553 or 97.0% per cubic meter of Aspergillus/Penicillium. What do these numbers suggest? All 6 employees are having health issues. Reply:My Work: Question: Are there health risks to building occupants during duct cleaning & ceiling replacement?My company is having the building cleaned, the ductwork replaced and ceiling tiles replaced. They have been telling us that there is no health risk to us working in the building. The report that I was given really doesn't say how bad the air quality is. I am just a small fish at the bottom of a very large corporate pool and told I have a job to do. - Anonymous Reply:Anon: There may be OSHA or other regulations that should guide cleaning or renovation work in your building, and if hazardous materials are present that is surely the case. More generally, if the cleaners in your building are taking steps to control the release of dust during the work, such as setting up containment, using negative air machines, or HEPA vaccuming, or if the work is being performed in areas whose air and dust does not readily enter the work area, the risk to occupants is of course reduced. Question: Following a death due to mold exposure in a building, how long can the spores live after the source has been removed?How long can the spores live after the source has been removed? How serious is the contamination of personal items in the home and how long after the source is removed, are they safe if ever? More specifically, we are dealing with exposure to a home 4 years after a death occured in the home due to mycotoxicosis of asperigillus and stachybotrys. The original source of the mold was not in this home, but rather at a work place. A year after the death, family members and a caregiver came down with symptoms and now test positive for the same toxins the family member died of. They claim the house is cross contaminated and abandoned it. 3 years later, we were hired to clean out the home and just found out this information. 3 years ago at the time of the abandonment, the house was tested and found to be 16 times the normal levels of the mold spores. Unknowingly, we brought items into our home, donated items to friends and charity, and cleaned the entire home with out face masks or respirators. A 3 year old child and pregnant woman were also exposed. Should we be concerned? - Tracey Reply: dead mold spores may still be a problem; but small or sub-acute levels of moldy dust without an actual mold growth reservoir are not normally a problemTracey: If you continue to be concerned about having imported moldy dust into your home you should take these steps to reduce that concern: Make sure that your own home does not have its own leaks, moisture problems, and hidden or visible mold growth reservoir, independent of any dust that you may have imported. HEPA Vacuum and wipe dusty surfaces in the home Wash or dry clean clothing that may have been exposed to high levels of moldy dust or other problem dust contamination Change air filters in your heating or air conditionong system See MOLD EXPERT, WHEN TO HIRE for more advice on how to decide if it is appropriate and justified to bring in an expert to survey the building for problem mold contamination or other IAQ worries. Question: can you refer me to a mold inspector in Germany?Can you recommend mold inspectors in Kaiserslautern Germany? I am in the US Military and recently moved here and think I have mold in my rental house. Reply: sources of mold experts and advice on choosing oneBrian, you should contact your base medical and health officers for advice on inspecting your home for health worries, and see MOLD EXPERT, WHEN TO HIRE Moldy odors are produced by some, not all, species of mold, and even then, not in all conditions. The production of MVOCs (mold volatile organic compounds) that you smell in air depends on the genera/species of mold, the surface on which it is growing, and growth conditions such as moisture, temperature, light exposure. And similarly, mold spore release is a natural event that occurs depending on growing conditions as well as on mechanical disturbance such as during demolition or cleaning. Question: Can you Interpret my Mold Test Report?My Mother had some testing done for mold in her home. I was hoping that you could shed some light on this. This threw her into panic mode. She has had some sinus problems which could be related to this mold in home. I am reaching out to you so that we know how quickly this needs to be remediated. I have attached a Mold test report [edited to remove personal information - ed.] that I was hoping you could decipher or point me in the right direction of a company that I could reach out to here in Wyoming, Michigan where my Mother’s home is located. I believe she does have some moisture problems as she has some peeling paint in most rooms of the main level. For years she has worried about the insulation in the attic but just too busy to get to the source of the problem. Thanks - A.R. Reply:We took a look at your mold test report and note that your mold investigator through visual inspection and lab report concluded that professional mold cleaning is needed at your home. As we have not seen your property much less inspected it, in my opinion the person whom you paid to examine the home should be the first one in line to answer your questions about how to proceed. If s/he does not provide the service of explaining what was found and what you need to do about it, we might wonder what you paid for. Certainly in our opinion it would be a unconscionable to have to hire a second person just to explain what the first one said. We agree with the approach of answering a mold remediation need question through a combined building inspection for visual evidence of the location and extent of mold contmaination, an interview with building occupants to estanblish the history ofthe home and possible occupant health concerns, limited testing to confirm that the mold seen is not just "cosmetic" is appropriate in some cases, and the combination of the experience of the inspector and lab results with the application of general mold level standards described by a reasonable and non-quantitative industry standard IICRC S520: Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Mold Remediation [9] Watch out: you 'll want to be sure that the inspection of the home was thorough and that it identified both all areas that need mold remediation, the extent of remediation needed, and the causes of mold growth that need to be corrected. Without that level of information, in other words, a professional mold remediation plan, not just a "test report", you are at risk of wasting money by doing an incomplete job. Question: Why are there no mold standards for the workplace?
Would you be able to help me/us? Thanks again for getting back to me so quickly. - K.O. Reply: Giving any single number for allowable mold exposure as a "standard" borders on junk scienceThank you for the interesting question - it helps us realize where we need to work on making our text more clear or more complete. A competent onsite inspection by an expert usually finds additional clues that help accurately diagnose a problem including addressing the question of whether or not there is in fact an indoor environmental hazard in your workplace. Your statement that "mold was found..." itself is not diagnostic - I can find some mold in just about any building, new or old, anywhere in the world. Whether or not that constitutes a health risk depends mostly on the size of the mold contamination, also on how mold spores may become airborne and move through the building, and of course the genera/species of the dominant mold present - ranging from harmless cosmetic to seriously harmful. Presumptive questionsI am also interested in your posing of the question " why is there no standards for mold in the workplace?" Often people will pose a question in a manner that presumes a-priori something that is simply not true - a silly example is the old saw of a legal question "Are you still beating your wife?" which presumes the individual ever beat his wife at all in the first place. Actually there are dozens of attempts at "mold standards", both quantitative (questionable as I explain below) and qualitative (sensible as I explain in the article above) as you can see in the references section of this article. That said, here are some things to consider in answering your presumptive question. Immediate action:Take a look at MOLD EXPERT, WHEN TO HIRE for criteria that help decide if hiring an expert for a building is needed. Basically, if you see more than 30 sqft. of non-cosmetic mold indoors in a building (a few indoor molds are cosmetic only) then professional mold remediation is in order, period, and your building management would be mistaken to conclude otherewise. For cases where a large problem mold reservoir is not immediately visible and obvious, this article could be most helpful to you in deciding if there is reason to believe your workplace has conditions that make further, expert investigation appropriate. Why single number mold standards are not accurate nor very usefulMold "standards" that give an acceptable or unacceptable number of spores are really close to nonsense except at such very high levels as to be both unambiguous and not useful for less obvious mold contamination problems. In other words, at very high levels of problematic spores there is no argument that there is a problem to be found and removed. But that sledgehammer approach is not useful. There are 1.5 million species that vary in toxicity to about 3 million levels if one adds the effects on toxicity of the substrate on which mold is growing. You'd need standards for each mold species by type, weight, growing conditions. The health effects of inhaling a specific genera/species of spore are so widespread, that a single numeric standard would just be junk science. Add to that the enormous variation in the "exposure level" found by different approaches to testing and the impact of varying building conditions, air movement, temperature, occupancy etc. looking for a standard is waiting for Godot. Add to that factor a wide range of human or other animal response to mold exposure and a standard becomes still more difficult. I've instrumented some clients who responded with extreme distress to very low levels of airborne Aspergillus sp. (less than 300 spores/M3 of air) for example - an airborne mold level well below most accepted opinions of "what level of mold describes a contaminated building?" Even the standard of comparing indoor to outdoor spore levels is highly questionable - since we can and usually are comparing numbers of completely different molds - an apples to oranges comparison. However it is possible to combine an expert and complete outdoor and indoor and mechanicals system building inspection, interviews with building occupants, and some testing to guide a decision on what cleanup may be needed in a building. An experienced building diagnostician will consider some very general rules that help point to the presence of absence of a problematic indoor mold reservoir that needs to be found and removed and its cause corrected. "Testing" without a thorough inspection and interview is frankly not reliable. What should be the approach to evaluating a mold-suspect building?What is needed is an approach to deciding if there is an actionable problem in a building where obvious hazards (such as more than 30 sqft of problematic mold contamination) are not immediately apparent. And the conditions of exposure matter too. A worker whose job requires spending hours a day in a moldy automobile such as the one illustrated above could be exposed to serious hazards even when the total square feet of moldy material could be as small as just the interior of the vehicle air conditioning system. Details of moldy automobile hazards are at CAR MOLD CONTAMINATION References to some helpful articles on mold standards, testing, expertise and need for an investigation
Please keep me posted on how things progress, and send along photos if you can. Such added details can help us understand what's happening and often permit some useful further comment. What we both learn may help me help someone else. Question: what are safe and reasonable airborne mold counts for a home?to editor Hi, I have been trying to find a source that lists what are considered to be safe and reasonable mold airborne counts for a home. Do you have this or can you direct me to a resource. Appreciate your help. - P.P. 5/17/2013 Reply:Sure:
The third article points out that airborne mold counts are close to junk science because of the range of variability that encompasses several orders of magnitude. Furthermore, since among the 1.5 million or so mold genera/species there is wide variation in particle size, probability of growing as an indoor mold, and toxicity, it is rather unreliable to consider only "mold count" without knowing something about what mold is actually present in the building as well as what molds are being detected in a test.
Let me know if any of that material is unclear or confusing and I'll do my best to help further. ... Ask a Question or Search InspectApediaQuestions & answers or comments about standards for acceptable or unacceptable toxic mold spore counts, levels, or measurements in building interiors. Ask a Question or Enter Search Terms in the InspectApedia search box just below. Technical Reviewers & ReferencesRelated Topics, found near the top of this page suggest articles closely related to this one.
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
|
|||||||