Investigating the presence of mold in wood treated with chlorophenol

A common moisture-related problem in Sweden and other countries, is mold odor indoors. The general perception is that mold odor indicates hazardous hidden mold. However, some grey literature studies indicate that the source of mold odor might not be substantial amounts of mold, but rather chloroanisoles (CAs) which are biomethylated from chlorophenols (CPs) in moist conditions. Products containing CPs were commonly used world-wide as wood preservatives in the 1960-70s and problems with indoor mold odor have been reported in buildings where such products have been used. In Sweden, one of the main uses of CPs in buildings was in wooden constructions exposed to big moisture loads, such as sill plates and crawl space ceilings. Here we aimed to determine the potential presence and level of mold growth on wood treated with CPs in one school building with reported odor problems built in the stated time period. Odorous wooden samples were taken and analyzed for mold growth. No mold was detected by the naked eye, but some growth was seen using a microscope. We presently investigate more schools and samples, but so far our results question that mold odor depends on substantial amounts of mold.

Asthma Risk Associated with Indoor Mold Contamination in Hispanic Communities in Eastern Coachella Valley, California

Indoor mold contamination has been associated in many studies with an increased risk of asthma and respiratory illness. This study investigated indoor mold contamination and the prevalence of asthma/respiratory illness in two low-income, Hispanic communities, Mecca and Coachella City, in the Eastern Coachella Valley (ECV) of California. The study consisted of a questionnaire to assess asthma/respiratory illness and the quantification of mold contamination in house dust samples using the Environmental Relative Moldiness Index (ERMI) scale. About 11% of the adults and 17% of the children in both Mecca and Coachella City met our definitions of asthma/respiratory illness. The average ERMI values in Mecca and Coachella City housing (10.3 and 6.0, respectively) are in the top 25% of ERMI values for the United States (US) homes. Overall, the homes surveyed in these ECV communities had an average prevalence of occupant asthma of 12.8% and an average ERMI value of 9.0. The prevalence of asthma/respiratory illness in the Hispanic communities of Mecca and Coachella City and the mold contamination in their homes appear to be greater than the averages for the rest of the US. The higher levels of mold contamination in their homes appear to be associated with a greater risk of asthma/respiratory illness for these low-income, Hispanic communities.

Validation of a quantitative PCR based detection system for indoor mold exposure assessment in bioaerosols

Validation of a newly developed qPCR based detection system showed that sample spiking, parallel measurements of known references and final data normalization are crucial for reliability and possible comparison of air quality assessments addressing indoor mold.