National Public Health Institute, Division of Environmental Health,

Laboratory of Environmental Microbiology, e-mail: aino.nevalainen@ktl.fi

Moisture and mould problems have been assessed as a major problem in the modern building stock, and their repair and prevention are one of the most important challenges in the research of building technology. As these problems often lead to health complaints among the users, the prerequisite of a successful repair process is the identification of the ultimate causes of the moisture accumulation and the development of reasonable repair methods. This work must go in parallel with the health-related research including the prevention of diseases and wellbeing of the occupants. Suitable methods for the follow-up of the success of the repairs are urgently needed. The technical criteria of the repair planning may somewhat differ from the health-based criteria. For example, a material previously contaminated with mycotoxins may still be technically usable, but not acceptable for health-based reasons.

The aim of the study is to develop method for monitoring the success of moisture and mould repairs. The strategy is to combine the technical and health-based approach. The material for the study will be collected from large repair projects with an intervention-type study design. The exposure and health status of the occupants will be followed throughout the process and the technical repair solutions will be carefully documented.