Miller, J.D., Haisley, P.D.
and Reinhardt, J.H 2000
Air sampling results in
relation to extent of fungal colonization of building materials in some
water-damaged buildings
Source: Indoor Air -
International Journal of Indoor Air Quality and Climate, 10 (3): 146-151
Abstract:
We studied the extent
and nature of fungal colonization of building materials in 58 naturally
ventilated apartments that had suffered various kinds of water damage in
relation to air sampling done before the physical inspections. The
results of air samples from each apartment were compared by rank order
of species with pooled data from outdoor air. Approximately 90% of the
apartments that had significant amounts of fungi in wall cavities were
identified by air sampling. There was no difference in the average
fungal colony forming unit values per m(3) between the 15 apartments
with the most fungal contamination and the 15 with the least. In
contrast, the prevalence of samples with fungal species significantly
different than the pooled outdoor air between the more contaminated
versus the less contaminated apartments was approximately 10-fold. We
provide information on methods to document fungal contamination in
buildings. |
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