MOLD AWARENESS

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2004
Vincent J. Giblin, General President
MOLD AWARENESS
2

• This material was produced under grant number
  46C5-HT16 from the Occupational Safety and Health
  Administration, U.S. Department of Labor. It
  does not necessarily reflect the views or
  policies of the U.S. Department of Labor, nor
  does mention of trade names, commercial products,
  or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S.
  Government.

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MOLD AWARENESS
International Environmental Technology and
Training Center
1293 Airport Road, Beaver, WV 25813 Phone (304)
253-8674 - Fax [phone] E-mail
hazmat_at_iuoeiettc.org
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Objectives

• Mold versus fungi
• Fungi in history and its importance
• Describe parts and types of fungi
• Identify health hazards of fungi
• Cause and prevention of indoor fungal growth
• Current guidance for remediation of fungi
• Recommended personal protective equipment
• Describe air monitoring limitations and exposure
  limits
• Fungi versus asbestos

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What is Mold?

• General term used for fungi that produce asexual
  spores
• Artificial grouping similar to the term weed
• No taxonomic significance
• Generally refers to a visible colony of fungi
  growing in an indoor environment.
• Mildew is a laypersons term referring to mold
  growing in and on substances such as fabrics and
  wood.

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What is Fungi?

• Kingdom of eukaryotic organisms, without
  chlorophyll, that have cells bound by rigid walls
• Organisms classified in this kingdom
• Absorb food in solution directly through their
  cell walls and reproduce through spores
• None conduct photosynthesis

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What are these?
Common Mushroom (Agaricus bisporus)
Smooth Earthball (Scleroderma cepa)
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Linnean Classification Categories

• Category
• Kingdom
• Phylum
• Class
• Order
• Family
• Genus
• Species

• Corresponding taxon for man
• Animalia
• Chordata
• Mammalia
• Primates
• Hominidae
• Homo
• Sapiens

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Biological Classification of the Fungi Kingdom
Includes

• Mushrooms
• Athlete's foot
• Apple-scab
• Corn smut
• Slime moulds

• Stinkhorns
• Wheat rust
• Wood rots
• Truffles
• Yeasts
• And many more

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Alexander Fleming

• In 1928, while working on influenza virus, he
  observed that mold had developed accidentally on
  a staphylococcus culture plate
• Mold had created a bacteria-free circle around
  itself.
• Mold culture prevented growth of staphylococci
• Even when diluted 800 times
• Named the active substance penicillin

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Hyphae Size

• Hair 100 microns
• Hyphae belong to the genus Penicillium and they
  are about 2-4 microns across

Hyphae of the water mold Saprolegnia 
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Spore Size

• Outdoor air normally always contains some level
  of these airborne mold spores
• Hundreds or even thousands of mold spores per
  cubic foot of outdoor air
• Cladosporium produce light and buoyant spores
  that aerosolize easily
• Dry, maintained carpet typically contains at
  least 100,000 mold spores per gram of carpet dust

Light Microscope Image of Aspergillus Spores
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Spore Size - Puffball

• Most molds reproduce by forming spores that
  disperse into the air in search of more food and
  moisture (similar to seed dispersal from plants)
• Millions of spores being released into the
  atmosphere from a puffball
• Most filamentous mold spores are microscopic and
  therefore, invisible to the naked eye

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Mycotoxins

• Fungi that produce mycotoxins are referred to as
  toxigenic fungi
• Aspergillus
• Fusarium
• Penicillium
• Stachybotrys
• Myrothecium
• Fungi that produce potent mycotoxins
• Seldom abundant in outdoor ambient air.
• Most toxic exposures occur from indoor growth of
  fungi related to excessive moisture

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Aflatoxin

• Food products contaminated with aflatoxins
• Cereal (maize, sorghum, pearl millet, rice,
  wheat)
• Oilseeds (groundnut, soybean, sunflower, cotton)
• Spices (chillies, black pepper, coriander,
  turmeric, zinger)
• Tree nuts (almonds, pistachio, walnuts, coconut)
• Milk.
• Contamination costs US producers more than 100
  million per year on average
• 26 millions to peanuts (69.34/ha)
• Animals that have consumed feed contaminated with
  aflatoxins

Aspergillus flavus
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How do I know what mold I have?

• Bluish-green to green
• Penicillium
• Aspergillus
• Black to brown-black
• Aspergillus niger
• Alternaria alternata
• Cladosporium herbarum
• Cladosporium sphaerospermum
• Stachybotrys chartarum
• Reddish or pink
• Fusarium

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Common Fungi

• Cladosporium
• Penicillium
• Alternaria
• Aspergillus

Penicillium chrysogenum
Aspergillus ochraceus
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Killer Black Mold?

• Stachybotrys chartarum
• 35 of the isolates from buildings produce
• SUPER TOXIC cytotoxic mycotoxins and satratoxins.

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Health Effects

• All molds have the potential to cause health
  effects.
• (US Environmental Protection Agency)
• The ACGIH approach has been to emphasize that
  active fungal growth in indoor environments is
  inappropriate and may lead to exposures and
  adverse health effects.
• (American Conference of Governmental Industrial
  Hygienists)
• There are very few case reports that toxic molds
  inside homes can cause unique or rare health
  conditions The common health concerns from
  molds include hay-fever like allergic symptoms.
• (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

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Health Effects

• Burning eyes
• Headache
• Nausea
• Nose bleeds
• Allergic Reactions
• Asthma
• Exhaustion
• Sinus infections

• Cognitive disorders
• Pulmonary hemorrhage
• Liver damage
• Central nervous system damage
• Brain damage
• Cancer
• Death

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How Do I Prevent Fungi Growth?

• Prevent ponding of water
• Fix water leaks promptly
• Keep relative humidity below 50
• Dry wetted materials within 48 hours

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Water Damage

• Catastrophic
• Storm flooding
• Sewage backflow
• Plumbing breaks
• Insidious
• Water intrusion,
• Moisture buildup
• Neglect

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Ponding on Roof
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Relative Humidity

• The amount of water vapor in the air at any given
  time is usually less than that required to
  saturate the air.
• The relative humidity is the percent of
  saturation humidity, generally calculated in
  relation to saturated vapor density.

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Relative Humidity
Relative Humidity (RH) X 100
(Actual Vapor Density) -------------------- (Saturation Vapor Density)

• Indicates how moist the air is
• Ratio of the water vapor density (mass per unit
  volume) to the saturation water vapor density,
  usually expressed in percent

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Relative Humidity
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Guidelines on Assessment and Remediation of Fungi
in Indoor Environments

• NYC Department of Health Guidelines
• 5 Levels of remediation
• Delineates HVAC as its own type of remediation

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Guidelines on Assessment and Remediation of Fungi
in Indoor Environments

• Level I Small Isolated Areas
• (10 sq. ft or less) ceiling tiles, small areas on
  walls
• Level II Mid-Sized Isolated Areas
• (10 - 30 sq. ft.) individual wallboard panels
• Level III Large Isolated Areas
• (30 - 100 square feet) several wallboard panels
• Level IV Extensive Contamination
• (greater than 100 contiguous square feet in an
  area)
• Level V Remediation of HVAC Systems (within in
  the system)
• A Small Isolated Area of Contamination (lt10
  square feet)
• Areas of Contamination (gt10 square feet)

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Guidelines for the Protection and Training of
Workers Engaged in Maintenance andRemediation
Work Associated with Mold

• NIEHS Guidelines
• Recommended 8-hour training by IUOE
• Table 10 Low-level HVAC Mold Maintenance Work
  Course

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Guidelines for the Protection and Training of
Workers Engaged in Maintenance andRemediation
Work Associated with Mold

• Table 10 Low-level HVAC Mold Maintenance Work
  Course

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IICRC S520 Standard Reference Guide for
Professional Mold Remediation

• Professional guidance for water damage
  restoration provided by the IICRC
• Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and
  Restoration Certification (IICRC)
• Locate and eliminate moisture sources
• Physically remove the contamination
• Clean and dry structural materials
• Attempts to kill or encapsulate mold are not
  adequate to solve the problem

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How Do I Get Rid of Mold?

• Fix the leak or eliminate source of water
• Remove moist organic matter needed to grow
• Remove areas of fungi contamination
• Treat fungal growth with a fungicide
• Use a 101 bleach and water solution

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Fix the Leak
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Moist Organic Matter
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Respiratory Protection

• APR and PAPR
• P100 cartridge

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PPE

• Eye protection
• Hand protection
• Foot protection
• Disposable coverall
• Tyvek
• Respiratory Protection

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Fungicides

• BenzaRid is a professional colorless, water
  soluble 1750 quaternary ammonium (benzalkonium
  chloride) mold killer
• Only kills mold spores which it comes into actual
  contact with
• Lotrimin AF for Athletes Foot
• Antifungal
• Plant fungicide
• Chlorine dioxide

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Fungal Exposure Limits

• OSHA
• PEL ?
• ACGIH
• TLV?
• NIOSH
• REL?

Why?
ALARA As Low As Reasonably Achievable
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Air Sampling

• Visual Inspection
• most important initial step in identifying a
  possible contamination problem
• Bulk/Surface Sampling
• not required to undertake a remediation
• may need to be collected to identify specific
  fungal contaminants

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Air Sampling

• Should not be part of a routine assessment, but
  may be necessary if
• An individual(s) has been diagnosed with a
  disease that is or may be associated with a
  fungal exposure (e.g., pulmonary
  hemorrhage/hemosiderosis, and aspergillosis)
• Evidence from a visual inspection or bulk
  sampling that ventilation systems may be
  contaminated
• Presence of mold is suspected (e.g., musty odors)
  but cannot be identified by a visual inspection
  or bulk sampling (e.g., mold growth behind walls)
• If air monitoring is performed, collect and
  outdoor and indoor samples

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Mold is Gold

• No established exposure limits
• No mandated training requirements
• No established clearance criteria
• Public concern/fear
• Fungi Versus Asbestos
• Fungi is living
• Spore can regenerate

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• This material was produced under grant number
  46C5-HT16 from the Occupational Safety and Health
  Administration, U.S. Department of Labor. It
  does not necessarily reflect the views or
  policies of the U.S. Department of Labor, nor
  does mention of trade names, commercial products,
  or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S.
  Government.

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End

• This publication was made possible by grant
  numbers 5 U45 ES06182-07 and 5 U45 ES09763-07
  from the National Institute of Environmental
  Health Sciences, NIH with funds from EPA and DOE.
  Its contents are solely the responsibility of
  the authors and do not necessarily represent the
  official views of the NIEHS, NIH, EPA, or DOE.