Experimental evaluation of the growth rate of mould on finishes for indoor housing environments: Effects of the 2002/91/EC directive (original) (raw)

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF MOULD GROWTH IN DWELLINGS

2000

The avoidance of mould growth in dwellings is of worldwide concern. In England and Wales, the relevant Building Regulations guidance document recommends ventilation provisions to control both moisture and other pollutants in buildings. The performance criterion for moisture states that there should be no visible mould on external walls in a properly heated dwelling with typical moisture production. The relevant guidance document (ADF) further states that this moisture criterion will be met if the Relative Humidity (RH) in a room does not exceed 70% for more than 2 hours in any 12 hour period, and does not exceed 90% for more than 1 hour in any 12 hour period during the heating season. This paper presents initial exploratory results on the investigation of these performance criteria, which is a part of a much larger study relating to RH in dwellings. A number of experiments in a tightly controlled environmental chamber programmed to maintain suitable profiles of RH levels and temperatures which relate to typical surface conditions in dwellings in England and Wales have been carried out.

Normal background levels of air and surface mould reserve in UK residential building stock

This paper reports results obtained from a surface (both visually clean and dirty/dusty surfaces) and active (aggressive) air testing scheme on 140 residential rooms in England, without visible water damage or mould growth, along with a few rooms with visible mould growth/water damage tested for comparison purposes, with the aim of providing background levels of mould in non-water-damaged interiors to benchmark a normal indoor environment, and in turn when there is a need for further investigation, and, possibly, remediation. Air and surface mould was quantified based on the activity of β-N-acetylhexosaminidase (EC 3.2.1.52; NAHA). The obtained readings showed a log-normal distribution. 98% of the samples obtained from visually clean surfaces were equal to or less than 25 relative fluorescence units (RFU), which is suggested to be the higher bound for the range which can be used as a success criterion for surface cleaning/remediation in non-problem buildings. Of samples obtained fro...

Comparison of test methods for mould growth in buildings

2016

The purpose of this work is to compare a range of test methods and kits for assessing whether a building structure is infested by mould fungi. A further purpose of this work is to evaluate whether air-based methods for sampling fungal emissions provide information qualifying decisions concerning renovation needs. This is of importance when hidden surface testing would require destructive measures and subsequent renovation. After identifying available methods on the Danish market for assessing mould growth in dwellings, a case study was conducted to test the usefulness of the methods in four dwellings of different typology and with or without known mould infestations. In each dwelling seven methods were used in parallel. The criteria for choosing the different methods were that they had to be nondestructive, relatively quick and easy, and frequently used by building professionals. The chosen methods measure different aspects relating to mould growth and vary in selectivity and precis...

Poor Indoor air quality and mould growth in commercial buildings

Facilities management involves guiding and managing the operations and maintenance of buildings, precincts and community infrastructure on behalf of property owners. Over the last couple of years, there has been renewed interest in the topic of mould and indoor air quality due partly to heightened public and media interest in the health effects associated with mould exposure, the impacts of bad indoor air quality on occupants in both residential and commercial properties and the legal liabilities associated with these hazards. It is therefore crucial that facility managers are seen to be engaging risk minimisation techniques and procedures to manage these risks on behalf of property owners. One of the key criterions for facilities management is to ensure that they provide a healthy and comfortable environment for occupants of a building. This editorial targets the issue of mould, its impact on indoor air quality (IAQ), the occupant and the structure of a building. Mould Inspection guidelines, assessment and grading process, remediation techniques and the importance of clearance testing are discussed.

Occupational Exposure to Moulds in Buildings

Indoor and Built Environment, 2001

Airborne moulds are ubiquitous and have evolved to exploit the man-made spatial ecosystems of our built environment, where they manipulate the microclimates and ecological niches of our buildings and feed on a variety of substrates. The problems of occupational exposure to moulds are not new but are gaining new prominence because Building Health Building affects the health of occupants in many ways, for example building related illnesses (BRI), Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) and allergy and environmental health problems (AEHP). The most common building health problems in buildings relates to dampness and condensation resulting in mould growth, respiratory problems and allergies. Monitoring and Risk Assessment A range of instrumentation is available for monitoring moulds in the indoor environment. The choice of sampler requires careful consideration of the purposes of the investigation, the information required, the characteristics of the moulds in the environment being studied and the sampling and trapping efficiencies of the available samplers. Other methods include sampling airborne allergens, airborne mycotoxins, sampling volatile metabolites and endotoxins. Environmental Management Much damage has been inflicted in last Century by dealing with the symptoms of the problems and not with the causes. By proper understanding of the courses, its repetition should be avoided in this Century. The environmental approach is beneficial to the building fabric, occupants and to the wider environment.

Normal background levels of air and surface mould reserve in English residential building stock: A preliminary study towards benchmarks based on NAHA measurements

This paper reports results obtained from a surface (both visually clean and dirty/dusty surfaces) and active (aggressive or activated) air testing scheme on 140 residential rooms in England, without visible water damage or mould growth, along with a few rooms with visible mould growth/water damage tested for comparison purposes. The aim is to establish normal background levels of mould in non-water-damaged interiors to benchmark a normal indoor environment, and in turn when there is a need for further investigation, and, possibly, remediation. Air and surface mould was quantified based on the activity of β-N-acetylhexosaminidase (EC 3.2.1.52; NAHA). The obtained readings showed a log-normal distribution. 98% of the samples obtained from visually clean surfaces were equal to or less than 25 relative fluorescence units (RFU), which is suggested to be the higher bound for the range which can be used as a success criterion for surface cleaning/remediation in non-problem buildings. Of sa...

Impact of paint and wall-paper on mould growth on plasterboards and aluminum

Building and Environment, 2010

Biocide-free and biocide-treated plasterboards as well as aluminum plate as a reference material normally considered as being insensitive to mould growth have been used as substrate to check the influence of different common wall coverings, i.e. paints and wall papers, on fungal growth. The results described in this paper show that any non-biodegradable material (such as aluminum) can become a substrate to fungal infestation once painted or wall paper applied, depending on the type of paint or wall paper used. Moreover, a biodegradable material treated with a biocide (biocide-treated plasterboard) offers partial resistance to fungal growth at a biodegradable surface covering.