Occupational Exposure to Moulds in Buildings (original) (raw)

2001, Indoor and Built Environment

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.