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The following is part of a series of handouts I am preparing for abatement supervisors and workers.  It is intended to get them to think critically about the procedures and methods they use when performing mold, asbsetos, or hazardous material abatement.  By no means is it meant to be a completely exhaustive document.  Feel free to use and distribute. Clicking on the image should provide a larger, clear view if it appears slightly blurry in your internet browser.

Tags:   HEPA Air Filter · HEPA Vacuum · Mold Abatement · Mold SupervisorNo Comments.

The following was from a question regarding which air purifier is the best (home or residential model), the short answer is it depends, and as long its HEPA you won’t go too far wrong.

 Before an answer, I have a question for you: “What problem do you want the air filter to fix ?”

The most effective air filtration method for particulates is High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA). A properly fitted and mounted HEPA filter device, will filter out 99.97 particles 0.3 microns or larger. Most air purifiers combine HEPA (beware HEPA type or HEPA-like they aren’t the same) with some other technology such as - charged plates (Ionic), germicidal light (UV), ozone, or carbon filters.

Ionic - interestng idea I believe HEPA is superior, though HEPA will require periodic filter replacement. I would not purchase just an Ionic machine without HEPA.

Germicidal light or ultraviolet-c will kill mold and bacterial, I am unsure if the particles will have adequate dwell time in the UV chamber to be killed. Stand HEPA filters may be degraded by UV light exposure. This is a could be nice feature, depending on how it is implemented in the individual machine.

Ozone - pass on it. In order for the ozone to be effective the machine would need to generate enough ozone to be potentially harmful to you. Ozone can actually be a lung irritant. Ozone works by oxidizing some substance, be it a germ, or the plastic seal on something, the substance formed by the oxidation reaction may be worse than the original. Skip this one in general.

Carbon Filters: If you believe there is some sort of volatile organic chemicals (fumes, off-gassing new home materials, etc) then the carbon filter could be a good addition to HEPA. Look for a device with a separate carbon and HEPA filter.

Air Volume! This is an important criteria, if your bedroom has an area of 120 square feet with 8 foot ceilings, then it has a volume of 960 cubic feet. Most air purifiers probably have a low end through-put range somewhere between 20-50 cubic feet for minute (CFM). Assuming the theoretical bed room was sealed so no air moved in or out it would take a 20 CFM unit 48 minutes (960/20 = 48) to potentially move all the air in the room through the room.

Given that your room will not be hermetically sealed the air purifier is only going to have a limitted area of influence. Place the unit so that the filtered air is directed to the area you are occupying most of the time — couch or bedroom ?

With that in mind your best bet is an affordable HEPA based unit that moves a good amount of air (within a tolerable noise limit). Don’t believe the HYPE on maintenance free, any product that are you are probably going to use on a near continuous basis is going to require some maintenance. When checking on a model look for the cost of replacement filters. Some machines may be more expensive upfront, but have a lower cost over the life of the machine based on filter replacement costs.

Tags:   Air Purifier · HEPA · Ultraviolet CNo Comments.

Within the last few days there has been a high volume of school related mold stories. These are were all posted  in the last few days (January 9th, 2007)

 ATLANTICVILLE — School nurse says mold in office made her sick - New Jersy
 

FREEPORT — Mold infesting exterior walls at Freeport Middle School has ousted teachers and students from five classrooms until the problem can be fixed next week.  - Maine
 

WILLIAMSTOWN — Wood County Schools is calling in a specialist this week after complaints of possible mold contamination in Williamstown Elementary School. -Ohio

WESTVIEW —A second lawsuit has been issued against the Weakley County Board of Education, according to press release from Parrish and Shaw, a Memphis-based law firm.-Tennessee

 As concerns grow about exposure to mold, and questions are raised particularly about mold in schools. I imagine there eventually be national media attention, which will escalate concern into fear.  Informed concern is good, it indicates an attempt to understand and make a reasonable response.  Fear is bad as it prompts parties to first seek or avoid blame, and then respond rashly in the attempt to make the problems and complaints go away at almost any cost.

 How does this affect Hawaii?  Given the aging nature of our schools, add in the recent rainy season, and we will almost assurredly have at least one instance of mold in a school become a “media worthy’ event.  I’ve noticed with media exposure, mold seems to have a domino or bandwagonning effect. Sniffles or sneezes are immediately blamed on mold.

Obvioulsy potential negative health effects have been associated with mold exposure in some people.  The extent of those health effects, and what intensity, type, and duration of mold exposure it takes to produce negative health effects in other-wise healthy people HAS STILL NOT BEEN CLEARLY DEMONSTRATED.  There are no permissible exposure levels of mold.  Except for perhaps a few of the mycotoxins, a doctor can not generally tell you if you breath in x amount of mold then you will develop  y symptpoms (Dose-response). 

Exposure to mold may harm your health, worry and stress about mold will can definitely diminish your health or quality of life.  Always take reasonable response and preventitive measures based on the best information you have available, but don’t go out of your way to convince yourself you dieing from that piece of moldy-bread left on the counter

Tags:   Hawaii Mold · Media and Mold · Mold · Mold SchoolsNo Comments.

I think my title needs an abstract, but please forgive me this is good stuff! 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is doing mold/fungi research with some amazingly pracitcal and useful applications.

 Digging around this weekend I found a copy of : 

Testing Antimicrobial Cleaner Efficacy on Gypsum Wallboard Contaminated with Stachybotrys chartarum  (click on the title to view a copy).    Check EPAs distributions as there may be more current copies. 

The article/presentation was written by an EPA group called the : U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Air Pollution Prevention and Control Division, Research Triangle Park.

 The stuff this teams puts together is pure gold.  Everytime I find  an abstract with Dr. Marc Menetrez listed in the contributors I know its going to be good stuff.  I would probably read one of his grocery lists and find something useful.

The study listed above basicly evaluated the effectiveness of commerically available household cleaners, to clean and limit subsequent mold growth on drywall.  Basically they grew stachybotrys on several different types of gypsum board drywall (plain drywall, drywall with paint, drywall with wallpaper).  When the mold growth extensively covered the surface of each test piece, , they used 13 different types of cleaning products in accordance with the manufactures instructions to clean mold off.  They then returned the drywall to approximately 100% relative humidity and observered it for 6-months to see which pieces regrew the most mold.  (I am quickly paraphrasing here please please read the article for the exact methodology).

 The top 3 performing cleaners were rather suprising (in most cases there almost no mold re-growth on the test pieces at the 6-month mark).

“ Discussion. Results for the six types of GWB surfaces varied extensively. However, three cleaning products exhibited significantly better results than others. Lysol All-Purpose Cleaner-Orange Breeze (full strength) demonstrated results which ranked among the best in five of the six surfaces tested. Both Borax and Orange Glo Multipurpose Degreaser demonstrated results which ranked among the best in four of the six surfaces tested. ” (exceperted from the asbtract. I added bold to product names for ease of reading).

The authors of the study caution that it should not be treated as an endorsement. 

Tags:   Cleaners for Mold · Dr. Marc Menetrez · EPA Research · Mold Reasearch · StachybotrysNo Comments.

Note: If you are not an afficando of bad jokes and puns you may scroll down to the bottom to the heading ”Just the Facts” for a distilled version. 

Mycology is the study of fungi.  Why not then call it Fungology? It appears it was tried once but most freshman kept missing the first “g” and read it as Fun-ology or the study of ‘fun”.  “Hey bro where do we learn how to be fun-guy” was heard one too many times and the usage reverted back to Mycology.  Some of the mycologists also felt that Fungiologist just didn’t posses adequate gravitas.

How did the Fungiolists come up with Mycology ? Apparently there was a rather unhygienic fellow in Ancient Greece named Mike (myces) who hung about Socrates, trying to steal some of his bits for a comedy routine.  Trying to impress Socrates, Myces would dance about in a jig and juggle olives.  One day unfortunately he did a two-step right onto the hemlock that Socrates had just planted. In a fit of rage Socrates called Myces a mushroom head (slang back then for a phallus), and soon thereafter myces became a common synonym for mushroom or fungus.  In homage to Socrates, the study of fungi and mushrooms was deemed mycology. 

Now where do fungi fit into the big picture?  Fungi belong to the Eukarya Domain.  Members of the Eukarya Domain are Eukaryotes, and have Eukaryotic cells (Hi welcome to the Eukaryotic Club, I’m not just the President I’m a member! Yes recursion is fun!)  I actually do belong, and so do you! Humans (all Animals), along with Fungi, Plants, and Protists are all part of the Domain Eukarya.

So what puts the eu- in eukarya ?  Well if we were studying word-ology instead of mycology we might consider that the word eukarya is from the Greek “Eu” (good/true) + another Greek work that isn’t “Karya”, its actually “??????” (nut).  So you can always call a friend (assuming he or she is a Fungi, Animal, Plant, or Protist) truly nuts and be correct, at least in ancient Greece.

Here in Hawaii, we have some rather tasty eukaryotes grown on the Big Island (Island of Hawaii) called macadamia nuts.  Dip them in some chocolate and they are Eukarya²!

So why do we classify some organisms as eukarya (good nuts) and what do Fungi/Animals/Plants/Protists have in common?

1— They are all organisms

2— They are composed of cells (the basic doodad units of life) which are organized into complicated structures

3—That organization is created by internal membranes and a cytoskeleton

4—They have many internal substructures-gophers, minions, and even a CEO (nucleus)

Eukarya (good nut) is in fact a reference or analogy in Greek (Greekence) to the nucleus of a cell.  So the members of the Domain Eukarya are all organisms, which each have somewhat complex cell structure, with framing and partitioning created by membrane and cytoskeleton structures.  Furthermore most (exceptions?) have at least one nucleus in residence in the cell.  The members of the Domain Eukarya are organized into sub-departments; the Kingdoms: Animal, Fungi, Plant, and Protists.

Just the Facts

 It’s painful to think that this is neccessary but the bit about Socrates is purely fictional, though Eukarya and Myco are both derived from Greek words.  In summary:

The study of fungi is Mycology.

Fungi (molds/yeasts/mushrooms etc) are in the Domain Eurkarya, and the Kindom Fungi (sometimes called the Mycota).

 The Domain Eukarya includes Animals, Fungi, Plants, and Protists.

 All members of Eukarya (correct me if there are exceptions) have membrane bound cells, complete with generally membrane bound organelles, a definining sheath or cytoskeleton, and probably most significant each cell has a nucelus (and sometimes nuclei).  Eukarya more or less means Good/true + nut, which is a reference to the nucleus of the cell.

Tags:   · Creative License · Mold · Mycology · PunsNo Comments.

Okay the mold that grew in this couple’s closet isn’t funny, but her reaction and the blog is

 Warning there is some definitely salty language used in her blog, but it’s an entertaining read if you can overlooks a sprinkling of profanity!

 http://cmpriest.livejournal.com/915243.html

The mold growth above is impressive, based on the writer’s account it germinated and colonized within a relatively short time frame. Again please stop by their blog and have a read or say hello.   It is definitely an entertaining read!

I am definitely impressed that they (the wife : ) immediately went into a problem solving mold, rather than pondering a 1,000 ways to express her “victimhood”!

Tags:   Moisture · Mold · Personal experiences with moldNo Comments.

Many common molds found indoors in Hawaii  (aspergillus, cladosporium, penicillium ), have cell walls with an outer-layer of  chitin.  In most molds chitin is the largest single component of the cell wall.  Chitin is a polysaccharide (C₈H₁₃NO₅) p which makes up the exoskeleton of arthropods (crabs, ants, spiders, etc.) , and as mentioned before numerous molds. 

 Dr. Locksley points out, “The snow-crab industry is a big part of a seasonal industry up in Alaska and Canada [and snow crab shells are rich sources of chitin]. College kids come in and they work in these crab processing plants. It’s the food industry, so the first thing they do is get all the bacteria out of the environment by using microbicides. Then you’ve got these kids in there pulverizing chitin shells for hours on end. The attack rate for new onset asthma in that industry is something like 25 to 28 percent per year. It’s now a major cause of disability in Canada.”

The UCSF research found that the lab mice increased production of chitinase (an enzyme that breaks down chitin) with exposure. Humans also produce chitinase in response to allergies.

“It turns out that a disproportionate number of people who have asthma have this [variant of chitinase],” says Dr. Locksley. “So another potential issue is whether kids with a variant are at particularly high risk when they go into these environments, such as a home that might be moldy or have a lot of dust mites.
excerpted from:

   http://pub.ucsf.edu/today/feature.php?news_id=200704205&submit=PREVIEW&preview_date=2007-04-23

More research needs to be conducted to determine what if any role environmental chitin present in indoor air plays in allergic response. If a positive correlation is determined though,  it presents a potentially useful metric in screening buildings  or conducting clearances after a mold remediation.

In addition to mold investigations, I perform asbestos inspection, oversight, and project monitoring– which includes air sampling.  After an asbestos abatement is conducted air samples are collected to determine the amount of asbestos fibers or structures remaining in the air and dust (agressive method/mechanical air agiation during sampling).  In order for an asbestos abatement to be considered successful and complete,  onr  of the criteria is that the concentrations of asbestos in the post removal air samples must not exceed specified values.   It is conceiveable that a permissible exposure limit , or some sort of threshold concentration could be derived for chitin. 

 During the investigation or after the remediation phase, an hygienist could collect air samples to measure the chitin concentrations in the air. If the primary concern in a specific mold investigation is allerigic response by a building tenant(s) then it could either provide a target for response actions (or at worst aid the investigator in identifying the cause).   By comparing the measured value to some guideline (along with visual inspection , and perhaps other sampling) it could allow for a meaninful determination of  the success or failure of the action. 

 Even the initial findings provide some caution to mold remediators.  “Killing” mold growth alone may not be adequate to minimize potential health risks to building occupants.  Unless the mold and celluar fragments are removed a potential source of allergens may remain in the environment.

Tags:   Allergies · Asthma · Chitin · Mice and Men · MoldNo Comments.

Scanning through litereature (Theses, Disseration, studies Etc. ) beginning in about 1998-1999 (from what is readily available via the internet) many of the authors include isopleths ( an isoline on a graph showing the occurrence or frequency of a phenomenon as a function of two variables).   Most frequently germination, general growth, or hyphal growth (over time)  is plotted as a function of temperature and realtively humidity.  The handiest one,  I’ve found is shown below, I believe it was developed in a 1999 study (I am still attempting to confirm initial development).  It was recently displayed in an excellent document, ( by Roger Morse, AIA and Don Acker, PE , Morse Zehnter Associates ) hosted by the Whole Building Design Guide .

The reason this is so fantastic (I am aware it’s geeky to be excited over a visual representation of data), is that we can use it to determine a general window of opportunity for drying/water extraction following a water intrusion event, or less happily we can use it to gauge the potential severity of mold growth following a non-mitigated water intrusion.  Obviously local conditions may create massive variance and its not genera/or even speciies specific, but still it’s a useful tool

 For instance if a homeowner had a leaky-pipe that created saturation and only discovered it after a week, then it is likely there is both significant growth and colonization.  It’s also apparent that reducing relative humidity (or water activity) can greatly limit the growth rate.  For instance the use of dehumidifiers might be an affordable stop gap to minimize the formation of mold, until a full response effort can be initiated. 

 PS:  If you find links to Isopleth’s please forward I think they would make fun wallet reference cards

Tags:   Germination Isopleth · Isopleths · Mold · Mold GerminationNo Comments.

Dr. Wong is an Associate Professor of Botany, at the Botany Department of the University of Hawaii at Manoa.  His UH-faculty website is located @

http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/wong/ .

In addition to conducting reasearch, Dr. Wong teaches several courses including Botany 135: Magical Mushrooms and Mystical Molds.  The webpage for the class (including syllabus, leacture note, and photographs) is located at:

http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/wong/BOT135/Botany135syllabus.htm 

 The portions of the course presented online are lively reading, a fun education break from the hysteria and fear that have been associated with mold in the past decade.

 Be sure to read his entry on Penicillin:

http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/wong/BOT135/Lect21b.htm

It helps put things in perspective that molds are mostly neutral,  frequently helpful, and occassionally harmful.  Please stop by his site and have a read, it’s always good to have to some fun among us

Tags:   Bad Puns · Dr. Wong · Mold · Mycology · University of HawaiiNo Comments.

Several United States  Government agencies maintain websites that have basic information on mold cleanup, mold terminology, and remediation.  I recommend these website because they tend to be conservative, risk adverse, and they generally don’t have an agenda beyond presenting information. They aren’t trying to separate you from hard-earned (or ill-gotten) dollars

 The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a good place to start.  They maintain a broad site on mold here and even have an on-line “Mold Course” here.

http://www.epa.gov/mold/

http://www.epa.gov/mold/moldcourse/index.html

I like the “Mold Course” because it’s rather easy to understand for probably 95% of the people who can figure out how to get on-line and make it to the website.  You won’t need a PHD in Mycology to understand the information presented there.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)  also maintains a website on mold here.  Again there is some good information and they link back to the EPA.  The basic information here can be intermixxed with presentations are somewhat more technical.   

http://www.cdc.gov/mold/cleanup.htm

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has an excellent website here, obviously with somewhat of an emphasis of employers/workers. 

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/molds/index.html

Tags:   CDC · EPA · Mold · Mold Education · Mold Resources · OSHANo Comments.