MOLD AWARENESS
Operating Engineers National Hazmat Program
1
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.
MOLD AWARENESS
International Environmental Technology and Training Center
1293 Airport Road, Beaver, WV 25813
Phone: (304) 253-8674 - Fax: (304) 253-7758
E-mail: [email protected]
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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 layperson’s 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?
Smooth Earthball
(Scleroderma cepa)
Common Mushroom
(Agaricus bisporus)
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Linnean Classification Categories
 Category
 Corresponding taxon for man
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Primates
Family
Hominidae
Genus
Homo
Species
Sapiens
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Biological Classification of the
Fungi Kingdom Includes
 Mushrooms
 Stinkhorns
 Athlete's foot
 Wheat rust
 Apple-scab
 Wood rots
 Corn smut
 Truffles
 Slime moulds
 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)
Aspergillus flavus
 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
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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
 Cognitive disorders
 Headache
 Pulmonary hemorrhage
 Nausea
 Liver damage
 Nose bleeds
 Central nervous system
damage
 Allergic Reactions
 Asthma
 Exhaustion
 Sinus infections
 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
(Actual Vapor Density)
Relative Humidity (RH) =
X 100%
-------------------(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 (<10 square feet)
 Areas of Contamination (>10 square feet)
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Guidelines for the Protection and Training
of Workers Engaged in Maintenance and
Remediation 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 and
Remediation 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 10:1 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 1:750
quaternary ammonium
(benzalkonium chloride) mold
killer
 Only kills mold spores which it comes
into actual contact with
 Lotrimin AF for Athlete’s Foot
 Antifungal
 Plant fungicide
 Chlorine dioxide
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Fungal Exposure Limits
 OSHA
 PEL ?
 ACGIH
 TLV?
Why?
 NIOSH
 REL?
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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Operating Engineers National Hazmat Program
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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.
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.
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