NEGATIVE INFLUENCE ON IAQ BY AIR MOVEMENT FROM MOULD CONTAMINATED CONSTRUCTIONS INTO BUILDINGS

摘要

Mould is frequently occurring in crawl spaces under buildings. Such damages are normally regarded to have lower impact on the IAQ than if the damages are situated in rooms where people live. However, due to ordinary use of the buildings, e.g. using fireplace, mechanical ventilation or even just by opening windows, air can be transported from the crawl space and up into the building due to the negative pressure effect. Building surveys and field experiments in Norway have shown that this transport of mould-contaminated air has a significant influence on the IAQ. The same problems are shown to be present in cases with mould damages in thermal insulated basements walls, attics and various roof constructions. Normal procedure for building survey does not detect these problems, and many damaged buildings are thus regarded as "healthy", even if the contamination can be of considerable negative impact on the IAQ.