Microbial VOC Sampling in a Moldy Building Investigation

摘要

Sampling was performed in a school which had experimenced extensive water damage to determine whether students were being exposed to biocontaminants. Musty odors and allergy complaints were widely reported by school occupants. Cladosporium cladosporioides dominated all air samples collected outdoors. This phylloplane species dominated culturable molds collected in more than 99 percent of indoor samples. Total concentrations of culturable molds were lower than those outdoors when the ventilation system was turned on. The collective air sampling data, including collection of total fungi by spore trapping, suggested that exposure to fungi in the school was, for the most part, similar to that which occurs outdoors. Analysis of dusts collected from carpet, air supply louvers, and duct liner surfaces, however, showed that fungi such as Cladosporium sphaerospermum, yeasts, (including Rhodotorula spp.) and Penicillium spp. were often dominant.