Healthy Indoors Magazine - USA Edition

Healthy Indoors 11 de" means "life-kill." Fungal spores are some of the most resilient living structures on the planet—it takes a powerful process to have a truly sporocidal (spore killing) effect. Sporocides, by necessity, are toxic chemicals. These types of chemicals are of- ten used to sterilize surgical instruments and food processing equipment, where direct human expo- sure is carefully controlled. These same sporocide products may pose a significant exposure hazard if used in our general indoor environments. Most "safe" processes probably won't kill all the spores, and if you don't kill them all, what's the point? Most of the fungal-related health concerns we face do not involve infections from pathogenic fungi. For the most part, exposures to either viable (live) spores or non-viable (dead, damaged) spores cre- ate the same allergic or toxic effects in our bodies. These effects may also result from exposures to fragments of spores or fungal structures. The solu- tion is to remove materials with colonized fungal growth from the indoor environment, correct the source(s) of moisture that led to the problem, and restore the indoor environment to levels that some- what parallel outdoor fungal conditions. Is it realistic to completely rid our indoor envi- ronments of all fungal spores? Unless we all de- cide to take up full-time residence in pharmaceuti- cal clean rooms, the answer is probably not. And, except for extreme immune-compromised health cases, it's not warranted. It is reasonable to find similar levels and rank orders of fungal spores in- doors as those concurrently found outdoors, pe- riod. Ideally, we would like to see lower levels of the same organisms inside, but even moderately higher levels of the same organisms indoors at a specific point in time is usually no cause for alarm. Ultimately, the best advice for limiting mold prob- lems in your building is to keep it dry. If the prop- erty is subjected to a sudden moisture event or an ongoing moisture problem, correct it now, or you'll probably have to pay dearly later. For additional information on dealing with mold and other microbial concerns, check out our Cover Story from the May 2016 issue of Healthy Indoors Magazine at http://hi.iaq.net/i/680154- hi-may-2016/7 a potable source, like a broken supply plumbing line, doesn't usually pose an immediate microbial health risk to occupants. In most cases, if the af- fected wetted building materials and contents are addressed (removed/replaced or rapidly cleaned & dried to normal state), mold problems will be prevented or at least greatly minimized. Floods from ground water or sewage systems may contain serious microbial agents, such as bacteria and viruses, which pose an immediate hazard to human exposure. Good practice typi- cally dictates that, in these cases, all porous ma- terials that have come in direct contact with this type of water loss should be discarded and re- placed. This course of action is warranted due to the likelihood of direct contamination from the pol- luted water source itself. Left un-addressed, such water events can also eventually lead to fungal growth in the indoor environment—creating a po- tentially nasty "one-two punch." UN-Wanted, Dead or Alive A common public misconception is that only "toxic" or pathogenic fungus such as the infamous Stachy- botrys chatatrum is a problem for us. This, in fact, is not the case. Exposures to elevated levels of what are generally considered non-toxic / non-pathogenic organisms, like Cladosporium, which is one of the most commonly found molds outdoors, can lead to hypersensitivity reactions in people. Another fallacy is that only "live mold" can hurt you. This mindset has spawned a bunch of purport- ed chemical solutions to mold growth indoors—just spray on a "mold killer" and your troubles are over! This is only partially true. Chemicals that kill fungal spores do eliminate the chance of those spores from colonizing, thereby neutralizing pathogenic fungi from creating infections in our bodies (beneficial for surgical procedures at healthcare facilities, etc.), and preventing the growth of the treated spores on environmental surfaces. But many of these "mold killers," or biocides, as they are referred to, have their own baggage associated with them. Biocides often release other toxins into our en- vironment. Be leery of "safe" biocides, as that term is truly a misnomer! Remember, the term "bio-ci- Share YOUR comments about this article on our LinkedIn discussion by clicking the button below!

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