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 Mobile ViewMOLD: A COMPLETE GUIDE to TEST CLEAN PREVENT AIR CLEANER PURIFIER TYPES AIR FILTERS for HVAC SYSTEMS AIR POLLUTANTS, COMMON INDOOR AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES ALLERGEN TESTS for BUILDINGS ANIMAL ALLERGENS / PET DANDER ANIMAL ODORS IN BUILDINGSS ATTORNEYS and EXPERT WITNESSES BASEMENT MOLD BATHROOM MOLD BIBLIOGAPHY ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, MOLD, IAQ BIOLOGICAL POLLUTANTS CAR MOLD CONTAMINATION CARPET DUST IDENTIFICATION CARPET MOLD CONTAMINATION CAT DANDER in BUILDINGS COMBUSTION GASES & PARTICLE HAZARDS CONDENSATION or SWEATING PIPES, TANKS CPSC Indoor Air Pollution Book Online Copy DUCT SYSTEM & DUCT DEFECTS EMERGENCY RESPONSE, IAQ, GAS, MOLD FIBERGLASS HAZARDS FLOOD DAMAGE ASSESSMENT, SAFETY & CLEANUP FLOODS IN BUILDINGS-mold FORMALDEHYDE HAZARDS GAS EXPOSURE EFFECTS, TOXIC HUMIDITY CONTROL & TARGETS INDOORS HOUSE DUST ANALYSIS INDOOR AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT GUIDE INSULATION MOLD MILDEW REMOVAL & PREVENTION MOISTURE CONTROL in BUILDINGS MOLD GROWTH on SURFACES, TABLE OF MYCOPHOBIA, STAINS MISTAKEN for MOLD NOISE / SOUND DIAGNOSIS & CURE ODORS GASES SMELLS, DIAGNOSIS & CURES OZONE HAZARDS OZONE for MOLD OR ODORS RADON HAZARD TESTS & MITIGATION SAFETY HAZARDS GUIDE SICK HOUSE IAQ QUESTIONNAIRE SMELL PATCH TEST to Track Down Odors STAIN DIAGNOSIS on BUILDING INTERIORS VENTILATION in BUILDINGS More Information |
Mold spore count validity: this document discusses a serious question about the currently-popular "spore counts" obtained by industrial hygienists, home inspectors, and "mold investigators" (and the mold testing laboratories they use). Airborne or other mold counts are used to estimate the toxic or allergenic mold exposure level of building occupants in buildings where mold may be present. Green links show where you are. © Copyright 2013 InspectAPedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Author Daniel Friedman. Accuracy & Validity of Indoor Fungal Spore Counts & CulturesReaders should see Shortcomings of air sampling and also see Extent of Variation of Airborne Particle Counts and Mold Testing: Air samples and their interpretation - a quick tutorial. For a more in-depth critique of popular mold testing methods than this tutorial see Mold Sampling Methods in the Indoor EnvironmentFirst, should we be testing for mold at all? If you see mold on indoor surfaces, NO mold testing is needed just to confirm that mold is present in a this building and that cleanup is needed. But if a large remediation project is planned, tests may be needed for project control . We also may include tests for airborne mold as a part of a more thorough building investigation and screening for hidden mold contamination, but we would not rely on an air test alone in that case. See When to identify mold?. See MOLD EXPERT, WHEN TO HIRE for a discussion of when it is or is not appropriate, justified, and ethical to hire a mold consultant to inspect, diagnose, and advise about mold contamination in a building. Mold Count Precision is not Mold Exposure Accuracy
While many laboratories, including our own, participate in programs to calibrate and standardize their in-laboratory particle counting, slide preparation, and microscopy procedures, no amount of precision in lab counting can overcome the several orders of magnitude in variation of indoor particle levels that actually occurs in a building over intervals as short as a few seconds and as long as days or months. While there is a useful place for every environmental investigation tool, inadequacies in field procedure, field condition reporting, and visual inspection that would permit an interpretation of lab results limit the usefulness of "bare lab reports" which simply give a number. The number may be impressively precise, but highly inaccurate. Thus airborne mold exposure levels based on single-time-interval use of these tools are unlikely to be accurate. Spore Counts Obtained by Airborne Mold Spore Traps are of Questionable AccuracyWarning: interpret all quantitative data, particularly counts of particles in indoor air, with great caution. Individual samples of particles in air show tremendous variation from minute to minute, making "ok" test results a thing to view with skepticism. Examples of factors which can cause an exponential difference in particle levels in indoor residential air over short time intervals include: mechanical disturbance (walking across a carpet or moving a moldy cardboard box), operation of hot air heating system or central air conditioning system, operation of other building fans, particularly ceiling fans and vacuum cleaners, turning lights on and off, and opening or closing windows and doors. In situations of particular risk, additional or periodic testing should be considered. Also see ACCURACY vs PRECISION of MEASUREMENTS where we argue that measurements should be reported to include their perentage of error or a +/- figure to give a realistic understanding of the actual reliability of the data. Indoor counts vs. outdoor countsThe University of Minnesota fungal experts observe that an outdoor-baseline comparison to indoor air is not valid when the outdoor sample was taken during or immediately after precipitation (spore counts plummet outdoors in the rain and might soar right after it), and the comparison is probably not valid in winter when outdoor counts tend to be below indoors. We agree and add other constraints: snow cover practically eliminates spores from outdoor air. Even in warm weather spore counts vary during the day as weather conditions (humidity, temperature, period after rainfall) affect sporulation and spore movement. Air sampling by culture plate or surface testing by swab are questionableSimilarly, tests which rely on culture to identify particles are at severe risk of giving a "false negative" result, missing a serious problem, or of giving a "misleading positive" result by asserting that a particular spore which grew on the culture is the problem in the building. Fungal spores grow at different rates on different culture media. Spore "A" may "overgrow" spore "B" in a particular test, obscuring the presence of spore "B" which might be the real problem in the building. Some fungal spores won't grow at all in culture media (non-viable spores and many Ascospores) but may still be present at toxic levels in a building. More about mold testing and the validity of air sampling and home test kits for mold:
As a collector of studies, papers, books on this topic, and as someone conducting our own studies, we have seen a very wide range of opinion among experts in the field. Spore allergenicity or toxicity varies widely among fungal genera/species. So does the sensitivity of humans and other animals to fungal spores. Mold Spore Toxicity Variations by Species, Genera, particle size, even growth substrateSo no single number will be absolutely correct. Just as spore toxicity varies by species, so does the physical size of individual spores. The effect of breathing air contaminated by 5000 Penicillium sp. spores per cubic meter is unlikely to be identical to the effect of breathing 5000 Stachybotrys chartarum spores per cubic meter of air. Not only does their chemistry and toxicity vary, but a typical Pen/Asp spore is about 2 microns in diameter (1/25th the width of a typical human hair) while a typical Stachybotrys chartarum spore might be 8 x 12 microns -- much larger and thus providing more potentially harmful material per individual spore. Spore Toxicity Variation Precludes Credible Single Number Mold Exposure StandardsYou can see that writing federal or state standards for permissible fungal spore exposure by "count" or "levels" is difficult. Not only are there many variables to consider, but using currently popular air sampling or culture methods, even a low or "OK" test result cannot guarantee that there is no problem in the building. Fortunately one can become reasonably confident about the level of mold or allergen risk in a building through competent visual inspection, judicious use of various sampling tools and methods, and competent laboratory determination work. Because this expertise is costly and the work time consuming, it should not be ordered without reasonable justification. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)... Ask a Question or Search InspectApediaQuestions & answers or comments about the validity of indoor airborne mold spore counts, causes of count number variation, accuracy questions. Ask a Question or Enter Search Terms in the InspectApedia search box just below. Technical Reviewers & ReferencesRelated Topics, found near the top of this page suggest articles closely related to this one.
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