Forensic & mold test lab services:

This article describes forensic microscopy and aerobiology test laboratory methods & services used to accept and test both mold-expert-collected mold samples and client-submitted test samples for toxic mold, allergens, gases, odors, sewage backups, other indoor particles or other indoor contaminants that may be present in buildings.

This website provides free, in-depth information and procedures for finding, testing, cleaning and preventing indoor mold, toxic black mold, green mold, testing building indoor air quality, and other sick house / sick building investigations.

We give in-depth information about mold and other indoor air quality problems: causes of respiratory illness, asthma, or other symptoms such as neurological or psychological problems, air quality investigation methods, and remediation procedures such as mold cleanup, handling toxic mold contamination, and building or mechanical system repairs.

Mold or Environmental Test Laboratory Analysis Services

How to Find a Mold or Environmental Testing Laboratory

Watch out: DO NOT SEND ANY SAMPLE of ANY FORM to any testing lab nor individuals before discussing your needs with them. Otherwise your sample collection, packaging, or usefulness may be wasted as well as your money and everyone's time.

For environmental or forensic investigative support and lab work, you can use any forensic lab provided you first check that their area of expertise matches your needs.

In most countries there are lists of certified testing laboratories for asbestos; water testing labs are usually state or province-licensed; mold testing laboratories usually participate in a national or federal certification program that varies depending on your country.

For strange particle analysis, building dust analysis, fiberglass particle screening, mold contaminant screening  contact these expert forensic microscopists

Example Web Search to Locate Your Expert

Try a web search using any search engine and look for a phrase such as

• "Environmental testing" + mytown" [replace "mytown" with your city and country"]
• "Environmental test laboratory" + "mytown"
• "Mold inspector" + "mytown"
• "Industrial Hygienist" + "my business location city"
  

Mold test laboratory service includes analysis of expert-prepared field samples as well as processing of consumer-prepared kits (easy and inexpensive) mold or other particles.

See TEST KIT for DUST, MOLD, PARTICLES: INSTRUCTIONS

For example, our mold testing lab provides identification services for bioaerosols such as mold, mildew, dust mites, pollen, and other allergens. We have considerable experience examining samples collected on tape, Zefon™ cassettes, MCE filter cassettes, slides, impaction air samplers, carpet, furniture, and other soft-goods vacuum samples, and in bulk material.

Mold culture and bacterial surface contamination evaluation is available, and most environmental test consultants also offer testing for carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide, formaldehyde, and other gases.

Mold test laboratory education and experience should include advanced indoor air quality, culture plate identification of fungal genera/species, house dust analysis, mold fungal spore quantitative analysis (spore counts in air), and qualitative analysis (particle types and what they mean), organic, and inorganic particle and fiber identification, mold culture methods and culture speciation.

We have experience and special interest in identification of particles in building dust, paint failure field and lab analysis, paint sample analysis, and general forensic microscopy.

Mold test equipment education and experience should include biological microscopy, forensic microscopy, particle identification using microscopic particle manipulation, microchemistry, transmitted light microscopy, polarized light microscopy, dispersion staining, determination of refractive index, interference patterns, phase-contrast, darkfield, focal screening, and other advanced techniques.

In the lab technicians make use of a variety of microscopes: low-power stereoscopic examination (photo at left) of samples for characterization and high-power microscopic examination (Page top photo, up to 1920x) for broad scope particle identification (not just mold) using transmitted and polarized light as well as darkfield and phase contrast microscopy.

Forensic particle identification can extend well beyond biological matter (mold spores, cat or dog dander, insect fragments, dust mites, mite fecals) to include both organic and inorganic particles and fibers.

Particle identification is supplemented by use of Cargille™ refractive index liquid particle differentiation for identification of biological particles such as mold spores, pollen grains, animal allergens, dog, cat, mouse dander, mite fecals, cockroach and other insect particles, and non-biological particles in house dust and debris such as road dust, tire particles, diesel soot, oil burner soot, copier toner, wood and paper fragments, skin cells, possible bacteria.

These methods help assure that the lab report accurately represents the character of the samples which were submitted.

Mobile Microscopy Lab: For immediate on-site particle determination where emergency response or remediation/salvage operation evaluation is necessary some experts (and we used-to)

offer MOBILE FIELD LAB FORENSIC SERVICES [photo] including field preparation of test samples and light microscopic examination for particle identification.

Field samples are used to prepare slides for examination by light microscope. Our own field work collects mold or biological particle samples using a variety of methods.

From the public your test lab will usually accept mold surface samples using clear tape such as the DIY dust or mold sampling method described

at TEST KIT for DUST, MOLD, PARTICLES: INSTRUCTIONS

Chemical treatment and mounting media are selected based on the sample type, often including potassium hydroxide, acid or basic fuchsin, Calberla's solution, lacto phenol cotton blue, or other preparations.

When lab work is in support of legal proceedings or if otherwise appropriate we prepare permanent-mount slides using glycerine jelly or other media. Slides are examined at magnifications of 10x, 100x, 400x, and 1000x using tungsten and polarized light, darkfield, etc. as appropriate.

Identification of toxic, allergenic, or cosmetic mold genera/species in the Mold Test Lab

Genera/species identifications are made based on experience, education, reference texts, comparison with known samples, and when appropriate, consultation with fellow mycologists and other experts.

There are more than 70,000 mold species which have been identified and an estimated 1 million remaining to be identified, so it is common to encounter unidentified spores. (Our lab photo, above, shows an Pleospora sp., an Ascomycete, being released from its perithecium.)

However fortunately, in most areas there common protagonists which have been studied and which can be identified to genera and often to species.

Because mold toxicity varies widely within a particular genera, speciation is an important step, omitted by some high-volume labs and investigators who may fail to distinguish between harmless amerospores such as basidiomycetes and potentially harmful Penicillium/Aspergillus spores in samples.

Typical Particle ID or Mold Test Lab Report Contents

A detailed written mold test laboratory report of laboratory finding, medical information, and recommendations is provided. The lab report describes:

• "Significant/dominant particles" in each sample examined: likely to be most important in the Building
• "Other spores/particles present" in each sample at notable but not dominant frequency, possibly important
• "Incidental spores or particles detected", which in special cases may still be diagnostic even though the absolute spore count is so low that many labs and consultants ignore this data. An example is the Aspergillus niger spore-chains in our lab photo (left).
  
  The presence of these spores in chains suggests nearby active indoor growth of this toxic mold, even though the actual spore count would be reported as just 31 spores!
• Good mold or forensic test lab reports use clear, specific DEFINITIONS of "MOLD LEVELS" and will explain what certain particle findings suggest about the area or surface from which the sample was collected.
  
  Study of sample contents with special understanding of mycology and building science is important: 
  
  Similarly, the appearance of certain fungal structures, such as Penicillium/Aspergillus spore chains in an indoor sample may be an important indicator of a local problematic mold reservoir, even though a quantitative analysis alone would produce an apparently low spore count and would fail to detect this problem indicator.
• Quantitative analysis such as fungal spore or particle counts per cubic meter of air sampled are also available when such measures are appropriate.
• Significant microscopic observations are documented in some lab's reports
  
  using MICROPHOTOGRAPHY. (Most do not include this service)
  
  Our tips for taking digital photographs through the microscope - photomicrographs, or microphotographs if you prefer - are
  
  at MICROSCOPE DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY
• Photographic documentation of site conditions and laboratory observations should be provided with the report from your on-site inspector.
  
  Watch out: in our OPINION, simply "testing" for mold, without a thorough on-site inspection of the building and a review of its history of leaks, events, and occupant complaints, will be of limited use.
• Lab reports may also include a summary of contemporary medical information about particles identified.

 

This Low-Cost Do-it-Yourself Inexpensive Mold Test Kit Can Provide Useful Results

Use this simple, economical mold test kit by following our instructions on how to collect and mail mold samples to a lab

TAPE & BULK SAMPLING & TESTS for MOLD - using simple clear adhesive tape and freezer-type zip-lok plastic bags.

also see DUST SAMPLING PROCEDURE for collecting particles or dust other than mold-suspected material.

Review MOLD CULTURE TEST KIT VALIDITY to learn why a particle sample from settled dust might be more reliable than mold culture kits.

...

Continue reading at ACTION GUIDE - WHAT TO DO ABOUT INDOOR MOLD or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

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• DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY & the MICROSCOPE.
• TEST KIT for DUST, MOLD, PARTICLES: INSTRUCTIONS - a simple, low-cost dust or mold sampling procedure
• VACUUM CASSETTE FILTER SAMPLE TESTS for DUST / MOLD

Suggested citation for this web page

FORENSIC & IAQ LABORATORY SERVICES at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

Or see this

INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to MOLD CONTAMINATION & REMEDIATION

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