Indoor bioaerosol dynamics

Nazaroff, William W

Several laboratory studies have investigated emissions of bioaerosols from moldy materials. For example, G orny et al. (2001) characterized the release of fungal spores-Aspergillus versicolor, Cladosporium cladosporioides, and Penicillium melinii-from ceiling tiles in relation to the air speed above the surface and the vibration of the contaminated material. Seo et al. (2008) investigated the release of (1?3)-b-D-glucan from moldy ceiling tiles and gypsum board. In many buildings, moisture intrusion or condensation occurs in wall cavities or in other hidden spaces that may be coupled by airflow pathways to the occupied building interior. Muise et al. (2010) demonstrated experimentally that mold spores could penetrate effectively through wall service outlets. That finding is consistent with expectations (see Figure 11 ) as most fungal spores are smaller than 10 lm in diameter and as cracks and gaps between a wall cavity and the indoor space would commonly be larger than 1 mm in minimum dimension.