INTRODUCTION TO OCC. HEALTH.

• HAZARDOUS INDOOR
PRESENTERS:
MICROORGANISMS  NDENGA, Christian Japhet
 Contents

• Description of mold/Fungi and Bacteria.

• Acceptable level of Mold/Fungi and Bacteria.
• Measurements of indoor Mold/Fungi and
Bacteria.
• How to improve indoor environment.
• References.
 Description of Mold

• Molds are part of the natural environment. They are microscopic fungi
that can be found indoor or outdoors throughout the year.
• Few have a chemical makeup that can cause allergic reactions in sensitive
individuals.
• Molds play an important role in breaking down organic matter such as
fallen leaves or toppled trees. Molds can become a serious problem when
they grow inside your home or inside buildings.
• Molds may grow practically everywhere because they adapt to many
environments and reproduce rapidly.
• Molds grow on wood, paper, carpet, foods, insulation, and a variety of
other surfaces. Some molds grow and live on the dust and dirt that
gathers in the moist regions of your home. Molds need only a source of
food, moisture, and the right temperature to grow.
 Description of Mold/Fungi.

• Molds and other allergens

• The biological chemicals can arise from a host of
means, but there are two common classes:
• (a) moisture induced growth of mold colonies
(b) natural substances released into the air such as
animal dander and plant pollen
The primary hazard of mold growth, as it relates to
indoor air quality, comes from the allergenic
properties of the spore cell wall. More serious than
most allergenic properties is the ability of mold to
trigger episodes in persons that already have asthma, a
serious respiratory disease.
 Acceptable level of Fungi/Mold

• Rao, et al. (1996) recently found that existing

quantitative standards and guidelines for total
fungi in indoor air range from <100 CFU/m3 to
>1000 CFU/m3 as the upper limit for non-
contaminated indoor environments, based
primarily on baseline data rather than health
effects information.
 How to measure molds.
• Mold Check™ Mold Detection Kits are new indoor mold detection, toxic black
mold testing, mold investigation, and black mold clean-up kits that help you track
down, prove and clean-up mold contamination in the house.
• Surface Mold Testing Have you already found the source of suspect mold toxic
black or toxic mold growth and want to identify it? - Then you want to use the Do-
It-Yourself Tox-Check™ surface mold testing kit or the optional Tox-Check™ Mold
Testing Labs service.
• Air/Dust Whole House Mold Testing If you suspect you have a source of hidden
black or toxic mold? Then you want to use tools in the Mold Check™ Mold Testing
Kit as a dust and airborne mold detection inspection system is recommended

• The MoldCheck™ Mold Testing Kits can help find the indoor source of your mold
allergy and guide the mold remediation of the contaminated area
 How to control/improve the fungi and molds

• Controlling moisture levels inside your home is the most effective way to
control indoor mold growth.
- to fix all water leaks in plumbing, pipes, or around tubs and sinks.
-fix any ceiling or roof leaks.
-Vent bathrooms, dryers, and other moisture-generating sources to the
outside.
-Open doors between rooms to circulate indoor air. Hot air travels to cold
air.
- Circulate indoor air with fans.
-Eliminate clutter to improve air circulation and remove potential growing
places for mold.
- Clean, dry, or remove any damp or wet materials soaked by rain within
24-48 hours.
 How to control/improve the fungi and molds

• Large amounts of ozone, when introduced into residential

rooms, destroy airborne pathogens (such as airborne mold
spores); however, the Environmental Protection Agency and
the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration have
set standards for safe ozone exposure.
 Description bacteria cont..

Breeding ground
• The bacteria grow best in warm water, like the kind found in
hot tubs, cooling towers, hot water tanks, large plumbing
systems, or parts of the air-conditioning systems of large
buildings.

• Potential sources of such contaminated water include cooling

towers used in industrial cooling water systems as well as in
large central air conditioning systems, evaporative coolers,
hot water systems, showers, whirlpool spas, architectural
fountains, room-air humidifiers, ice making machines, misting
equipment, and similar disseminators that draw upon a public
water supply.
 Description of Bacteria.

Legionella

• Legionellosis infection normally occurs after inhaling an

aerosol (suspension of fine particles in air) containing
Legionella bacteria (Legionella pneumophila). Such particles
could originate from any infected water source. When
mechanical action breaks the surface of the water, small
water droplets are formed, which evaporate very quickly. If
these droplets contain bacteria, the bacteria cells remain
suspended in the air, invisible to the naked eye but small
enough to be inhaled into the lungs.[This often occurs in
poorly ventilated areas such as prisons where a compensating
air conditioner can spread it throughout the entire room,
infecting anyone not immune to the strand of bacteria.
 Indoor micro-oganism
• Indoor ornamental fountains have been confirmed as a cause of Legionnaires'
disease outbreaks. In all documented cases submerged lighting as a heat source
was attributed to the outbreak.
• Patients with Legionnaires' disease usually have fever, chills, and a cough, which
may be dry or may produce sputum. Some patients also have muscle aches,
headache, tiredness, loss of appetite, loss of coordination (ataxia), and
occasionally diarrhea and vomiting. Laboratory tests may show that patients’ renal
functions, liver functions and electrolytes are deranged, including hyponatremia.
Chest X-rays often show pneumonia with bi-basal consolidation
• In Netherlands, March 1999 , 200 people became ill and at least 32 people died.
• In 2002, Barrow-in-Furness in the U.K. suffered an outbreak of Legionnaires'
disease. Six women and one man died as a result of the illness, another 172
people also contracted the disease.
• In Fredrikstad, Norway 2005, 56 people became ill and ten died from legionnaire's
disease caused by bacteria growing in an air scrubber of a nearby factory.
 How to control/improve the bacteria

• Through the use of disinfectants.

• Through the use of ozone
• Sterilization.
 References
• www.mycolog.com © Mycologue Publications 1998.
• ^ "Bacteria (eubacteria)". Taxonomy Browser. NCBI.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?mode=Un
def&id=2&lvl=3&lin=f&keep=1&srchmode=1&unlock
. Retrieved 2008-09-10.
• ^ Fredrickson JK, Zachara JM, Balkwill DL, et al. (July 2004).
"Geomicrobiology of high-level nuclear waste-contaminated vadose sedim
ents at the Hanford site, Washington state"
. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 70 (7): 4230–41. doi:
10.1128/AEM.70.7.4230-4241.2004. PMID 15240306.
• ^ a b Whitman WB, Coleman DC, Wiebe WJ (June 1998).
"Prokaryotes: the unseen majority". Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences of the United States of America 95 (12): 6578–83. doi:
10.1073/pnas.95.12.6578. PMID 9618454.
• ^ a b Rappé MS, Giovannoni SJ (2003). "The uncultured microbial
majority". Annual Review of Microbiology 57: 369–94.
doi:10.1146/annurev.micro.57.030502.090759. PMID 14527284.