I have recently been appointed to carry out an investigation of a possible mould contamination in a stylish inner city townhouse. The property occupants have been suffering from bad musty odours for several months and have started to experience some odverse health symptoms. The facility management company in charge of the property has failed to carry out full and proper investigation in reasonable time and only carried out cosmetic patching up repairs in the hope that the problem is only temporary on will eventually go away. After the initial walkthrough of the property it became apparent that the centraly position utility room has unusually high humidity levels. Small patches of mould were easily identifiable behind the washing machine and the dryer.
Moisture mapping of the surrounding eareas quickly showed that all the walls were showing signs of light water damage and were registering very high moisture content to about 1 meter high. In one corner of the room the wetness reached much higher suggesting source of water on the upper floors of the property.
In the initial stages of the investigation enough evidence was gathered to justify a destructive investigation of the plasterboard cavity walls surrounding the utility room. The opening of the walls revealed that most of the internal surfaces were covered by heavy coating of black-ish mould which was later confirmed by laboratory analysis to be Stachybotrys chartarum. The total extent of the contamination was confirmed to be well over hundred meters squared.
Opened cavity wall showing thick coverage by Stachybotrys chartarum mould
Almost 100% coverage of paper lined plasterboard cavity wall by Stachybotrys chartarum mould
Reflected mirror view on the inner side of a plasterboard cavity walls showing black mould contaminarion to the surface
Mould contamination of a plasterboard partition wall behind kitchen units
Air sampling for airborne mould spores and other fungal fragments showed that the indoor air in the property is not significantly contaminated by fungal elements however water damage moulds were detected in the air suggesting indoor origin. The total concentration of airborne moulds in the property was elevated between 19-67% in comparison to the background sample.
Additional sampling was carried out to establish if the soft furnishing in the house was contaminated by excessive amounts of specific moulds. The target organisms selected to evaluate the soft furnishing contamination were Stachybotry and Chaetomium moulds identified on the plasterboard in the property. Sample evaluation and subsequent comparison with samples taken from an un- affected soft furnishing items showed that the concentration of Stachybotrys spores was increased by over 900% and Chaetomium spores well over 2500% providing a clear indication that the soft furnishing in the property were contaminated and require professional cleaning.
Due to the extent of the discovered contamination and potentially hazardous nature of the identified moulds the family was relocated from the house within one week. The property is now undergoing extensive repairs and decontamination procedures.
By Tomas Gabor
