Indoor Air Quality: Part 2

MoRa Code Basics

Molds and Radon

Molds
Restrain yourself from saying, " Hey! Is that a new art form? Why! It appears to be growing each day, giving the walls a grey, green, yellow look ". Stop appreciating the walls even if they have begun to look like a lovely old mural painted by a talented abstract artist. They may even have the shades, shadows, highlights, undertones and all the special effects created by the play of colours, light and shade. Don't let the beauty of moldy walls get to you or to your client.

They could be dangerous for you and your family's health, your client's health and his or her pet's health. Don't let your pet owners get nostalgic about pottering around in old cupboards searching for old forgotten books, dolls and other things. Little brown, black, yellow, green spots on the wall, on your client's pet dog's kennel walls are the alarm calls of a fire. Tell them to watch out! They are the warning signs telling them that there's a microscopic little fungi indoors that's looking for space to grow. And if that's going to be in the house, in the hospital or on office walls, well, there's going to be months of ill health, suffering and respiratory distress that's round the corner for sure.

Water! Way to grow!
Water! That's the vital elixir essential for every mold to grow, spread and thrive. Whether it's your hospital premises, clinic, office, home or your client's home, what you need to explain clearly to your client and your staff to watch out and to eliminate are the molds. They simply thrive on moisture. Every little drop of moisture in the air or condensed on any surface helps the mold to thrive, grow and spread. There's lots of life and action in every single drop of water.

Moldy toxins
Some moldy growths can be especially dangerous and life threatening for both pets and humans. For example, the toxins produced by the mold Stachybotrys atra can be extremely lethal. Memnoniella and Aspergillus versicolor are other molds in the same family that produce airborne toxins. These mycotoxins can cause serious respiratory distress, flulike symptoms, lethal lung infection, bleeding in the lungs with blood being coughed out as large, big clots! Besides, respiratory signs and symptoms, dizziness, irritability, memory loss in humans,dullness and apathy in animals may be also seen. Other milder molds that can grow in the indoor environment include Cladosporium, Penicillium and Alternaria.

A few years ago, the Mayo Clinic carried out a study that pinpointed the source of all the chronic sinus infections afflicting 37 million Americans to molds. Allergy-related sinusitis, asthma, allergic dermatitis, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA), hyper-sensitivity pneumonitis, respiratory and mucous membrane irritation are all some of the many different ways in which molds in the indoor air environment may adversely affect your client's health and his or her pet's health.

A check list of moldy spots for your client to watch out for!

1. Check behind walls, shower walls, under floors and above ceiling tiles.
2. Wet cellulose material is great chow for molds to feed on!
3. Wood, ceiling tiles, plasterboard, accumulations of organic material inside air-conditioning and heating systems are other places where you can check out for moldy growth.
4. Leaks in the plumbing should be checked and fixed as soon as possible, preferably within 24 hours.
5. Walls damp with rain water leaking in should also be attended to immediately.
6. Be vigilant about discoloration on the walls, anything that's beginning to make the walls look like an abstract landscape with no effort from your side.
7. Wood and paper are especially vulnerable to spore clouds.
8. Mold growth can be almost any color: white, black, green, fluorescent, orange, brown etc.
9. Let the sunshine ventilate the rooms.
10. Try to have as much natural sources of ventilation as possible.
11. Stagnant water anywhere around the house, especially around air conditioners, air filters and furnaces are a good haven for moldy growth.
12. Be very alert to air heating and air conditioning systems. They can efficiently dislogde spores and through air currents cause them to be uniformly distributed in the indoor environment.
13. Make sure cloth, carpet, leather, wood and such other indoor furnishings are regularly washed and left out to dry completely in the sun.
14. Exhaust fans, ventilators in the attic and crawl spaces help to prevent moisture build-up.
15. Keeping humidity levels in these areas to below 50 percent can prevent water condensation on building materials.
16. Ultrasonic humidifiers should be cleaned according to manufacturer's instructions and refilled with fresh water daily.
17. Evaporation trays in air conditioners, dehumidifiers, and refrigerators should also be cleaned frequently.

Radon
Another dangerous and perhaps lethal source for deteriorating indoor air quality is radon. The commonest source of radon in the indoor air is uranium in the soil or rock present in the land on which the house or building is located. The gradual disintegration of urnaium causes the release of radon gas. The gas which is colourless and radioactive may seep in to the indoor air quite surreptiously. Small cracks in the walls, floors and drains can cause a gradual and slow drift of radon to form a toxic component of indoor air. Constant and chronic exposure to radon may serve as a noxious irritant leading to the development of cancer and other fatal illnesses.

A very important and useful testing device in the home is an indoor air radon level monitoring device. This instrument helps one to constantly monitor indoor air quality. An acceptable level of radon in the indoor air has been estimated to be 1.3 picocuries per liter (pCi/L). The average outdoor level of radon in the air has been estimated to be about 0.4 pCi/L.