Get a hold on mold

Students at a Wisconsin elementary school received an unexpected science lesson when their newly constructed building had to be shut down after three months as a result of excessive mold growth.

What was the cause? Elevated moisture conditions. Remediation of the school took nine months and cost $1.5 million.

A case study of the school will be presented during a seminar at the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers' (ASHRAE) 2004 Annual Meeting, to be held June 26-30 in Nashville, Tenn.

"Environmental Health Issues: Mold and Other Indoor Environment Concerns" will take place from 10:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. on Monday, June 28. It is sponsored by ASHRAE's Environmental Health Committee.

It will feature presentations about the health effects associated with exposure to indoor air. Indoor air chemistry and the topical issues related to mold and ventilation systems, including mold prevention in new construction, will also be discussed.

Speaker Wane A. Baker, P.E., CIH, and Michaels Engineering Inc., La Crosse, Wis., which investigated the problems at the school, will present a case study about their findings.

The firm found that the elevated moisture conditions were caused by 14 factors, primarily attributed to humidity levels that were inadequately controlled during construction; an uncontrolled release of a significant amount of water during construction in one wing of the school; and the failure of temporary enclosures over openings in the roof, which allowed rainwater to enter the building.

"Of the 14 factors, 13 were noted by school staff and other parties who were on site during construction," Baker says. "We found a number of deficiencies in workmanship and/or non-conformance with the building specifications."

Jan Sundell, Ph.D., P.E., Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark, will discuss allergies and ventilation. He said there is a lack of information regarding ventilation of homes and its importance for health effects.

He will discuss a study that determined that ventilation rates in Swedish homes are low. About 60% of the multi-family houses and about 80% of the single-family houses did not fulfill the minimum requirements in Swedish building legislation.

However, the estimated risk of health effects was reduced when adjustments were made for the construction period, ventilation system, type of foundation and number of floors in the building, which indicates that there are also other housing factors of importance for allergic symptoms among children.

Speaker Wayne Thomann, Ph.D., Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C., will discuss mold in building systems, including conditions that support the growth of mold, the most commonly encountered contaminant mold, and methods to monitor mold.

Annette C. Rohr, Ph.D., EPRI, Palo Alto, Calif., will talk about possible health implications of indoor chemistry, and suggest ways in which these might be mitigated.

Registration for the 2004 ASHRAE Annual Meeting is $580 ($340 for ASHRAE members) prior to May 28. After May 28, the registration fee will be $680 ($440 for ASHRAE members). For more information or to register, visit www.ASHRAE.org.