NIOSH Alert: Preventing Occupational Respiratory Disease from Exposures Caused by Dampness in Office Buildings, Schools, and Other Nonindustrial Buildings

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Indoor dampness ; Preventing respiratory disease from damp indoor environments
• Journal Article:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Personal Author:
  Martin, Michelle ; Cox-Ganser, Jean M. ; Kreiss, Kathleen ; Kanwal, Richard ; Sahakian, Nancy
• Description:
  Office buildings, schools, and other nonindustrial buildings may develop moisture and dampness problems from roof and window leaks, high indoor humidity, and flooding events, among other things. For this Alert, we define "dampness" as the presence of unwanted and excessive moisture in buildings [AIHA 2008]. This can lead to the growth of mold, fungi, and bacteria; the release of volatile organic compounds; and the breakdown of building materials. We use the term "mold" for a group of fungi that are common on wet materials. Outdoors, molds live in the soil, on plants, and on dead or decaying matter. There are thousands of species of molds and they can be any color. Different mold species can adapt to different moisture conditions. Research studies have shown that dampness-related exposures from building dampness and mold have been associated with respiratory symptoms, asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, rhinosinusitis, bronchitis, and respiratory infections in research studies. Individuals with asthma or hypersensitivity pneumonitis may be at risk for progression to more severe disease if the relationship between illness and exposure to the damp building is not recognized and exposures continue. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Content Notes:
  Principal contributors to this Alert were Michelle Martin, Jean Cox-Ganser, Kathleen Kreiss, Richard Kanwal, and Nancy Sahakian.
  
  Includes bibliographical references (p. 15-18).
  
  
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution, Indoor Diseases Dust Environmental Exposure Fungi Humidity Lungs Microbiology Occupational Diseases Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Standards Workplace

  More +
• Keywords:
  Respiratory-system-disorders; Pulmonary-system-disorders; Microorganisms; Molds; Organic-dusts; Organic-compounds; Office-workers; Humidity; Fungi; Bacteria
• Source:
  Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2013-102, 2012 Nov; :1-21
• Series:
  NIOSH Numbered Publications
• Subseries:
  Alert
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  28 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20041828
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2015-105148
• Contact Point Address:
  Director, Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1095 Willowdale Road, Suite 2900, Morgantown, WV 26505
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ff77853b23851b6483e323b9cd7f97fa4542ac61df85e02b07ba2bcaaace0e2ee517501c0015fe554dbd2c0ea7fddccb080131106474f7474f403e624399fde2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/12128/cdc_12128_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 18.02 MB ]