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

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cox-Ganser, Jean M. ; Kanwal, Richard ; Kreiss, Kathleen ; Martin M ; 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]
• Subjects:
  Dust Fungi Humidity Microbiology Occupational Health Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety
• Keywords:
  Bacteria Microorganisms Molds Office-workers Organic-compounds Organic-dusts Pulmonary-system-disorders Respiratory-system-disorders
• Series:
  NIOSH Numbered Publications
• Subseries:
  Alert
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHPUB2013102
• 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:
  1-21
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20041828
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2015-105148
• Citation:
  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
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:8582ab20312f455d93fac5fd788d0741d34e6a51eb500d79b3d8b2225d69186bb5a066c86900d119bb6070fe564280180d882ae6ee4740a34e7d1994894347a6
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/210034/cdc_210034_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 635.22 KB ]