From the National Ag Safety Board, Re: Mold Spores

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What are These Mold Spores and Why are They so Dangerous?

Mold spores are tiny bacteria less than 4 microns in size -- so small that

as many as 250,000 spores can fit on a pin head and a farmer can inhale as

many as 750,000 of these spores per minute! They are produced by microorganisms

which grow in moist hay and stored grain silage where the moisture content is

high (30%) and the area is poorly ventilated.

When farmers move or work with hay and silage materials in which mold spores

have grown, the mold spores attach themselves to airborne dust particles. The

farmer not only inhales dust particles which may not be extremely hazardous,

but he also inhales mold spores which are a serious hazard. Heavy

concentrations of mold spores appear as dry, white or grey powder or clouds.

The body has natural defense filtering systems (such as mucous lining,

coughing and sneezing) against dusty air which helps remove some contaminants,

BUT

most contaminants overpower and pass through these defenses. Mold spores not

only bypass defenses because of their number, but also because they are so

small.

Very fine particles, like mold spores, move into, accumulate and settle into

the lower lungs. There they produce toxins. Remember that the lungs transfer

oxygen to the bloodstream, and most of the actual exchange of carbon dioxide

and oxygen takes place in the lower lungs. Now the lungs become a roadway for

toxic materials to travel through the bloodstream with the oxygen. The

body's reaction to the toxins permanently affects the lungs' ability to

transfer

oxygen into the bloodstream. The lung tissue becomes permanently scared and

each exposure to mold spores increases the damage.

The body's last defense against these tiny invaders is to develop an allergy

producing cold or pneumonia-like symptoms.