What MVOCs cause health problems for most people?

[Guest guest]

IAQ professionals have determined that in many cases MVOCs are the

the real cause of health problems among mold sensitive people.

That is an important piece of information, but it's not sufficient. To

use an analogy: suppose the cause of flu is still unknown. Many people

believe the cause is a bacteria. And then some scientists say " No,

it's not a bacteria, it's a virus " .

While this information is undoubtedly very useful - we can discard a

whole class of microorganisms (bacteria) and zero in on viruses only -

there has to be more detailed description of these viruses. Such as,

what class of viruses do they belong to, what are their properties,

how can we protect people from them, how can they be destroyed etc.

The same is with MVOCs. Can somebody from IAQ people here provide an

example where the building occupants complained on classic mold

problems, the inspection was done and the analyses of samples showed

that neither fungal allergens nor mycotoxins were found in doses

sufficient to cause health problems. However the analysis of MVOCs

with SUMMA canisters identified certain MVOCs.

What were these MVOCs? Can you name some MVOCs that consistently show

up in the analyses when people complain on their AC units or water

damaged building materials? In other words, what MVOCs are most likely

to be the irritants that people usually mistake for trichothecenes?

I ask this question because I've found that many MVOCs seem to be

present not only as products of fungal growth but also can be found in

fruits and vegetables. For instance, geosmin can be found in beet,

2-octen-1-ol can be found in apples and oranges etc. These MVOCs are

unlikely to cause health problems similar to trichothecene

mycotoxicosis even in hypersensitive people.

-Branislav