Mould Toxins More Prevalent And Hazardous Than Thought

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Mould Toxins More Prevalent And Hazardous Than Thought

ScienceDaily (Dec. 9, 2008)

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081209085622.htm

Mould toxins in buildings damaged by moisture are considerably more

prevalent than was previously thought, according to new

international research. a Bloom from the Division of Medical

Microbiology at Lund University in Sweden has contributed to

research in this field by analyzing dust and materials samples from

buildings damaged by mould. Virtually all of the samples contained

toxins from mould.

" Previously it was claimed that the occurrence of mould does not

necessarily mean that there are toxins present. But they are! On the

contrary, we can assume that wherever there is visible mould, there

are also mould toxins, " says a Bloom.

And toxins produced by mould are more potent than was previously

thought. It has now been shown, for instance, that mould toxins

(mycotoxins) not only directly kill cells but can also affect immune

cells in a way that increases the risk of allergies. Even incredibly

tiny amounts of these toxins can do this, as little as a few

picograms (a picogram is one millionth of a millionth of a gram).

New research also shows that mould releases extremely small

particles that remain suspended in the air, and can get into our

lungs much more easily than the spores that have previously been

focused on. This can increase exposure to mould and mycotoxins

hundreds of times over compared with previous calculations. And

mycotoxins have further been shown in laboratory studies to have a

synergistic effect: the effect of two toxins is not merely 1 + 1 but

much greater.

Using methods from analytical chemistry, a Bloom analyzed dust

sample and samples from construction materials such as molding,

drywall, and wallpaper from buildings damaged by mould. She acquired

nearly all of the samples from professional damage assessors.

" We looked at 6-7 different mycotoxins and found them in a majority

of the samples. And since there are at least 400 sorts of

mycotoxins, what we have seen is probably just the tip of the

iceberg, " she says.

Mould in buildings is a phenomenon that has been known since the

times of the Old Testament. In Leviticus mention is made of spots

that constitute " a fretting leprosy in the house, " and should be

scraped off and thrown away " in some unclean place. "

" Actually, we haven't made all that much progress today, " maintains

a Bloom. " We know that people are sickened by buildings damaged

by moisture, but whether this is primarily caused by mycotoxins,

bacteria, or gases given off by the moist building materials, this

we don't know exactly. We should therefore observe the principle of

caution and renovate the building as soon as a moisture problem or

mould is found. "

After she defends her thesis on December 6, a Bloom will start

working with indoor-environment issues at the IVL, the Swedish

Environmental Research Institute. Her thesis director, Lennart

Larsson, is continuing his research with the Lund team, for example

participating in a major EU project on indoor environments in

schools and their possible connections to asthma and allergies.