Microbiologists work to decrease mold growth in flooded homes through improved p

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Microbiologists work to decrease mold growth in flooded homes through improved

prevention, cleanup

15. July 2010 07:24

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20100715/Microbiologists-work-to-decrease-mold-\

growth-in-flooded-homes-through-improved-prevention-cleanup.aspx

A team of microbiologists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River

National Laboratory (SRNL) is working with Tuskegee University and Mississippi

State University to decrease mold growth in flooded homes through improved

prevention and cleanup.

Funded by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through the Southeast

Regional Research Institute (SERRI), Mississippi State University asked SRNL and

Tuskegee University to join the " Effective Mold and Contaminant Remediation for

Flood and Water Damaged Homes " project.

" SRNL's Environmental Biotechnology Section has a long history of successfully

working with the assessment and cleanup of mold and fungi at the Savannah River

Site. In recent years major disasters including hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Ike,

and flooding events have unfortunately highlighted this critical need at the

national level and really underscores what we are doing with this project. This

is a strong partnership, and I really think we can make a difference, " said SRNL

team leader Robin Brigmon, Ph.D.

The research focuses on analyzing common types of mold found after water damage

to homes. The research will discover the best ways to clean structures, identify

which mold types are most toxic to people, determine how deep into walls and

porous surfaces sanitization is needed, assess how long people should wait

before safely returning to their homes and investigate how to prepare improved

housing materials to prevent mold growth.

" Just as humans can be identified by their unique fingerprint patterns, microbes

can also be identified by their unique DNA fingerprint composed of specific DNA

sequences. In this project, we will use a quantitative polymerase chain reaction

(qPCR) to amplify and analyze the unique DNA of any mold contamination present

on the flooded housing materials, " said SRNL researcher .

" The results generated from the qPCR will provide a DNA fingerprint for any mold

present that could cause a health hazard to humans. Using the DNA fingerprint,

we can determine whether the mold is a health concern and how much mold is

present, " said .

SRNL will provide expertise and bioanalytical equipment to measure and

characterize mold in samples from recent large-scale studies conducted at

Tuskegee University. In the experiments, researchers flooded a building with

lake water for three weeks, drained it and then let the mold grow for another

three weeks while the building was vacant, simulating hurricane conditions.

Various structural materials in the experiment building will be evaluated for

their ability to resist mold growth. The development of molds collected inside

and on the surface of the walls represents a variety of fungi that would

typically grow in a home after severe flooding, hurricanes or other water

damage. Techniques to remediate the building will also be evaluated and tested.

SRNL is also collaborating with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration (NOAA) at the Hollings Marine Laboratory in ton, SC, to

test mold toxin production on the building materials from the experiment at

Tuskegee.

The project stemmed from past work with the universities that focused on

determining harmful effects from various types of fungi and how to best clean

mold growing in homes after floods and hurricanes. The Federal Emergency

Management Agency (FEMA) funded the earlier collaboration in 2008, largely

spurred by the obvious impact of mold on homes in the New Orleans area after

hurricane Katrina in 2005. Dr. Robin Brigmon said that hurricane Katrina is

still a strong reason for their work.

Brigmon expects to produce results from the team's research by the fall of 2010

and complete the project by the fall of 2011.

Source: DOE/Savannah River National Laboratory