Mold Spore Remediation Mold within homes, schools and workplaces has drawn a lot of attention in recent years. With buildings being more airtight, mold has impacted the health of occupants more directly as indoor air is re-circulated and breathed. Mold is defined as microbe sized living entities which are divided into five basic kingdoms. Fungi - Eukaryotic organisms that lack flagella and develop from spores, yeast, mold and mildew (a subset of mold), rusts and mushrooms. Monera - Prokaryotic organisms - bacteria, actinomycetes and blue-green algae. Protoctista - Eukaryotic organisms, protozoa and other unicellular and colonial organisms, nucleated algae, flagellated water molds and slime molds. Plantae - Eukaryotic organisms - develop from organisms as liverworts, mosses and vascular plants. Animalia - Eukaryotic organisms - develop from a blastula (a hollow ball of cells) such as sponges, coelenterates, worms, arthropods and mammals. The entities are often airborne and are referred to as bio aerosols. They are extremely small (1/25,000th of an inch) and fall into the category of microbes which include viruses, bacteria and fungi. The main problem with mold is the byproducts that they produce. Depending on the type of mold, varying degrees of toxins called mycotoxins are produced which negatively interact with the human body. Examples of harmful bio aerosols diseases are Legionnaires Disease, Pontiac Fever, Histoplasmosis and Cryptococcosis. Most fungi produce toxic metabolites during digestion called mycotoxins. These toxins are believed to be present in the largest quantities in the spores, which need not be viable to contain them. The most widely recognized mycotoxins are aflatoxin, sterigmatocystin and ochratoxin, produced predominantly by Aspergillus and Penicillium species and T-2 toxin, vomitoxin, fumonism, zearalenone and other tricothene mycotoxins produced by Fusarium and Stachybotrys species. There are numerous other mycotoxins produced by a wide variety of fungi, of which the health effects remain unknown. Generally mycotoxins are nonvolatile and inhalation exposure usually occurs only after disturbance of a contaminated source. Symptoms of exposure to mycotoxins include cold and flu-like symptoms, headache, nosebleeds, dermatitis and immune suppression. Many mycotoxins are highly carcinogenic. It is important to note that killing the organism will not neutralize the mycotoxins that have already been produced. New Meadows Abatement has been trained by the Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA) in the control and remediation of mold substances. We have a "Certified Mold Remediator" on staff and we are also a member of the IAQA. This is the highest level of certification available in the country, as there are no Federal regulations that currently exist. A link to the IAQA website is provided as well as a link to the mold information page of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) website. Indoor Air Quality Association Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) We hope that this will help you and we ask you to contact us for more information. powered by