LCS Laboratory Inc., in London, Ontario offers laboratory testing, free media and rental equipment for mold sampling.
Mold spore count is commonly used as an indicator of the fungal contamination of a building. This can be due to either previous water damage, or microbiological contamination. In our previous article, we included a simple table that could be helpful in interpreting the mold spore concentration level in buildings.
Another way of assessing indoor mold concentration levels, is on the comparison of indoor levels to outdoor levels. The criterion for total fungal particulates is based on the Health Canada statement that “normal” indoor air mycoflora at the genus and species level is qualitatively similar to and quantitatively lower than the outdoor air. This means that the distribution of indoor mold at the genus or species level is similar to the outdoor distribution and quantitatively lower than the outdoors. Alberta Health Services developed an air quality assessment procedure that offers an acceptability criteria for each mold genus detected on the indoor sample. Mold air quality is considered to be acceptable if the indoor spore count for each species/genus doesn’t exceed 2-5 fold of the outdoor level. The detailed procedure of air sampling and acceptance criteria can be found here.
A similar approach is developed by Dr. Jackson Kung’u as a useful guideline for the interpretation of numerical data for non-viable airborne mold samples. The guidelines may be used to decide whether further investigations are required after the initial testing. According to this procedure, the spore level is acceptable if the indoor spore count for each specie/genus is smaller than the outdoor level, and, for some species, doesn’t exceed 2 fold of the outdoor level. If you are interested to read more on this complex procedure, please refer to the original document.
If you want to discuss your project, please email us at your convenience. You can receive a quote or order the air sampling kit from our online store.
