Indoor Environmental Air Quality

How does the University investigate mold concerns? 

   

EHSO follows regulatory guidance from the EPA and CDC when conducting mold investigations. This entails performing a thorough visual inspection of the building which includes occupied spaces, mechanical spaces, and mechanical systems. The visual inspection consists of: 

  1. Identifying any areas of visible mold.
  2. Identifying areas of water intrusion, water leaks, or water-damaged building products.
  3. Taking environmental readings such as relative humidity and temperature.
  4. Taking moisture readings and thermal imaging of building products as appropriate.
  5. Checking areas for musty or moldy odors.

Based on regulatory guidance, EHSO does not perform air sampling during mold investigations because it is not considered an effective way to determine if a mold problem exists. This is due to the unpredictable nature of biological activity, variability in sampling, and difficulty with data interpretation. Standards for judging what is an acceptable, tolerable, or even normal quantity of airborne mold have not been established.

The use of petri dish style do-it-yourself home mold test kits is a topic that occasionally comes up during a mold investigation. These test kits are widely available online or in places like hardware stores and grocery stores. The kits consist of opening a petri dish containing growth media for a period of time and then sending it to a laboratory for analysis. These kits are not considered a credible method for assessing indoor air quality and are not recognized by reputable indoor air quality professionals.

In the majority of investigations, no mold problems are found to be present. In rare cases, the university may employ the services of a third-party environmental consultant to evaluate a building or spaces within a building. The table below shows the most recent environmental consultant investigations including findings and recommendations that the university has implemented. To request a full copy of an environmental consultant report, please contact EHSO at ehso@miamioh.edu.

 

Building

Findings

Recommendations Implemented

Morris Hall (2021)

No mold problems found

Replace aging hallway carpets and improve ventilation to the hallways

Peabody Hall (2021)

No mold problems found

Increase frequency of cleaning fan coil units

Thomson Hall (2021)

No mold problems found

Increase frequency of cleaning window air-conditioning units

Havighurst Hall (2021)

No mold problems found

No recommendations offered

Dodds Hall (2018)

No mold problems found

Increase frequency of cleaning window air-conditioning units

MacCracken Hall (2017)

No mold problems found

No recommendations offered

 

Additional resources:

CDC's Main Page on Mold: https://www.cdc.gov/mold/default.htm

CDC’s Mold Testing page: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/indoorenv/moldtesting.html

CDC's Indoor Air Quality Page: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/indoorenv/default.html

EPA’s Mold Testing and Sampling page: https://www.epa.gov/mold/mold-testing-or-sampling

EPA's Main Page on Mold: https://www.epa.gov/mold