For some members of the legal profession, mould has
been a disappointment. Looking for “the next asbestos” as
a source of successful class actions, they hoped that anecdotes
about injury to health due to mould would become firm, defensible
evidence. However, an asbestos-sized tide of class actions hasn’t
happened, despite the impressive array of legal talent that has done
its best to make it so.
For details Download the full article here.
The New York City Guidelines on Assessment and Remediation of Fungi in Indoor Environments have been revised. According to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH)…
“This 2008 document revises existing guidelines and supersedes all prior editions. It is based both on a review of the current literature regarding fungi (mold) and on comments from a review panel consisting of experts in the fields of mycology/microbiology, environmental health sciences, environmental/occupational medicine, industrial hygiene, and environmental remediation.
These guidelines are intended for use by building owners and managers, environmental contractors and environmental consultants. It is also available for general distribution to anyone concerned about indoor mold growth. The attached fact sheet, “Mold Growth: Prevention and Cleanup for Building Owners and Managers,” is a simplified summary of these guidelines, which may be useful for building owners, managers and workers. It is strongly recommended that the complete guidelines be referred to before addressing the assessment or remediation of indoor mold growth.
In 1993, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) first issued recommendations on addressing mold growth indoors. In 2000, DOHMH made major revisions to the initial guidance and made minor edits in 2002.
The terms fungi and mold are used interchangeably throughout this document.
This document should be used only as guidance. It is not a substitute for a site-specific assessment and remediation plan and is not intended for use in critical care facilities such as intensive care units, transplant units, or surgical suites. Currently there are no United States Federal, New York State, or New York City regulations for the assessment or remediation of mold growth.
These guidelines are available to the public, but may not be reprinted or used for any commercial purpose except with the express written permission of the DOHMH. These guidelines are subject to change as more information regarding this topic becomes available…”.
To read the complete revised Guidelines click Guidelines on Assessment and Remediation of Fungi in Indoor Environments.
Wastewater consists of water that carries wastes (dissolved or suspended solids) from homes, businesses, and industries and also stormwater discharges. This water is rich in chemical and biological pollutants. Therefore, wastewater effluents, if not properly treated, can cause a number of ecological, economical, and human health problems such as:
Decontamination of wastewater before it’s released into the environment is therefore very important. This article will focus on microbial contamination of wastewater and sludge and associated health risks.
Microbial contamination of wastewater and sludge is monitored to determine the degree of pollution and potential exposure to harmful bacteria, fungi and enteric viruses. Many of the microorganisms found in sewage sludge are potentially pathogenic. These microorganisms include bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses.
The most common type of bacteria found in sewage sludge are of enteric origin (i.e., from the intestines) since sewage contains human waste. Also found are members of the genera Streptococcus, Clostridium, Mycobacterium, and Listeria. The presence and concentration of a given pathogenic microorganism depend, however, on the presence of healthy or sick carriers in a population. The sewage sludge can contain as high as 108 to 109 total coliforms, 106 to 107 of fecal coliforms, and 102 to 103 salmonellae bacteria per gram of dry matter. Generally, bacteria can survive in the soil for a few months. Some are partially or completely rendered inactive by extreme temperatures below the freezing point or by summer dry spells. Before using farmland to which sludge has been applied, a waiting period of a full year, or at least one summer is recommended.
Sludge may also contain a number of pathogenic fungi, such as Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida albicans, and Cryptococcus neoformans. Since human infection by these fungi is through direct contact or inhalation spores and hyphal fragments, workers who handle sludge, and especially those who are immunocompromised, are at the greatest risk.
Parasites pose health risks primarily to workers at sites where sludge has been applied. The important parasites are protozoa (e.g., amoebae, Toxoplasma gondii, Giardia lamblia, and Cryptosporidium sp.) and helminthes (such as Ascaris sp., Trichuris sp., and Taenia sp). These parasites are often present in sludge in the form of cysts or eggs. The eggs and cysts are very resistant and can be destroyed only by heat treatment at temperatures of at least 70 °C. The number of egg and cysts in a kilogram of dry matter range from several hundred to several thousand. Such numbers are very high, given that only a few parasites are required to cause infection. If present in the soil after application of sludge on land, eggs or cysts can survive several years.
Viruses may be present in raw sludge at concentrations as high as 1000 virus particles per gram of dry matter. Most of the viruses are those that attack the digestive system, i.e., enteric viruses including the hepatitis A virus. In the soil, some viruses can survive for several months in the first 5-15 cm of soil thus posing a health risk to humans.
Since it’s not practical to test for every potentially pathogenic organism in wastewater, the degree of pollution of wastewater is determined by use of indicator organisms. Two groups of organisms used as indicators of pollution are the total coliforms and fecal coliforms. The fecal coliform group, however, is considered the most significant by majority of laboratories.
The coliform group of organisms consist of primarily the genera Escherichia, Enterobacter, Citrobacter, and Klebsiella. The coliforms are widely distributed in nature, and many are in the gut of humans and warm-blooded animals.
A more rigorous test to assess the extent of fecal contamination may involve testing a suite of microbial indicators (e.g., total and fecal coliforms, enterococci, Escherichia coli, coliphage, Clostridium perfringens, and human enteric viruses).
Sampling is a critical part of sanitary water testing. As often stated, the laboratory results are only as good as the sample collected. Therefore, it’s not only important that the sample accurately represents the mass of water being tested but also to prevent deterioration and contamination of the sample before analysis.
Generally there are two methods for sampling wastewater. The grab sampling and composite sampling. Grab sampling refers to a sample collected at one time. The disadvantage of a grab sample is that it reflects the condition of the water only at the point in time that the sample was collected. Composite sampling, on the other hand consists of a collection of numerous individual discrete samples (about 100 mL each) taken at regular intervals, usually of 1 hour over a period of 24 hours. The collected samples are poured into a larger bottle and kept refrigerated at around 4 oC over the sampling period. The analysis of this composite sample, collected over a period of time, represent the average condition of the wastewater during the collection period.
Two types of sample containers may be used: a wide-mouth, 120 mL borosilicate glass bottle with glass stopper or screw-cap closure or an autoclavable, nontoxic polypropylene bottle. The containers must be sterilized before use.
If the sample to be tested contains residual chlorine, it has to be dechlorinated. This is achieved by adding appropriate amount of sodium thiosulphate dechlorination agent to the bottle before sample collection. This amount is typically 1.0 mL of 1% solution of sodium thiosulphate for a 120-mL bottle and is typically added before sterilization of the bottle.
Ideally, the sample should be processed within 1 hour of collection or refrigerated below 10 °C and then processed within 6 hours. When collecting samples, sufficient space (approximately 2.5 cm) in the bottle should be left to allow mixing of the sample by shaking. Contaminating the mouth of the bottle with hands or other non-sterile objects should be avoided.
The two accepted methods used to test for total coliforms and fecal coliforms are the membrane filter procedure and the most probable number (MPN) method. The former is the most commonly used today because it’s easy to use, accurate, inexpensive, and results are obtained within 24 hours.
On M-Endo medium coliform colonies appear golden-green sheen at 10x magnification under a fluorescent light source. The coliform count of the sample size tested is expressed as the number of colony forming units (CFU) per 100 mL of water. Although each colony of organisms recovered on the membrane filter typically represents one organism, occasionally, more than one organism will merge to form a larger than normal colony.
To be considered valid, the number of coliform colonies on the filter surface should not exceed 80 CFUs, and the total number of all colonies should not exceed 200 CFUs. If these limits are exceeded, the sample should be diluted appropriately to give between 20 to 80 coliform colonies and less than 200 of total number of all colonies.
Fecal Coliforms ferment lactose at elevated temperatures as well as at 35 °C. The incubation temperature required is 44.5 plus or minus 0.2 °C. When grown on M-FC medium, they appear as blue colonies. No more than 60 fecal coliforms, or more than 200 of total colonies should be present on the membrane for a valid count.
The recovery of fecal coliform organisms in wastewater is an indication of possible presence of enteric pathogens.
Jackson Kung’u is the Principal Microbiologist, Mold & Bacteria Consulting Laboratories (MBL) Inc.
Sewage contamination in building is the result of septic system backups or sewage pipe damages. Sewage backflow in a building can damage the integrity of its structure and render it inhabitable as well. Sewage contains a range of pathogenic microorganisms like E.coli, Salmonella, Vibrio, mycobacteria, moulds, viruses and protozoa like Cryptosporidium and Giardia. Recurrent sewage leaks or spills in particular areas such as the basement of residential or commercial buildings, allow all these micro-organisms to proliferate. Exposure to these pathogens poses a serious health risk.
What Should One Do After Sewage Back-up?
Once a building gets contaminated with sewage, the most important steps to be taken are immediate removal of sewage water, disinfection of the contaminated surfaces, and prompt drying of the surfaces. Sewage remediation may require special equipment such as heavy duty vacuum cleaners. Hiring the services of remediation or restoration professionals is therefore recommended.
Documentation of contaminated materials is important. It’s difficult to clean contaminated porous materials. Therefore, any material that is porous (such as carpet, gypsum wallboard, insulation, upholstered furniture, clothing) and directly got contaminated by sewage is supposed to be discarded since the pathogenic micro-organisms have already penetrated the material. Semi-porous material like wood furniture or pressed wood products may be thoroughly cleaned, disinfected and dried. Non-porous surfaces like metal, glass and ceramic tile floorings can be cleaned and disinfected.
Determining the effectiveness of sewage cleanup
Opinions differ as to whether microbial sampling to document effectiveness of sewage remediation is necessary. Those who think it’s not necessary argue that the primary objective of sewage remediation is to remove the sewage water and disinfecting and drying of contaminated interior surfaces. However those who support sampling recommend screening for E. coli and fecal coliforms. E. coli (Escherichia coli in full) are found in the intestines of humans and animals and hence in fecal matter which happens to be a major component of sewage. Direct or indirect contact with E. coli contaminated water, food, air or surfaces could lead to harmful health effects. E. coli is only used as an indicator since not all strains of E. coli are pathogenic. However, E. coli strain O157:H7 is a toxin producing strain and potentially dangerous.
Even though sewage may contain many other pathogens, E. coli is the easiest to detect and identify. Hence the reason it’s used as a marker of sewage contamination.
To ensure that sewage decontamination has been effectively done, a swab test is performed on surfaces. A suspect area is identified and marked. A swab is uniformly rolled over the entire marked area (e.g. 10cm x10cm) and enclosed back into its container. Such swabs are sent to the lab at the earliest for analytical purposes. The lab would then process the swabs for detection of E. coli and other coliforms. Along with determining the presence or absence of E. coli, it is highly recommended to quantify them. Quantification gives us an idea of the bacterial load of the particular suspect area. This helps also determine the effectiveness of the disinfecting agent.
If the lab results are positive for E. coli and other coliforms, further cleaning would be required.
MBL is an industry leader in providing on-site mold sample analysis and support services. Our unmatched experience and knowledge of indoor mold provide benefits achieving successful project completion, or emergency resolution in a cost effective and timely manner. On-site mold sample analysis provides our clients instant results that are crucial in making decisions effectively. Being able to make informed and accurate decisions in critical situations is only one of the benefits that are realized by on-site analysis.
For details on on-site mold identification please visit http://www.moldbacteria.com/onsite-mold-testing-services.html.
