MICROORGANISMS IN HOME AND INDOOR WORK ENVIRONMENTS MICROORGANISMS IN HOME AND INDOOR WORK ENVIRONMENTS Diversity, Health Impacts, Investigation and Control Edited by Brian Flannigan Scottish Centre for Pollen Studies Napier University Edinburgh, UK Robert A.Samson Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures Utrecht, The Netherlands and J.David Miller Institute of Biochemistry Carleton University Ottawa, Canada London and New York First published 2001 by Taylor & Francis 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Taylor & Francis Inc 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Taylor & Francis is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005. “To purchase your own copy copy of this or any of taylor & Francis or Routledge's collection of thousands of ebooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” © 2001 Taylor & Francis Photographs © R.A.Samson All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Every effort has been made to ensure that the advice and information in this book is true and accurate at the time of going to press. However, neither the publisher nor the authors can accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may be made. In the case of drug administration, any medical procedure or the use of technical equipment mentioned within this book, you are strongly advised to consult the manufacturer’s guidelines. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalogue record has been applied for ISBN 0-203-30293-1 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-34662-9 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN: 0-415-26800-1 (Print Edition) To the memory of John Lacey DSc 1937–1998 CONTENTS 1 Chapter 1. Microorganisms in air 49 Chapter 2. Microorganisms in homes and work environments 145 Chapter 3. Airborne microorganisms and disease 328 Chapter 4. Microbiological investigation of indoor environments 408 Chapter 5. Common and important species of Actinomycetes and fungi in indoor environments Illustrations of common species 418 Appendix—Glossary of mycological terms 510 Index 516 PREFACE While much of the concern about air pollution in the past has been focused on the outdoor environment, in recent years indoor air quality (IAQ) has moved up the agenda. Over the period between 1987 and 1999, more than $1 billion of federal government money was spent on research into indoor air pollution in USA. In March 2000 the Environmental Protection Agency released a report on “Healthy Buildings, Healthy People: A Vision for the 21 st Century”, which set the objective of achieving major health gains by improving indoor environments. The National Institute for Occupational Health (CDC) has studied the impact of poor indoor air quality on productivity. The median estimate of these losses is $100 billion per year. Other countries, including Canada, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands and Sweden also have substantial programmes on residential housing and health. However, there is wide variation in the research effort and expenditure on measures to improve IAQ, and IAQ in some is very much lower on the order of priorities. A document produced in July 2000 by a WHO European working group has further emphasized the global importance of IAQ as a determinant of population health and well being. This document, “The Right to Healthy Indoor Air”, sets out nine principles (derived from the general principles in the International Bill of Human Rights). These are intended to inform all those who have an influence on public health of their obligations to honour the right of every individual to breathe healthy indoor air, and influence those national governments that do not have plans for future action on healthy indoor air to put it on their agenda. Despite the large amount of money spent on research into pollution of the indoor environment, the US General Accounting Office has confirmed that what has been done has pointed to the complexity of the problem and to major gaps in knowledge. Among these gaps are accurate knowledge of the identities and sources of pollutants and of the effects of prolonged exposure to indoor pollutants on health. This book considers one such group of pollutants, namely microorganisms, and more particularly heterotrophic bacteria and fungi. Advances have certainly been made in our knowledge of microorganisms in the home and indoor work environment as research has accelerated in the last decade. Fully elucidating their effects on human health has however been bedevilled by problems of accurate assessment of exposure to microorganisms and precise identification of those present in the environment. The first three sections of the book review the types of microorganism in outdoor and indoor air, their growth and control in home and work environments, and their role in respiratory disease. The remaining sections of the book are given over to addressing the twin problems of exposure assessment and identification, discussing the methodology for and conduct of investigations of indoor environments and providing keys and co-lour illustrations to