Exposure to airborne fungi, MVOC and mycotoxins in biowaste-handling facilities

Health impacts due to fungi in indoor air can only be estimated reliably, i f both fungal propagules and fungal secondary metabolites are qualified and quantified. In the present study, the fungal species composition in a comp ost facility is compared to the spectrum of microbial metabolites in the ai r with regard to the physiological properties of different fungal species. A number of relevant fungi was tested for the production of both volatile a nd non-volatile metabolites on different substrata. The profiles of mycotox ins and microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOC) turned out to be specif ic for certain species in pure culture. Consequently, the fungi may have di fferent toxicological health impacts, though information on the relevance o f microbial volatiles is still limited.