Building materials used in construction can affect indoor fungal levels greatly

This article summarizes the results of a fungal investigation of a new, sev en-story, 170-room hotel. The owners of the building were refused an occupa ncy permit by local building officials because of concerns about fungal con tamination. This article discusses the processes that were used to investig ate and abate the fungal concerns in this building. This investigation invo lved comparing fungal infestation levels in various building materials; inc luding two different types of gypsum wallboard. During initial testing the indoor air concentrations of problematic fungi were up to 50 times higher t han outdoor levels. After the removal of the fungal-infested materials and the replacement with more acceptable materials, the indoor air concentratio n of problematic fungi dropped to less than one-fourth of outdoor levels.