Abstract
The goal of this study was to examine whether the Environmental Relative Moldiness Index (ERMI) scale created for United States (U.S.) homes was applicable in the assessment of mold contamination for Australian homes. Settled-dust samples were collected in south-eastern Australian homes (n=76) being investigated for possible waterdamage and mold contamination. The 36 ERMI molds were quantified in each sample using mold specific quantitative PCR (MSQPCR) and the ERMI value for each home calculated. These homes were then matched to homes in the U.S. with nearly identical ERMI values and the average log10 concentration of each of the 36 molds statistically compared. Most of the 36 ERMI molds were found in Australian water-damaged homes in comparable concentrations to ERMI-matched U.S. homes. The U.S. ERMI scale might provide reasonable estimates of mold contamination in water-damaged Australian homes.
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Gianni Rossini1, Neil V2, Lark D3, Wymer L4 and Vesper S4*
1Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA
2Mycotox, Wickham, New South Wales, Australia
3Mould Lab, Unit 4/52 Industrial Drive Mayfield East, New South Wales, Australia
4United States Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH, USA
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