Fungi and Microbial VOCs in Indoor Air—What Do the Data Mean? How Much Fungal Growth is Too Much? PDF

Microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOCs) occur in the air as a result of fungal growth in buildings with chronic moisture problems. In several buildings recently investigated, the presence of MVOCs such as 2-octen-1-ol and 1-octen-3-ol appeared to be an indicator of a chronic moisture problem that was not always detectable by sampling for airborne culturable fungi. However, it was also an important finding of this study that visual assessments for both moisture damage and the presence of fungal growth on interior surfaces are more consistent indicators of microbial problems in buildings than sampling alone. The presence of nonphylloplane fungi such as Aspergillus versicolor and Aspergillus fumigatus in indoor air at concentrations over and above background levels indicates that a moisture problem exists. The moisture problem must be fixed and visible fungal growth that may be present should be removed using appropriate techniques.

Paper from IAQ 1997 -- Design, Construction, and Operation of Healthy Buildings: Solutions to Global and Regional Concerns