| Autor: |
Lorentzen JC; Integrative Toxicology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden.; Centre for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Region Stockholm, SE-113 65 Stockholm, Sweden., Ekberg O; Division of Building Physics, Lund University, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden., Alm M; Urban Property Department, SE-402 26 Gothenburg, Sweden., Björk F; KTH Royal Institute of Technology, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden., Harderup LE; Division of Building Physics, Lund University, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden., Johanson G; Integrative Toxicology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden. |
| Abstrakt: |
We previously reported that indoor odorous chloroanisoles (CAs) are still being emitted due to microbial methylation of hazardous chlorophenols (CPs) present in legacy wood preservatives. Meanwhile, Swedish researchers reported that this malodor, described since the early 1970s, is caused by hazardous mold. Here, we examined to what extent CP-treated wood contains mold and if mold correlates with perceived odor. We found no studies in PubMed or Web of Science addressing this question. Further, we investigated two schools built in the 1960s with odor originating from crawlspaces. No visible mold was evident in the crawlspaces or on the surfaces of treated wood samples. Using a microscope, varying amounts of mold growth were detected on the samples, all containing both CP(s) and CA(s). Some samples smelled, and the odor correlated with the amount of mold growth. We conclude that superficial microscopic mold on treated wood suffices produced the odor. Further, we argue that CPs rather than mold could explain the health effects reported in epidemiological studies that use mold odor as an indicator of hazardous exposure. |
