Effects of Moisture Damage Repair on Microbial Exposure and Health Effects in Schools

This intervention study was designed to show the effects of the renovation of moisture and mold damaged school building on the schoolchildren’s health and exposure. Microbial sampling from indoor air of the school and a health questionnaire study were performed before and after renovation. The results were compared to those from non-damaged reference school. The effect of a thorough renovation in the damaged school was seen as decreased concentrations of airborne fungi and decreased diversity of mycoflora. There was a significant decrease in the prevalence of the respiratory symptoms among schoolchildren after the renovation. The results show that the symptoms are associated with the moisture damage and that the increased symptom levels can be normalized with proper repair measures. INDEX TERMS Moisture damage, Schools, Renovation, Indoor air microbes, Symptoms, Children INTRODUCTION Respiratory symptoms and other adverse health effects are common among schoolchildren in moisture damaged schools (Haverinen et al. 1999, Meklin et al. 2002). Remarkable resources are put on the repair measures, but little documented data is so far available about the effects of the renovations on the users' health and thus on the cost effectiveness of the repairs. This intervention study was designed to show the effects of the renovation on the schoolchildren’s health and exposure. The aim was to find out whether the moisture and mould repairs of the school buildings have an effect on the exposure to indoor air microbes, and on the prevalence of respiratory symptoms of the schoolchildren. METHODS The study consisted of two primary schools locating in central Finland. Both schools had main frame construction of concrete. The school buildings were technically investigated for moisture damage at the beginning of the study and classified as moisture damaged (school A) and a non-damaged reference school (school B) based on the observations made in the technical survey. During the five-year follow-up period the damaged school was extensively renovated for all identified faults. The study was conducted with health questionnaires and by environmental sampling of the indoor air microbes before the renovation and after the repair measures were completed. The reference school was sampled with a similar protocol. First, the technical investigations for moisture and mold damage in both school buildings were made by a trained civil engineer of our group according to an established protocol. The procedure for these investigations has been developed and described earlier (Nevalainen et al. 1998) and it includes a checklist recording various types of visible moisture signs, e.g. visible mold, moisture stains, detaching of surface materials, changes in material color and moldy or stuffy odor. Surface moisture recorders were used to assess the moisture level of surface ∗ Contact author email: [email protected] Proceedings: Indoor Air 2002