Overview

Mould spores and metabolites can be inhaled via the air and cause allergic and irritating reactions and/or complex symptoms (including allergic rhinitis and asthma) in humans. Moreover, mould growth can be associated with severe odour nuisances. This part of ISO 16000 provides the instructions for the measurement strategy for suitable sampling and analysis methods together with a description of the applicability and the interpretation of the measurement results to maximize the comparability of the measured data obtained for a given measurement objective. Details on field inspections by qualified professionals which have to take place prior to any microbiological measurement are described. Possible causes of indoor mould sources are surface moisture or moisture in the building structure, but also rotting food, flowers and potted plants, biowaste collection, source separation of waste as well as the keeping of animals in residential settings. Moisture damage can be attributable to building defects, inaccurate lifestyle habits - regarding ventilation and heating or unfavourable arrangement of furniture - as well as water damage (for example plumbing leaks or flooding events). Increased occurrence of certain mould species in indoor environments is indicative of excessive moisture. When residential environments or occupational settings are infested with moulds, the allocation of a mould source shall provide remedial measures by means of planning. Furthermore, it shall be taken into account that mould spores are not necessarily present as individual spores in the air or settled dust, but also occur in the form of spore aggregates or are particle-borne. Depending on the analysis method, they are determined individually or as spore aggregate. Materials, indoor air and house dust contain not only culturable but also non-culturable mould spores, which have the same allergenic and toxic effects as culturable spores. For this reason, techniques have been developed that allow the microscopic determination of both culturable and non-culturable moulds. The sampling methods employed for detection of moulds are determined by the objective of the investigation (DIN ISO 16000-16 filtration or DIN ISO 16000-18 impaction). Depending on the sampling method, the moulds suffer a sampling stress during sample collection and preparation, which can lead to their drying-out or dying. Mould detection and identification are performed either after cultivation based on morphological criteria, biochemical reactions and/or molecular techniques or by direct microscopic examination. Identification based on the morphological structure (macroscopic examination, stereo-microscopy and microscopy) either after prior cultivation or by direct microscopy is still the most prevalent approach for the detection of moulds. Factors affecting the culturability of mould spores are their physiological state as well as the culture medium employed. Some mould species cannot be cultured at all under laboratory conditions (DIN ISO 16000-17 cultivation). This standard has been prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 146/SC 6 "Indoor air", Working Group WG 10 "Fungi" the convenorship and secretariat are each held by DIN. The responsible German body is NA 134-03-07-04-01 AK "Bioaerosole und biologische Agenzien" ("Bioaerosols and biological agents").

Document: references other documents

Responsible national committee

NA 134-04-04-05 UA - Assessment of microorganisms  

Responsible european committee

CEN/TC 264/WG 28 - Ambient air and emissions – Bioaerosols  

Responsible international committee

ISO/TC 146/SC 6/WG 10 - Microbial contaminants