Citation:

VESPER, S. J. DEVELOPING THE ERMI © - "EPA RELATIVE MOLDINESS INDEX" - BASED ON MOLD-SPECIFIC QUANTITATIVE PCR (MSQPCR). SYNERGIST. American Industrial Hygiene Association, 39-43, (2006).

Impact/Purpose:

1. Develop and publish a standard method or guidance document for QPCR analysis of microorganisms in environmental samples (air and water filtrates and dust).a standard method or guidance document for QPCR analysis of microorganisms in environmental samples (air and water filtrates and dust). Publication will involve a consensus standards organization. 2. Use QPCR methods to monitor childhood exposures to mold as a part of field studies, in order to establish whether a relationship exists between molds encountered in indoor environments and asthma-related health problems.

Description:

Improving indoor air quality has been a priority at the US EPA for many years. Among the components of indoor air, molds present a growing concern for the public. A primary information source on indoor molds is the news media, which often confuses rather than clarifies the situation. In addition, mold experts have failed to reach a consensus on sampling methods and the interpretation of analytical data obtained in a typical mold inspection.

EPA guidance is available to help the American public understand indoor mold issues (http://www.epa.gov/mold and www.epa.gov/iaq). In addition, US EPA scientists developed Mold Specific Quantitative PCR (MSQPCR) to identify and quantify molds in various matrices. This new technology, now licensed by many companies in the US and EU (http://www.epa.gov/microbes/moldtech.htm), is available today for use by industrial hygienists performing microbial inspections and assessments. The EPA is currently collecting data to develop ERMI©, the EPA Relative Moldiness Index which is based on the use of this technology and employed as a measure of the amounts and types of mold species present in household dust.

Record Details: