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PUBLIC HEALTH AND ECONOMIC IMPACT OF DAMPNESS AND MOLD
Citation:
Mudarri, D. AND W. J. Fisk. PUBLIC HEALTH AND ECONOMIC IMPACT OF DAMPNESS AND MOLD. INDOOR AIR. Blackwell Publishing, Malden, MA, 17(3):226-235, (2007).
Impact/Purpose:
Quantify the public health and economic impact of dampness and mold in buildings
Description:
There is a rapidly growing body of scientific literature examining the relationship between dampness and mold in buildings and associated health effects. Reviews by expert groups in Europe (Bornehag et al. 2001; Bornehag et al. 2004) and the United States (IOM, 2004) conclude that there is sufficient scientific evidence of an association between dampness and mold in buildings and an increased risk of adverse health effects for building occupants. Given the health effects of dampness and mold as well as the public concern, it is useful to examine the magnitude of this potential public health problem, and consider formulating expanded policies and programs to reduce public health risks. In this paper we examine three important issues associated with developing policy and program responses to address this issue: (1) the approximate magnitude of public health risk; (2) the approximate economic impact of the public health risk; and (3) public and private sector policies and programs to reduce these risks.