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THE
REQUIREMENT
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With
the burden of supporting our public health system becoming
more and more onerous on the Canadian taxpayer, we are now
becoming more sensitive to the environment in which we live.
The impact of mold on our health has become a major
consideration, as without knowing it, we are jeopardizing our
health and contributing to the stress on an already fragile
health system.
Prudent public health practice then dictates removal of
exposure to mold through clean up or remediation, and public
education about the potential for harm. Not all species within
these genera are toxigenic, but it is prudent to assume that
when these molds are found in excess indoors, they are treated
as though they are toxin producing. It is not always cost
effective to measure toxicity, so cautious practice regards
the potential for toxicity as serious, aside from other health
effects associated with excessive exposure to molds and their
products.
It is unwise to wait to take action until toxicity is
determined after laboratory culture, especially since molds
that are toxic in their normal environment may lose their
toxicity in laboratory monoculture over time and therefore may
not be identified as toxic. While testing for toxins is useful
for establishing the presence of disease, and adds to
knowledge about mold toxicity in the indoor environment,
prudent health practice might advise speedy clean up, or
removal of a heavily exposed population from exposure as a
first resort.
Health effects from exposures to molds that exist in indoor
environments can result in allergies, infections, mucous
membrane and sensory irritation, alone or in combination. Mold
growth in buildings (in contrast to mold contamination from
the outside) always occurs because of moisture problems. When
excess mold growth occurs, exposure to individuals, and
remediation of the moisture problem, must be addressed.
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