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What Is Stachybotrys?
Stachybotrys
Description and Natural Habitats
An
extensive survey of indoor and outdoor S. chartarum air concentrations by
geographical regions in the United States found S. chartarum in 6% of the
1,717 buildings sampled in the period 1996-1998 (46% offices, 18%
schools, 13% hospitals, 4% homes, 0% industrial sites, and 18% other).
http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/htdocs/chem_background/exsumpdf/stachybotrys.pdf Stachybotrys
grows on material with a high cellulose content or such as hay, straw,
wicker, and wood chips, as well as building materials such as ceiling tile,
drywall, paper vapor barriers, wallpaper, insulation backing, cardboard
boxes, paper files, fiberboard, the paper covering of gypsum wallboard,
particleboard, jute, dust, and wood when these items become water damaged.
Thus, Stachybotrys survives and grows best in a continually wet environment such as a slow water leak in a wall, or in a building suffering from ongoing high humidity levels. Excessive indoor humidity resulting in water vapor condensation on walls, plumbing leaks, spills from showering or bathing, water leaking through foundations or roofs may lead to growth of many types of mold, including Stachybotrys. Because Stachybotrys spores are rarely airborne (unless Stachy mold growth is dry and disturbed or the mold spores are attached to airborne dust or other airborne particulates), Stachy is usually identified by direct swabs, or lift tape samples of the mold itself with laboratory analysis of the collected physical samples. People can be exposed to S. chartarum via dermal contact, ingestion, and inhalation. For the general population, the most common reports of exposure involve water-damaged buildings, including homes, office buildings, courthouses, hospitals, a hotel, and schools. Exposures leading to stachybotrytoxicosis have been reported among farmers, workers at facilities processing malt grain or reprocessing moldy grain, textile mill workers using plant fibers, and workers at binder twine factories. Stachybotrys mold
growth produces trichothecene mycotoxins known as satratoxins, and these
toxins may lead to pathological changes in animal and human tissues,
resulting in serious health and medical problems. Medical studies about the
health effects of Stachybotrys mold include--- |
Other Mold Species that Produce
Potent
The genus Stachybotrys has a single well-known species, Stachybotrys
chartarum.
Stachybotrys chartarum |
| Learn More About Stachybotrys Mold Dangers ►Is the Stachybotrys Health Threat Exaggerated? |
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