Mold and Endotoxin Levels in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina:
A Pilot Project of Homes in New Orleans Undergoing Renovation Ginger L. Chew,1 Jonathan Wilson,2 Felicia A. Rabito,3 Faye Grimsley,4 Shahed Iqbal,3 Tiina Reponen,5 Michael L. Muilenberg,6 Peter S. Thorne,7 Dorr G. Dearborn,8 and Rebecca L. Morley2 1Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA; 2National Center for Healthy Housing, Columbia, Maryland, USA; 3Department of Epidemiology, and 4Department of Environmental Health, Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; 5Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; 6Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; 7Department of Occupational & Environmental Health, The University of Iowa, College of Public Health, Iowa City, Iowa, USA; 8Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA Abstract Background: After Hurricane Katrina, many New Orleans homes remained flooded for weeks, promoting heavy microbial growth. Objectives: A small demonstration project was conducted November 2005–January 2006 aiming to recommend safe remediation techniques and safe levels of worker protection, and to characterize airborne mold and endotoxin throughout cleanup. Methods: Three houses with floodwater lines between 0.3 and 2 m underwent intervention, including disposal of damaged furnishings and drywall, cleaning surfaces, drying remaining structure, and treatment with a biostatic agent. We measured indoor and outdoor bioaerosols before, during, and after intervention. Samples were analyzed for fungi [culture, spore analysis, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) ] and endotoxin. In one house, real-time particle counts were also assessed, and respirator-efficiency testing was performed to establish workplace protection factors (WPF) . Results: At baseline, culturable mold ranged from 22,000 to 515,000 colony-forming units/m3, spore counts ranged from 82,000 to 630,000 spores/m3, and endotoxin ranged from 17 to 139 endotoxin units/m3. Culture, spore analysis, and PCR indicated that Penicillium, Aspergillus, and Paecilomyces predominated. After intervention, levels of mold and endotoxin were generally lower (sometimes, orders of magnitude) . The average WPF against fungal spores for elastomeric respirators was higher than for the N-95 respirators. Conclusions: During baseline and intervention, mold and endotoxin levels were similar to those found in agricultural environments. We strongly recommend that those entering, cleaning, and repairing flood-damaged homes wear respirators at least as protective as elastomeric respirators. Recommendations based on this demonstration will benefit those involved in the current cleanup activities and will inform efforts to respond to future disasters. Key words: endotoxin, flood, fungi, mold, Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, remediation, respirators. Environ Health Perspect 114:1883–1889 (2006) . doi:10.1289/ehp.9258 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 24 August 2006] Address correspondence to G.L. Chew, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 60 Haven Ave., B-1, New York, NY 10032-4206 USA. Telephone: (212) 305-1692. Fax: (212) 305-4012. E-mail: cg288@columbia.edu This work was funded by Enterprise Community Partners with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, NeighborWorks America, Swetland Center for Environmental Health, Case Western Reserve University, the University of Iowa Environmental Health Sciences Research Center [National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant P30 ES05605], National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health NORA Research Program of the University of Cincinnati Education and Research Center Grant (T42/CCT510420) , and Columbia University's National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Center for Environmental Health in Northern Manhattan (P30 ES009089) . G.L.C. is an NIH National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities fellow. The authors declare they have no competing financial interests. Received 11 April 2006 ; accepted 24 August 2006. The full version of this article is available for free in HTML or PDF formats. |