title: [Wall relative humidity: a simple and reliable index for predicting Stachybotrys chartarum infestation in dwellings].
abstract: As the indoor mold Stachybotrys chartarum (SC) has been linked to serious health disorders, its identification in water-damaged dwellings is of utmost importance. The aim of this work was to compare wall relative humidity (RH) measurements with the results of mold identification studied on 458 samples collected from 100 dwellings. Mold identification was based on direct microscopic examination of wall samples collected by the gummed paper technique. Mean (+/- SD) wall RH (%) was much higher (97.0 +/- 6.1) when SC was identified (30 samples) than when other molds were identified (291 samples, 41.8 +/- 36.9) and when no molds were identified (137 samples, 38.9 +/- 34.8). There was a direct relationship between wall and room-air RH but the scatter of results implies that the latter cannot be used as a surrogate for the former. This study suggests that simple wall RH measurement can serve as a reliable indicator of SC infestation of dwellings.
authors.affiliation: Service de Pneumologie-allergologie, Hôpital Nord, Marseille.
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Charpin
authors.forename: Sandrine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Boutin-Forzano
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chabbi
authors.forename: Henri
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dumon
authors.forename: Carmel
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Charpin-Kadouch
mesh_terms: D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000032:analysis*; D003252:Construction Materials; D006813:Humidity; D013191:Stachybotrys / Q000254:growth & development*