New White Paper Provides Information on Mycotoxins and Mold Remediation

KALAMAZOO, Mich. / LEWISVILLE, Texas—July 15, 2021—Wonder Makers Environmental, in conjunction with Realtime Labs, has developed a white paper to share information about the importance of mycotoxin testing in mold remediation jobs. Mycotoxins, the chemical byproducts produced by mold, are linked with many health effects and must be removed during remediation, along with the visible colonies and microscopic spores of mold. Mold remediation contractors and occupants of buildings with fungal contamination will benefit from the information in this white paper.

The paper presents a review of the current approach to mold remediation procedures followed by a more detailed discussion of mycotoxins and their health effects. The controversial elements of what role mycotoxins play in the symptoms of individuals in water-damaged buildings are buttressed with information related to mycotoxin exposure routes and some of the known differences between short-term and long-term exposures. The paper discusses spore trap and polymerase chain reaction testing and compares common testing procedures to assist contractors and occupants in evaluating the effectiveness of mold remediation projects.

Incorporating mycotoxin testing more regularly into assessments of water-damaged facilities, particularly where occupants are complaining about health effects that could be related to the environmental conditions, has a variety of important benefits. One of the main advantages of mycotoxin testing, as compared to other types of air or surface samples, is that such tests can more definitively link the poisons recovered from the environment to poisons recovered from medical samples from the occupants. Evaluating this potential connection helps to clarify whether the primary remediation effort needs to be directed toward cleaning up the environmental contamination, addressing residual contamination in the occupant’s body, or both.

Read the full white paper and find more information, including educational resources, testing services, and consulting services at: https://realtimelab.com/environmental-division/.

Wonder Makers Environmental, Inc. is a manufacturing and environmental consulting firm whose focus has been on improving conditions inside buildings. The firm specializes in identification and control of asbestos, lead, IAQ, mold, industrial hygiene, and chemical problems, providing the expertise to evaluate the conditions, conduct risk assessments, and develop recommendations and/or specific work plans for control of the hazards to protect the owners.

RealTime Lab is accredited in the U.S. by the college of American Pathologists (CAP), as well as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA) program to perform clinical mycotoxin testing. RealTime Laboratories has been researching the effects of molds and their mycotoxins (specific poisonous chemical compounds produced by fungi), for many years.