A Report of the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine

In 2003, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine to review the scientific literature regarding the relationship between moisture and mold in the indoor environment and adverse health effects. On May 25, 2004, the Institute issued its long-awaited final report, Damp Indoor Spaces and Health. The report presents a number of significant conclusions about the health impacts of moisture in homes and other buildings and makes key recommendations on how to minimize those impacts.

Conclusions

• Dampness and moisture in homes and other buildings is a public health problem.
  
  
• The most effective way to combat mold and other moisture-related problems is to reduce or eliminate dampness in buildings.
  
  
• There is a significant association between damp indoor spaces and asthma attacks.
  
  
• Building dampness is a problem that is extensive across the country, and moisture can be found in most buildings at some point in their life span.
  
  
• Dampness is associated with range of problems, not just mold. Dust mites flourish in damp spaces, as do bacteria.
  
  
• The term “toxic mold” is a misnomer: While no causal relationship between mold and adverse health effects was found, different species of mold produce different toxins that can affect health, and those toxins are produced at different times during a mold’s life cycle.
  
  
• Exposure to toxic irritants produced by mold in damp buildings is associated with respiratory problems.
  
  
• People with compromised immune systems are more likely to suffer ill effects from mold and other products of damp indoor environments.
  
  
• Some building materials can emit chemicals or small particles when damp, which may be a health concern.
  
  
• Few studies have examined additive effects of multiple mold toxin and chemical exposures and how those combined exposures may impact health.

Key Recommendations

• Maintain buildings to avoid excessive dampness.
  
  
• Conduct more research and demonstration projects to evaluate the effectiveness of building design, construction methods, and building operation and maintenance on reducing or eliminating moisture problems.
  
  
• Maintain and increase public financial support for such research and demonstration projects.
  
  
• Develop best practices guidelines for the construction, renovation, and maintenance of buildings and HVAC systems to reduce moisture problems.
  
  
• Educate and train residents, health professionals, construction workers, and maintenance staff in such practices.
  
  
• Enforce existing rules on excessive moisture and indoor mold growth.
  
  
• Modify regulations, building codes, and contracts to promote dry, healthy homes and buildings.

Currently, HUD’s Healthy Homes Initiative grants are the only dedicated source of funds for the type of research and demonstration projects recommended in the report. The Alliance calls on Congress to increase funding for the type of research and demonstration projects called for in the report by at least doubling funding for healthy homes grants from $10 million to $20 million annually, and to continue increasing this funding to keep pace with inflation. The National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences should also significantly increase investments in asthma prevention by expanding research into how moisture and mold indoors impact the disease’s development and the severity of asthma attacks.

For a copy of the full report, visit the National Academies Press website.