Mold Bacteria Consulting Services
Serving Ontario and British Columbia
Mould has been there since the time of Adam and Eve. Why has it then become an issue in recent times? People get sick from mould exposure. Were they getting sick before? Post your opions here. Readers would want to hear what you think about indoor mould.
Remember if you have questions on indoor mould, send them to My Question.
Scopulariopsis is a large group comprised of a number of species commonly found in soil, decaying wood, and various other plant and animal products. In indoor environment Scopulariopsis is found on damp walls, cellulose board and wallpaper; wood; floor and mattress dust. Species of Scopulariopsis have also been isolated from carpets, hospital floor, swimming pool; wooden food packing, shoes and wood pulp. Scopulariopsis species are sometimes encountered growing on meat in storage.
A number of species of Scopulariopsis are of importance in medical fields, having been implicated in infection of nails. Many species of Scopulariopsis can liberate arsenic gas from substrates containing that element; this may be noticed as a garlic-like odour. In the past, there have been a few serious poisoning incidents due to the growth of Scopulariopsis brevicaulis on dyes used in wallpaper production. There were also suggestions that the infant cot death syndrome (SIDS) may in some cases be caused by Scopulariopsis but this have largely been refuted.
Scopulariopsis brevicaulis is by far the commonest species encountered in indoor environment. It is found growing on all kinds of decomposing organic matter, and flourishes on materials containing a high level of protein, such as meat and ripening cheese. It decomposes cotton, textiles and paper products and causes deterioration of paints. It is also implicated as a human pathogen.
Other common species include: Scopulariopsis acremonium, Scopulariopsis halophilica, and Scopulariopsis fimicola. Scopulariopsis acremonium has been reported as causing the spoilage of free fatty acids in stored barley. Scopulariopsis halophilica is particularly resistant to high concentrations of salt, and causes spoilage of salt fish in various Asian countries. Scopulariopsis fimicola causes the “white plaster mould” of commercial mushroom growing.
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Mold & Bacteria Consulting Laboratories (MBL) Inc. provides laboratory mould testing and identification. We also provide testing for environmental bacteria. Mould testing services include analysis of non-viable air samples (Air-O-Cell, Micro 5, cyclex D, LARO-100, pcm cassettes), viable air samples (RCS, Andersen, etc), direct microscopic and culture analyses of bulk samples (drywall, wallpaper, pieces of carpets, insulation material, dust, wood and other matrices), lift tape and swab or wipe samples. We also assist industrial and occupational hygienists, certified mould inspectors, environmental engineers and other consultants in troubleshooting mould and bacteria problems in industrial, hospitals, offices and residential buildings.
Turnaround time for all culture analyses is 10-14 days. Non-culture analyses takes 2-5 days for regular service and 24 hours for rush service. Please call if you need sampling information or a list of our prices. Download our Chain of Custody (Analysis Request Form.
We serve:
Laboratories Services
Mould Testing:
Bacteria Analyses:
The samples discussed above except for lift tape and non-viable air samples could all be analysed for culturable bacteria. Since virtually every sample has some form of bacteria, it is important to have a clear objective for bacteria analysis. Also, some samples are not suitable for bacteria analysis or for some categories of bacteria. MBL analyses samples for the following bacteria:
Consulting Services
We are happy to offer assistance to industrial and occupational hygienists, certified mould inspectors, environmental engineers and other consultants in designing sampling strategies and also determining the most suitable types of samples to take for a given investigation. We also assist field consultants in troubleshooting mould and bacteria problems in industrial, hospitals, offices and residential buildings.
People will normally talk of bread mould. But which mould is the bread. Bread mould could be any of the moulds that commonly occur on bread. Some of the common bread moulds are Rhizopus stolonifer, Chrysonilia sitophila (red bread mould), species of Aspergillus, species of Penicillium, and Monascus ruber. However, any of the indoor moulds can grow on damp bread.
Bread moulds can cause significant losses in bakeries and stores. An outbreak of bread contamination by mould would require careful investigation of the whole bread making and storage processes to identify the source of contamination.
Do you have a mould question? Send to My Question.
One of the questions commonly asked by people who have been exposed to mould is whether they should dispose of all their belongings inside the mouldy house including clothes. I will reserve my opinion on this for today. However, I would be interested to learn from other people what they think about disposing of household items including clothes because of mould.
Feel free to comment.
As usual, if you have a question concerning mould, send it to as at My Question.