Comparison of work-related symptoms and visual contrast sensitivity between employees at a severely water-damaged school and a school without significant water damage

Background The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducted a health hazard evaluation (HHE) of a water-damaged school in New Orleans (NO), Louisiana. Our aim in this evaluation was to document employee health effects related to exposure to the water-damaged school, and to determine if VCS testing could serve as a biomarker of effect for occupants who experienced adverse health effects in a water-damaged building. Methods NIOSH physicians and staff administered a work history and medical questionnaire, conducted visual contrast sensitivity (VCS) testing, and collected sticky-tape, air, and dust samples at the school. Counting, culturing, and/or a DNA-based technology, called mold-specific quantitative PCR (MSQPCR), were also used to quantify the molds. A similar health and environmental evaluation was performed at a comparable school in Cincinnati, Ohio which was not water-damaged. Results Extensive mold contamination was documented in the water-damaged school and employees (n?=?95) had higher prevalences of work-related rashes and nasal, lower respiratory, and constitutional symptoms than those at the comparison school (n?=?110). VCS values across all spatial frequencies were lower among employees at the water-damaged school. Conclusions Employees exposed to an extensively water-damaged environment reported adverse health effects, including rashes and nasal, lower respiratory, and constitutional symptoms. VCS values were lower in the employees at the water-damaged school, but we do not recommend using it in evaluation of people exposed to mold. Am. J. Ind. Med. 55:844854, 2012. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.