Toxic mould and construction defects harming public health

Citation

(2010), "Toxic mould and construction defects harming public health", Structural Survey, Vol. 28 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/ss.2010.11028cab.006

Toxic mould and construction defects harming public health

Article Type: Newsbriefs From: Structural Survey, Volume 28, Issue 3

Keywords: Buildings, Construction systems, Health and safety

The company Building Forensics has been inundated with requests to investigate sick or tight building syndrome since a recent appearance on ITV’s “Buildings From Hell”. The programme highlighted the new and worrying – but previously unrecognised – building defects which can be identified from modern construction techniques and which create ideal conditions for toxic mould – with consequent serious health concerns. The quest for reduced carbon emissions from buildings – and therefore a lower level of air changes – has in recent times created a general increase in “building tightness”: new and restored buildings fail to “breath” properly, leading to a general moisture build-up which in turn results in the health concerns of mould and rot or decay. Typically, Building Forensics has found that the application of new building tightness conditioning such as BREEAM, LEED and part L of the Building Regulations, coupled to poor construction management, is increasingly causing such building defects and health issues.