Re: arsclist mold

["George Brock-Nannestad" <pattac@xxxxxxxx>]

From:           	"Marie O'Connell" <moconnell@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To:             	"'ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'" <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject:        	arsclist mold
Date sent:      	Tue, 16 Oct 2001 09:22:24 +1300
Send reply to:  	ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hello Marie, and good health!
> 
>  I work in tape preservation and come across mold,  
> One concern I have is that myself and
> another colleague tend to sneeze a lot whilst at work!  Is there a
> link?

Alas, most probably! You should talk to your doctor and to any 
environmental officer attached to your unit or department. Some 
molds are distinctly unsafe, such as black mold, aspergillus nigra. 
Molds require quite strain-specific conditions of temperature and 
humidity, and your items may be infected with many different kinds 
at any one time. They will fight for carbon sources of various kinds, 
and you will not know what the source is that they are actually 
looking for. When too warm and dry they will revert to spore form, 
only to re-emerge in an active form when they again come across 
suitable conditions.

Visibly infected items should be handled in a laminar flow cabinet 
(suction and filtering), however, then you may be subjected to cold 
drafts across your hands and arms instead.

Molds and insects and bacteria and vira will win in the end!

Best regards,

George Brock-Nannestad
Preservation Tactics
Resedavej 40
DK-2820 Gentofte
Denmark