Asbestos removal and mold

The University of Hawaii Library was closed for asbestos removal during
the summer of 1989.  Air-conditioning was erratic in the building during
the project and the library suffered severe  bug and mold infestation.
There was only one area that didn't seem to be infected, the microform
collection. This room was equipped with 4 fans and 3 dehumidifiers, and
the filters that led into that room had been changed just prior to the
removal project.  In all other parts of the library the mold was spread
through the air-conditioning system, which has been poorly maintained.
Three factors appear to have significant impacts on mold growth: 1)good
circulation of clean air is important, filters need to be changed often
and the proper filters used, 2)the relative humidity needs to be kept
low with the use of dehumidifiers, and 3)the lighting in the stacks
areas needs to be good, in some areas of the UH Library one side of a
range with poor lighting would have bad mold growth, while the other
side that was in bright light had no mold growth.  The worst mold
occurred in stacks that were in a low-ceilinged area with poor light and
poor air-circulation.   Hope this helps!

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 4:24
                Distributed: Thursday, November 1, 1990
                        Message Id: cdl-4-24-001
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