Mold health hazards

I am replying to Rebecca Stone's question about protection against mold
in books.  Probably the reaction Rebecca experienced was not due to
handling the books so much as from breathing mold spores, which easily
become airborne.  The unusual severity of the reaction may have been due
to encountering a new mold type (there are thousands of species).  Or it
could be that Rebecca has just developed an extreme sensitivity, which
can happen suddenly, especially if one works frequently with moldy
materials.  Mold is a powerful sensitizer, and precautions must be taken
when working with moldy materials.  We recommend that sensitive people
use a NIOSH-approved toxic dust mask, available from industrial
suppliers such as Aldrich Chemical Co. (800-558-9160) or Lab Safety
Supply inc. (800-356-0783).  For more information see the new NEDCC
technical leaflet, "Protecting Books and Paper Against Mold" (available
at no charge from NEDCC, 508-470-1010.

Mary Todd Glaser
Northeast Document Conservation Center
100 Brickstone Square
Andover, MA 01810
508-470-1010
Fax: 508-475-6021

                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 8:20
               Distributed: Wednesday, September 21, 1994
                        Message Id: cdl-8-20-001
                                  ***