Mouldy environments

Grouping moulds according to their environments

  1. Your laboratory had been called to a house to take samples of mould. Unfortunately some of the labels have fallen off your samples. Evaluate the information in the mould table (see over page) to match the labels into their most likely sample. Unfortunately there are also some extra labels from old jobs in the pile which don’t belong with these samples.

Room and environmental conditions / Surface mould was found on / Colour/s of mould / Mould type identified / Hazard class:
A, B or C
Kitchen / On a piece of fruit / Green and blue
Bathroom (very damp) / On the bathroom wall / Black
Bedroom 2 (dusty) / Around a window / Ulocladium
Bedroom 1 / Yellow
Cladosporium

Labels that have fallen off

Acremonium / White / Alternaria / In the shed
Brown / Aspergillus / Leftover wood / Stachybotrys
Penicillium / On cheese / Grey / On a shirt

Use the mould table (see over page) to determine features and environments that relate to the moulds below.

  1. What environmental difference is there between where Acremonium and Alternaria grow?

______

______

______

  1. Why would it be likely that Penicillium would be found in the kitchen?

______

______

______


Caution: This is a short list of common household moulds created for educational purposes; only a qualified laboratory can correctly identify moulds. Moulds should never be handled by people who do not have the appropriate qualifications.

Type of mould / Possible colours / Areas and conditions that it is commonly found
Note: It is possible for it to be found in places other than those listed / Hazard class
(see bottom of table)
Cladosporium / Green, brown, grey or black / Walls, wood, dust and insulation / B or C
Aspergillus / Grey, brown, yellow, green, white or black / Walls, insulation, paper products, soil and clothing / A or B
Penicillium / Blue, green or white. / Foods such as cheese and fruit, in walls and insulation / B or C
Ulocladium / Black or grey / Damp areas, walls, around windows and in dusty areas / B or C
Acremonium / White, grey or brown / Damp areas, insulation and drywall / A, B or C
Stachybotrys / Black / Very damp areas / A
Alternaria / Black or grey / Walls, dusty areas, around windows, damp areas, in soil and on plants / B
Hazard class / Mould can be divided according to how hazardous it is to your health. It is broken up into classes: A, B or C
Hazard class A / Hazard class A mould creates toxins and are a health hazard
Hazard class B / Hazard class B mould can cause allergic reactions over long periods of time.
Hazard class C / Hazard class C moulds are not known to cause health problems, however they can cause structural damage on the things they are growing on.

Source: 'Types of Mould: black, white, green, brown, grey' (Mould facts)

http://www.mouldfacts.ca/mouldtypes.html

1 of 2

Sci_Y06_U4_SH_MouldyEnvironments