Benchmarking the indoor mould levels for the UK building stock Description

Indoor mould is of growing concern for all stakeholders of the built environment for a range of health-related, financial and legal implications. Nonetheless, there are no established criteria for acceptable mould levels/compositions, or baseline levels for a normal indoor environment, which makes it hard to make a robust exposure assessment. This research aims to (1) develop a testing methodology and benchmarks, tested for applicability for UK building stocks of different age and construction details, to facilitate decision making as to when a given indoor environment requires remediation, (2) understand what the likely risk of background levels of mould in the UK building stock to the vulnerable populations, (2) explore the physical and lifestyle-related characteristics which might be influential on mould to inform new construction and retrofit, and (3) the impact of escape of water and climate change on mould levels. It will inform the introduction of various professional services targeting mould via knowledge transfer and opening-up new markets for remediation practices. The partnership of Polygon UK, whose core competencies include water ingress detection and property damage restoration in collaboration with insurance will ensure strong impact on practice, insurance and policy.