Moisture as a source of indoor air contamination

Dampness / moisture accumulation into building structures or structural components,or on the surfaces of building materials, may lead to physical, biological or chemicaldeterioration of building materials. Subsequent damage and microbial or chemicalcontamination of the building may decrease the indoor air quality of the building.Dampness/moisture damage also poses a serious risk to the performance of thebuilding structures (1). In epidemiological population studies, dampness/moisturedamage has been associated with a number of health effects including respiratorysymptoms and diseases and other symptoms (2, 3).While exposure to microbial and/or chemical pollution and health outcomes areconsequences, the common denominators for them are different forms of undesiredmoisture behaviour. The health effects associated with dampness/moisture damageseem to be consistent in different climates and geographical regions (4). However, thetechnical causes of dampness/moisture damage are often closely connected to theclimate. The prevention and control of moisture problems should be addressed inearly phases of building design and construction, and in the sustained maintenance ofbuildings.This report aims to give an overview of moisture as a source of indoor aircontamination, which is related to the health topic Asthma and allergy. Included ineach chapter, the author(s) list most important (open) questions, which should beaddressed in the discussions for this topic.