This report is based on a review of findings of residential property inspections that were solicited to assess damage caused by four strong hurricanes that hit Florida within a period of six weeks in 2004. The Florida coasts were affected by: 1) Charley that landed in the Gulf of Mexico, Aug 13th, north of Captiva Island; 2) Frances and Jeanne that landed in the Atlantic Coast, almost at the same site around Sewall's Point, only three weeks apart, on September 6th and September 26th. 3) Ivan raked the western Florida panhandle on September 16th.
As part of the home inspections, fungal contamination was investigated by volumetric spore sampling of both the indoor and outdoor air (Zeflon Air-O-Cells) following current industry guidelines. In addition, transparent tape samples were obtained from suspected mold growth and visually analyzed under the microscope. A Board Certified Industrial Hygienist supervised all inspections.
Inside the damaged residential properties, almost all spores found were Penicillium/Aspergillus spores. Relatively few other fungal genera or groups were captured, and in almost negligible numbers per sample. The only exception encountered so far was one room in one site, in which we counted as many Stachybotrys spores as Penicillium/Aspergillus spores, both in large amounts. Penicillium/Aspergillus counts were well above those figures usually quoted in the literature for "water damaged" buildings. The examination of surface samples gave a more diversified picture in terms of genera, although those represented were still few. Aspergillus spores and growth were the most frequently identified. Stachybotrys spores were found only in one sample.