How were specific molds placed into the water-damage and non-water-damage groups?
A. An empirical process was used to define the members of the mold groups based on the preponderance of their occurrence in water-damaged versus non-water-damaged homes. In any particular home, any of these molds might be found. For example, Penicillium chrysogenum (a Group 2) can be found growing in some water-damaged homes; however, it is also common in the non-water-damaged home mycoflora. Aureobasidium pullulans (a Group 1) can be found even in non-water-damaged homes. In a given home, a specific mold may not appear to fit the Group 1 or 2 assignments. The placement into Group 1 or 2 is not black or white but is based on the summation of national trends. This is why the ERMI evaluation relies on 36 species and not just a few.
