Literature review of fungi in buildings and their ability to methylate chlorophenols into malodorous chloroanisoles

Abstract

A source of indoor malodor in older buildings are chloroanisoles, a methylation from chlorophenols. Chlorophenols were commonly used in wood preservatives 50 years ago which were used to treat construction details exposed to high moisture loads. The methylation process requires a methylator in the form of fungi or bacteria in conjunction with adequate growth conditions for said fungi. The food industry has a history of issues with chloroanisoles contaminating different food items. There have been studies made on fungi species found in the packaging materials or surfaces in proximity and their ability to methylate various chlorophenols. Different species of fungi are present in many places, not only packaging materials but also various building materials. A literature review has been made in this study to compare fungi species able to methylate chlorophenols and their potential occurrence in wooden construction details in buildings. Two species were found to be considered strong methylators and also commonly found in wooden constructions, Aspergillus versicolor and Paecilomyces variotii. The properties of these fungi will be used for future studies of the conditions achievable in wooden constructions where the historic wood preservatives were likely used.