Mold Found in South Carolina Dorm Rooms

The University of South Carolina is working to eliminate a mold infestation from a 73-year-old dorm that forced some students out of their rooms.

Students began noticing mold forming in some Sims dorm rooms two weeks ago, and the school reacted with letters to parents, inspections and testing.

After getting test results, three of the dorm’s 117 rooms required enough cleaning to move six students to new housing, USC spokesman Wes Hickman said. Another nine students with histories of respiratory ailments have chosen to leave Sims, he said.

The school has no plans to move any more of the dorm’s 219 remaining students since cleanup should eliminate the mold, Hickman said. Once cleaned, contaminated rooms could be used again, he said.

But some parents are concerned about the health effects from the mold.

“She was exposed to something that we might not see until much later,” said Lynn McKenzie of Atlanta, whose daughter has been fighting a persistent cough since her first weekend on campus. “It’s not making me comfortable for her to continue living there.”

McKenzie said her daughter never suffered a respiratory ailment before moving into Sims last month. Hickman said the campus health center has not seen a rise in respiratory cases.

Still, McKenzie and Jon Bennett, another parent with a daughter in Sims, want to know if the school has a backup plan to house students.

“If they have to move them into hotel rooms so they can be assured of being safe, the university should do it,” said Bennett of Alpharetta, Ga. “They don’t need to be focusing on, ‘I’m going to get sick.’ They need to focus whether they will pass their next psych test.”

Sims along with the two other dorms that make up the Women’s Quad are slated to undergo a major $27 million renovation this summer. Hickman said the school is not basing repair decisions on the impending makeover.

“The health and safety of the students are the university’s primary concerns,” he said.

Parents and students complained Sims was excessively humid when classes started. Resident assistants recommended students have dehumidifiers.

McKenzie said the dorm smelled musky when she arrived. Jon Bennett’s daughter, Rachel, said her room was so moist that towels did not dry and shoes felt wet. She recently found mold on her clothes in her hamper and will throw them away.

USC offered to pay for dry cleaning and replacing damaged clothing. The school said it reacted quickly to mold complaints with inspections, independent-lab testing and cleaning. Two emails were sent to parents and meetings were held with students.

Kirsten Kennedy, USC’s executive director of university housing, wrote in an email that broken fiberglass pipe insulation in several closets along with “excessive rains” led to higher than normal humidity levels in the dorm. That mixed with the “organic fibers from clothing and other sources” to form the mold, she said.

Kennedy wrote that health officials told her “these molds are considered common allergens in our area of the country and exist in most commercial and residential buildings to some degree.”

Less than 9 percent of the rooms, which would be about 10, required unspecified “additional attention,” Kennedy wrote.

Despite assurances the rooms will be cleaned, some parents and students remain uneasy about Sims.

“Who knows what I’m breathing in,” Rachel Bennett said. “I don’t want to be stuck with moldy room all year.”

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Court Running Again Following Mold Damage

The Union Gap Municipal Court is back open Monday after closing almost three weeks ago because of toxic black mold at city hall.

Judge Bob Northcott says they're 500-600 cases behind.

During the morning session Monday, they saw about 60 people come through municipal court. On average they see only about 50 for the whole day.

The judge even postponed the lunch break to make sure they got through all the cases from the morning.

The move cost the city about $60,000 in construction costs, but Northcott says the Yakima County Fire District 11 building on Washington Avenue is working out great.

"We've had some police officers in today, just to see how things were working. Everybody feels like it's a very efficient operation," said Judge Northcott.

He says it will probably take them a few months to completely catch up.

As far as the ongoing mold problem and what's going to happen to city hall, Mayor Jim Lemon said that the council will discuss another option to buy Yakima County's Restitution Center in Union Gap.

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Apartment Complex Shuts Down Because of Mold

Dozens of people at a Hopewell apartment complex are furious after they received notices they have to move out.

Hopewell Code Enforcement says living conditions are unsafe at the Prince George Terrace apartments, so it's telling people they need to move by Wednesday.

Tiffany Howard says her health has gotten worse and blames the basement apartments which have sitting water, sewage, and some say even mold inside. She lives right above a condemned unit and says the stench inside has crept up through her apartment creating health problems for her.

"The smell is horrible as soon as you walk through the door," said Howard. "I got asthma and bronchitis since I moved here, so it's bad."

Other neighbors like Leona Bland have the same problem. Her apartment has signs of water damage. She even says the water tastes so bad, she has to drink bottled water. Code enforcement says these conditions are not livable, but many people here say they have nowhere to go.

" I felt like I was going to die -- like I was homeless," said Bland. "I'm homeless. I don't have anywhere to go."

Neighbors say they complained to the property manager, but the only advice they've received is to bleach down the walls. Bland says for the past several years the property conditions have gotten worse.

"It's been a bad six or eight years, because people don't want to fix anything," said Bland. 'Now we are getting put out. The owners are hiding. We don't know want to do."

This isn't the first time police say property owner Steven Whitlow has violated city code. He has a record dating back to 2007. Documents from the Colonial Heights Police Department show he was cited for serious maintenance problems at Colonial Court Apartments - the same place where a fire started from a water heater Monday morning. Some violations include not following fire code, improper wiring, and not keeping vacant property secure - unlocked doors and broken windows. In many cases, raw sewage was exposed through bad piping. We saw many of the same scenarios at Prince George Terrace Apartments.

"We need somebody to come to our aid and give us a place to live and vouchers," Bland added.

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Mold Causing Health Problems for Couple

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, living with mold in your home can cause everything from mild asthma to shortness of breath and even lung disease.

“The burning of the eyes, the coughing and the headaches, constant headaches,” said Frank Killian on how he thinks mold affected him.

Killen said he and his girlfriend, Deb, dealt with health issues for the past two years because of mold in his apartment.

Apartment management insists they were not aware of a problem and responded to all requests made by Killen.

“The caulking has mold, not the drywall or window,” said Katie Garrity, regional property manager for the North Union Street Apartments and James Management Group.

Garrity also said that aside from that, there is not any mold.

"This is his housekeeping issue,” said Garrity. “It is dirt, not mold.”

Either way, what is a person to do if they suspect they have hazardous mold inside their apartment?

You can call the health department so you know for sure, said Hamilton County administrator Barry McNulty.

"There are no set laws or regulations on mold because there is no way to quantify mold, and we all have different sensitivities,” said McNulty.

McNulty said before you rent an apartment, you need to do a thorough check of the home to see if it has mold. Also, he suggests getting a mold addendum in your lease in case you need to move out due to mold.

That was the case with Killen.

“It got so bad, we couldn't live there,” said Killen.

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Rec Building in Brooklyn to Gain New Life

The Brooklyn Board of Selectmen later this month will consider a draft of a request for proposals for use of the former recreation building.

First Selectman Austin Tanner said the board voted last week to move forward with the request to determine if anyone has interest in the building.

The Recreation Department moved out of the Prince Hill Road building in 2008. The building has water damage, collapsed ceilings, mold and damage from termites and rodents. Renovation estimates range from $31,000 to $130,000.

Selectmen voted in September 2008 and in February 2009 to demolish the building, budgeting $10,000 to raze it. But the building is a town asset, so approval from residents is required. The issue was never brought to town meeting.

Since 2008, groups have expressed interest in the building, Tanner said, but none has made a formal presentation to the town.

Selectmen have discussed options for the building, which include renovations by Harvard H. Ellis Technical High School and use of the building by the Last Green Valley and the town’s agricultural commission. Brooklyn resident Paul Archer, of Archer Surveying, has also expressed interest. Archer could not be reached for comment Monday.

Tanner said he spent last month researching the restrictions on the building. By deed, the building can only be used for recreation or conservation. Any other use would require permission from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Tanner said.

Tanner said the request for proposals will be broad and open to anyone interested in purchasing, leasing or renovating the building. But Tanner said some cautionary words for any potential buyer or tenant.

“The town doesn’t want to put money into it,” he said. “So if they wanted to (renovate) it, they’d have to do it themselves.”
Tanner said the board has not set a timeline for sending the request out.
Resident Paula Burns said she does not see a reason to rush to tear down the building, even though the town has been talking about it for years.
“If people are interested and will fix it up, the town should do what it can to help them,” Burns said.

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Mold Damage Has Winston Apartment Residents Worried

Less than one month after a North Valley apartment complex flooded, some residents say their health is now at risk because of growing mold.

The Sierra Apartments located on Winton Way near Myrtle Avenue in Winton suffered major damage after freezing temperatures caused pipes to burst. 27 apartments in the complex had some sort of water damage.

Tyler Trant says his Winton apartment is surrounded by mold: "It's hard to deal with things. I always feeling like I'm going to pass out. Sick."

Trant's main concern is for his two young daughters.

Roberto Perez is also worried for his kids. Take one look behind a tarp inside his two bedroom unit, and you can clearly see why.

Back in January, pipes froze and then burst, causing a dozen ceilings to collapse. Perez says he and his family left for several days until crews declared his unit safe.

After returning to find mold covering half of this room, this what Perez claims he was told: "The manager said that he can't do anything. That he doesn't know who's going to fix it."

Despite how bad the mold problem in this apartment is, the family who lives here says they can't afford to leave. In fact, the four of them are sharing one bedroom, and they'll have to do that until the problem gets fixed.

The manager was not on-site Wednesday to answer our questions. But, we did speak to a representative from the complex's management company out of state. By phone, he expressed concern, telling Action News they were not aware of the ongoing mold issue. He also promised to send a contractor out to the complex right away, to ensure every resident is living in a safe environment.

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Parents of Elementary School Students Still Worried About Mold

Several months after Knox County Schools addressed a mold issue at Shannondale Elementary, parents say children are still getting sick.

Following storms in 2011, a tree fell and damaged one classroom in a Shannondale portable building. According to a timeline of information from Knox County Schools, sometime after repairs were completed, the school discovered water damage in the sub-flooring of the classroom, leading to the formation of mold on a portion of the sub-floor.

Since September, the district has taken a number of actions to fix the problem.

At a meeting Tuesday night, Superintendent Dr. Jim McIntyre told parents current air samples show a safeenvironment for classroom use.

"We take issues of school safety and school security very seriously. We want to make sure we have a safe, healthy learning environment for our kids," said Dr. McIntyre.

Knox County Schools also consulted with the Knox County Health Department, which conducted an investigation into the mold findings. The report concluded "no unusual mold exposures to students."

However, several parents say children continue to suffer from headaches, bloody noses and breathing problems.

Wendy Buchheit has two children who attend Shannondale. She says her children's symptoms lessened while they were home during Christmas break, but returned with the start of the new semester.

She says the data collected by the school system isn't accurate enough.

"I hope they will ask the parents to document the symptoms so that we can prove to them that we do still have sick children," she said.

School officials listened to parents for nearly two hours about the issue. Dr. McIntyre said he takes issues of school safety andsecurity very seriously, and will consider further actions.

"We want to make sure every school in our system is a safe, healthy, inviting learning environment for our students so they can be successful academically," he said.

"We'll continue to take those issues seriously. We'll continue to look carefully and assess the situation and take appropriate action if necessary."

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Hotel Tenants Head Back to Court

On January 19, the Chelsea Hotel tenants association returned to Housing Court for the next round of their case against Chelsea Dynasty LLC, the Chetrit Group, Chelsea Management LLC, Joseph and Meyer Chetrit, Michael Butler and Lilly Sirkin.

Representing the tenants association were Janet Ray Kalson and Ron Languedoc of Himmelstein, McConnell, Gribben, Donoghue & Joseph. Of the 35 tenants named in the Order to Show Cause, eight attended the proceedings.

Fred Daniels of Daniels, Norelli, Scully and Cecere PC — a firm that specializes in debt collection — represented the respondents-owners. Butler, an executive with the Chetrit Group and named in the lawsuit, sat on the opposite side of the courtroom from the tenants. Valentine Moretti was the legal counsel for the Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD), the city agency also named as respondent. HPD appears at each housing court case to represent tenants in general, explained Mary Anne Rose, one of the tenants. “It’s less critical if tenants already have representation, but since there are so many violations at the hotel, it behooves him to deal with these,” Rose said.

At the December 16 hearing, Judge Peter Wendt stipulated that the owners adhere to a tenant safety plan and follow applicable laws and regulations regarding construction and demolition — and provide heat and hot water to residents of the renowned West 23rd Street hotel. At the January 19 hearing, Judge Wendt asked a series of questions following up on these issues. Both sides concurred that at present there was adequate heat and hot water, with Daniels noting that the landlord is going to inspect and confirm repair issues along the way. Moretti said he doubted HPD had trained people for mold inspection; Daniels stated that the owners want to participate in obtaining a cost estimate for mold remediation as a means of comparison and within the next two weeks they will pick a contractor.

The judge adjourned the case until February 14, at which time Kalson told Chelsea Now, “We are going to have an agreement or very close to it, or we are going to set up for a trial.” Any ruling (whether from an agreement or from the outcome of a trial) is only enforceable among petitioners. “Someone who is not named in the lawsuit doesn’t have the right to come in and say we didn’t notify you,” Languedoc explained.

“The judge reminded all sides that a trial is an expensive enterprise — and time consuming,” said Zoe Pappas, a spokesperson for the tenants association. “It’s not beneficial for the landlord to keep this lawsuit forever. It will work against him.” Rose added that it isn’t to his advantage “to have a hotel filled with mold.” The hotel has been closed to the public since demolition and construction began in September — but 100 or so tenants still reside there.

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Mold Now A Concern for Childrens Library

It's typically where fictional characters spring to life in the imaginations of young readers. But Sunday morning staffers at the Fletcher Free Library had a tale to tell of a very real flood in the children's section.

"This room was full of water. The water seeped right down, went right down the walls and landed over in the children's non-fiction section," said the library's Robert Resnik.

The pros are blaming a pipe in the attic -- right above Resnik's office. A release valve broke and the pipe burst, sending gallons of water cascading down the walls of the 108 year old Carnegie building and drenching upwards of 2-thousand children's books.

And now mold is the new concern. "Because you have all of these books lined up in a row, if you start getting a moldy spot, it doesn't stop there, it continues down the line," Resnik said.

On Monday clean-up crews pumped up the heat to dry the place out. The goal is to detect hidden wet spots then use vacuums to suck up the excess water lurking in the ceiling. Resnick says it's still too early to put a price tag on the damage but he hopes insurance money will help pay to replace the damaged books. "Chances are, they are things that can be re-ordered pretty quickly," he said.

Past the drenched children's section is the local history room. Here there are tons of irreplaceable documents and librarians say they're counting their lucky stars nothing was damaged. "We would have been in real trouble because a lot of that stuff is one-of-a-kind or old books that don't exist in print anymore, so it would have been really, really hard to replace," Resnik said. "I would have been probably crying. I get teary-eyed just thinking about it."

The silver lining to a soggy story. But like most children's books, Resnik says the ending has a simple message applicable to all ages: "This is just something to remind us to be thankful and to be grateful and to watch out what you do and keep your eyes on the pipes."

The library plans to re-open Tuesday with the exception of the children's section. That will remain closed for at least another week while the clean-up is completed.

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Navy Families Struggle with Mold Damage

After weeks of waiting, four families finally heard from the Navy about the independent mold tests done in their homes.

The Navy's inspectors confirmed what these families have known all along-that there are indeed mold problems and water damage in their homes.

Navy wife Angela Johnson doesn't feel like the Navy is on her side right now.

Johnson first told NewsChannel 3 her story about living with mold before Thanksgiving.

Her family has been living in a hotel since December 2nd.

Finally, two days after the New Year, Navy officials admitted to her for the first time about moisture problems and mold found in her Sandpiper Crescent home.

“They told me and my husband that my home was structurally unsound and said we are not allowed back in the house,” says Johnson.

She says they found nine different types of mold on her air duct system.

“No way that it should be okay to have stachybotrys in my HVAC and that my kids breathe that in every night,” says Johnson.

She is happy she will be moved into a safer home but still can't get over some of the things Navy officials told her in the meeting.

“They said me not cleaning my HVAC system is the reason there were stachybotrys spores sitting on my HVAC system,” says Johnson.

“The Navy kept saying, ‘we are going to help you, we are going to make this right,’ and to me today it felt like they dropped the ball again. The fact that they turned it around on me made me absolutely furious,” says Johnson.

Johnson is one of only four families who received their mold test results. Two more families will meet with the Navy on Wednesday.Fourteen families were lucky enough to get the Navy to test in their homes, but over 285 families have to rely on Lincoln’s third party testers.

“We've contacted them twice a day daily for the last two weeks and have not gotten an answer,” says Johnson.

Maureen Greble, her husband, three kids and their dog have been in a hotel since December 17th.

No results have come in from their mold test performed on December 20th.

According to the Navy, over 50 families are still waiting.

Maureen and her family are trying to make the best of their new home like so many others in the same situation.

Even Angela and her family will have to stay in their hotel until the end of January.

The faith they had has certainly worn thin.

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Doctor Says Half of Country Lives with Mold

According to the statistics, almost half the buildings in the country are considered moldy or water-damaged.

And that means a lot of sick people.

“This illness is theoretically expensive to American capitalism. If we say half our buildings are moldy and need to be knocked down, who is gonna pay to knock them down?” asks Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker is one of the world's leading researchers on the health effects of mold.

His book "Surviving Mold" is the go-to guide for those whose genes make them more susceptible to mold illness.

It’s been a struggle for him and others in this breakthrough field to get the U.S. government to even acknowledge their findings on human health.

“What has been the approach in the U.S. is serious of disinformation and misinformation, promulgated for financial info and not medical reasons,” says Dr. Shoemaker.

Moldy housing is so prevalent that Dr. Shoemaker says 21 percent of asthma cases in the United States are caused by mold.

But because most of the research on mold related illness is less than 20 years old, many medical schools don't cover it and many doctors cannot put the puzzle pieces together when they have patients sickened by mold.

Dr. Shoemaker is hoping NewsChannel 3’s investigation starts a revolution not only in military housing, but throughout the United States.

“You will have the citizenry outraged. You will have one person after another say this is wrong for anyone to say a building is safe when people are getting sick from it,” says Dr. Shoemaker.

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Mold Infestation is Health Hazard

Mold is a fact of life if one lives in an old home, and for many it is nothing more than a nuisance. But in the Gustafson home in Sacred Heart, the Aspergillus mold spores are a real danger to Zachary and Ella, both who were diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF) in 2008.
When Zach was hospitalized at the end of the summer his doctor discovered the six-year old had allergic broncho-pulmonary aspergillosis, meaning he was allergic to the mold in the home.
“Anything that irritates his lungs,” can be harmful, explained mother Sue.
To help battle the effects of the mold the doctors have Zach on steroids. And while they might help keep the allergy in check, the side-effects aren’t fun.
“Our six year old acts like an 80-year-old,” Sue said. Climbing the stairs at the home can be a chore, with Zach’s stiff joints. His appetite can rival his dad’s at times and he and the family have to deal with the kindergartner’s mood swings caused by the medication.
The steroids Zach is on is helping, but the mold in the home needs to be completely removed. Servicemaster came out and located the mold in several areas of the house, especially in the basement and a room upstairs that at one point had been a bathroom.
Servicemaster cleaned out the basement and the Gustafsons have begun the process of repairing the upstairs room, removing an old window and replacing the wall material, where the mold had been growing.
While the basement was scrubbed clean a watermain issue which caused water to seep back into the basement revealed pipes that needed to be replaced, adding another layer to the mold problem. To hopefully correct the problem the Gustafson are planning to dig a new basement and move the house on top of it.
“The dream is to get a new house,” said Sue, but the family has not been successful getting financing.
Sue did put in an application for ABC’s popular show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” but she isn’t waiting around for Ty Pennington to come knocking on their door. Things need to be done to the home they have, so everyone can be as healthy as possible.
Since Zach and Ella were diagnosed with CF the communities of Sacred Heart, Granite Falls and the RCW school district have stepped up.
“Their support has blown us away,” said Sue.
The Tim Orth Foundation chose the Gustafsons as one of their families in 2008, the Sacred Heart Lions club put on a benefit, as did the family’s church. And on Dec. 3 another benefit for the family will be held at the Sacred Heart Community Center from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., to raise money to help the family solve the mold problem. The event will include a BBQ lunch, silent auction and craft and bake sale. The event is being sponsored with supplemental funds from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans – Renville/ Redwood County Chapter. Those interested can send monetary donations to the Gustafson Fund set up at F&M Bank in Sacred Heart.
“We are much better givers than receivers,” Sue said, but eventually the family learned to let their friends and family help them. “If the community wants to love us, we should let them.”
When the CF illness entered the family many relatives wanted Sue and James to move the family closer to the cities, especially with all of the trips to Children’s Medical Center. But the couple decided against relocating.
“We are right where we need to be,” said Sue.
“We like Sacred Heart,” James added. “We want to stay here.”
The couple wants their children, including Hayley, 10 and Ayden, 8, to experience the closeness of living in a small community and to understand what it means to reach out and help people in need.
“It is so good for our kids to see that. We are some of the richest people,” in friends and family, explained Sue. “We are appreciative and totally humbled.”

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Holiday Inn Blames Contractor for Mold Damage

A contractor and his company are being sued over claims his work product caused a Webster Holiday Inn to become infested with mold.

Webster Hotel filed a lawsuit on Nov. 11 in Harris County District Court against Ritesh Patel and Matrix Builder, citing breach of contract, breach of implied warranty and negligence.

Webster Hotel says on Nov. 13, 2007, it hired the defendants to furnish labor, materials and equipment at a Holiday Inn in Webster, which was completed in 2009. The suit alleges in June, the hotel closed the entire fifth floor because of bad odors, water stains and mold. On Oct. 5, poor air quality on the fourth floor of the hotel necessitated its closure as well, according to the brief.

Webster Hotel claims this low air quality and mold infestation resulted from the defendants’ poor construction.

Webster Hotel is seeking loss of revenue, property damage, attorney’s fees and court costs. It is being represented in the case by Houston attorney Eric Lipper.

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Students Return to School After Lengthy Mold Remediation

High school students are finally back home.

The high school on Kennedy Way reopened Monday after being closed since Sept. 12 for mold remediation.

"It can't be stated enough how wonderful the students were through the whole process," Superintendent Ronald Taylor said at Monday's school board meeting. "This is not the easiest thing to get through. The students were fantastic."

Students missed one week of school and then attended the Levitt School on Salem Road, which was used as a middle school last school year.

Students were pleased as they left the building on a sunny and unseasonably warm day.

"I was happy to be back at the high school. It's remodeled and pretty. I like it," 12th-grader Jeane Savage said.

Sophomore Tanjela McClam said the students really didn't get to enjoy the renovations done last summer because they attended classes for only two days before the shutdown.

"We got new books, and we're finally able to enjoy (the renovations)," McClam said.

As part of a $67.4 million bond referendum, the high school auditorium was renovated, new doors and windows were installed, and new science laboratories were added.

McClam was unhappy about one aspect of returning — the Levitt school was closer to her home.

Savage said she would have to get used to going back to full days. For weeks, students attended split sessions at Levitt.

"Being back to full days, it's kind of crazy," she said.

Several students were thrilled to not be in such tight quarters any longer.

"I think it's better we have more space," freshman Imani Kirby said. "We're not cramped in one space."

Eleventh-grader Brandon Reed said he was pleased that the sports teams would get back their "home-field advantage."

Senior Sean Grimes said the return to school was a smooth one.

"Before, we were stuck in one hallway," Grimes said. "I'm happy to be back."

"Our children are home," resident Kim Davis said at Monday's meeting. "It was a hardship, and everyone made do. We weathered the storm."

Last week, an environmental consultant hired by the district released a report that said the high school is safe for occupancy. The remediation costs are expected to run as high as $700,000, officials have said.

The report said that in some areas of the school, air quality tests in September revealed that mold spores were up to 400 times the amount found outside.

Exposure to mold can cause irritation of the eyes, skin, nose, throat and lungs, as well as allergic reactions.

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Mold Forces Kids Out of School

St. Mary’s College recently announced that 350 students were moved out of their dormitory and into temporary housing. The move impacts students that are housed in the Prince George and Caroline residence halls. The Maryland College took the steps due to ongoing mold problems in the student housing following heavy summer rains.

Earlier in October, it was reported that at least 40 students from the University of Delaware were forced to leave their dorm rooms also due to mold issues. In addition to these places of higher education, a number of elementary through high schools across the region have also had to deal with mold problems this school year.

Mold spores can be found virtually everywhere. All it takes is moisture, which can be in the form of flooding, broken pipes, leaking roofs and windows or even just elevated humidity levels for mold to begin to grow. People who come in contact with elevated levels of mold may suffer allergies, asthma attacks and even possible infections in some cases.

Many school administrators report that Hurricane Irene, along with a damp wet period that followed the historic hurricane, made conditions ideal for mold growth in structures that suffered water damage. “When conditions are right, mold can begin growing indoors in as quick as 24 hours,” reported Susan White, Ph.D., CMC. Dr. White is the President of SussexEnvironmental Health Consultants (SEHC), a leading mold and IAQ consulting firm. “Not only have schools with tight maintenance budgets been forced to tackle mold issues head on, but everything from single family residences to commercial structures are now dealing with this issue,” she continued.

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Mold Temporarily Shuts Down Fire Station

York's fire department will be without one of its four stations indefinitely until mold created by the flooding last month can be removed, city Fire Chief Steven Buffington said Tuesday.

The mold, which Buffington discovered during a training session at the Lincoln Station on Roosevelt Avenue last week, has been growing on the walls of the station's basement and creating a potential hazard for the crews that work at Lincoln, Buffington said.

As a result, Lincoln's personnel have been temporarily moved to the department's Rex/Laurel Station on South Duke Street downtown, where there was room to house the engine, Buffington said.

It's a solution for now, but not for any length of time, Buffington said.

The Lincoln Station serves a more-remote part of the city's west end - particularly the industrial park north of Route 30 - and the move leaves that portion of town vulnerable, he said.

"We try to put an engine company within 1.5 miles of every built-upon tract of land in the city," Buffington said. "(The move) obviously skews that. That's one of the first things the mayor and I talked about is we can't allow that to go on long term."

Buffington said he has been discussing options with York Mayor Kim Bracey, including some kind of temporary structure for the engine on the tract of land next to Lincoln Station. Options will have to be run by the city's insurance adjusters, he said.

"Right now, the primary concern is the health and safety of our firefighters," Buffington said. "We don't know that it's a huge risk, but, based on what the first assessment of the environmental company was, their recommendation was that they (firefighters) not work there."

Buffington said he believes the mold is the result of flooding that swept through the building's basement after Tropical Storm Lee in early September. Lincoln Station's platoon spent a full day pumping the water that filled the basement, but the lower level is below grade and remained damp afterward, Buffington said.

No one in the station has complained of any negative health effects as a result of the mold, nor did anyone call the office to complain, Buffington said. But the smell was noticeable last week when Buffington visited the building.

Buffington met with an environmental remediation crew Tuesday afternoon. The next step will be developing a plan to begin to combat the mold as quickly as possible.

No cost estimates have been prepared yet, but Buffington said he expected to pay more than $100,000.

"We're not satisfied to let that go long term," Buffington said. "We'll take whatever steps we need to get engine company coverage on that end of town. It's going to go a very short period of time."

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Mold Closes Elementary School

Although the building has been closed for three years, the West Aurora School District is faced with the problem of eliminating mold at Lincoln Elementary School.

District employees recently discovered an infestation of mold in the basement of the building. There are no immediate plans for using the building, but administrators want to keep it in potentially usable condition, which means remediating the mold.

“At this point we’re going to want to keep it as an open option,” Superintendent James Rydland said Monday.

The item will be on the School Board agenda again in two weeks, for the Oct. 17 meeting. Administrators recommended accepting a $42,000 bid to have the mold removed.

Assistant Superintendent of Operations Pete Kerl said that he asked the contractor what would happen if they did nothing to remove the mold.

“The answer was that you would see it spread throughout the school,” Kerl said.

Board member Mark Bradford said that he wanted to see more of a conversation about planning take place before the district advances with the issue. If they end up with no other recourse than to demolish the building in a few years, Bradford said he did not want to see money spent on these types of repairs.

“Are we going to throw $42,000 at this and the building stays vacant?” Bradford said.

Rydland said he does not want to be in a position where they need to use the building because of high attendance at other schools, and cannot because of the mold problem. Administrators recently made the difficult decision to put a roof on Nancy Hill School, another old building, for similar reasons.

Universal Asbestos Removal won the bid for the mold removal project. Universal will essentially be removing all moisture from the moldy areas. There was no running water in the affected area, but moisture was seeping through the walls.

The south Lake Street school building was closed three years ago, and students were sent to other schools in order to reduce the district’s operating budget. Closing the school has saved the district more than $900,000 in operating costs. Administrators want to account for a possible future need, or sale of the building, however.

“It may be tantamount to if you want to sell your house,” board member Allyson Herget said. “We’re going to want to make it all spiffy.”

Rydland said he wants to take care of the building whether the district is using it or not, so that it does not go into a state of disrepair.

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Mold Forces Family With Disabled Toddler from Home

"It was an ongoing leak," said Izaiah's father, Jacob. "We didn't know how long it was going on for."

Jacob said his son, who is 2 years old, kept getting sick for unexplained reasons.

"At first he had pneumonia. Then, he got better. Then, he got sick again," said Jacob.

The family then noticed a piece of wall lying on the floor.

"A plumber came by," said Jacob. "He opened up the wall. You could just see mold growing in there. It was pretty crazy… As soon as we found out, we had to get Izaiah out of the house."

In the past week, Izaiah has moved from their home in Vista, to a hotel and now to his grandfather's home in Oceanside after the family discovered the health hazard lurking in their wall.

Jacob quickly became concerned and educated about what was going on.

"[The mold] causes asthma, bad headaches [and] lung infections… just all kinds of things that go along with it," he said. "It's pretty toxic."

The mold is toxic especially for Izaiah, who has already gone through so much.

It was almost one year ago when Izaiah and his grandfather were run down by a teenage drunk driver while they were out on a morning walk.

Izaiah was left partially-blind, suffered brain damaged and was paralyzed from the chest down.

Now, Jacob said his son is already improving since they moved out of the home.

Izaiah is now on antibiotics and takes frequent naps.

Jacob said he is unsure if they will ever move back to their rented Vista home.

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Mold Found in Government Center

A consultant hired by Orange County to assess the flood damage to the shuttered County Government Center in Goshen Wednesday revealed there is toxic black mold growing in the building.

County Executive Edward Diana took MidHudsonNews.com and other media through the building to show firsthand what the conditions are inside the sprawling structure. Diana took the occasion to lobby for construction of a new building, which he said, among other things, would be far more environmentally efficient.

“I’ve seen all the data, I’ve studied all the data, and I think it’s the best alternative, but if 14 legislators decide something different, they we have to do that. That’s okay. We’ll do that,” Diana said. “But, it’s got to be one or the other. It can’t be a temporary fix; it’s got to be a permanent fix. It’s got to be something that’s there.”

Diana and the consultants illustrated the greatest areas of mold proliferation caused by wetness and insufficient ventilation, which has rendered the building uninhabitable forever, by Diana's approximation. With water throughout the facility, Alfred Fusco of Fusco Engineering and Land Surveying said complete removal is a tall order.

"The dampness is caused by the roof structure. One of the biggest weaknesses of the building is its many roofs. Through the recent storms, we've had tremendous amounts of water within a narrow channel of time," he said. "The roofing drains aren't positioned in the proper location; the roofs are not pitched toward the drains; and subsequently through freezing and thawing the roof has created a lot of voids."

Fusco's is one of several teams along with Labella Associates, Fellinger Engineering and BBL that have been contracted to evaluate the damage in an ongoing report to the county legislature. The report will determine the county's decision on whether to rebuild or renovate, as well as FEMA reimbursement.

Dr. Marco Pedone of Environmental Management Solutions was brought in to perform environmental testing, and discussed some of his findings.

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Mold Forms as Result of Leaky Roof

It all started with a leaky roof.

Michael Ganino, National Director of the American Postal Workers Accident Benefit Association (APWABA), said what began as an annoying issue with the organization's Lilac City office condo, located at 36 Industrial Way has recently turned into a much larger problem.

A problem he and the Asst. National Director Dave Daniel said has gone on for too long with too little response from property managers and the condo association.

Ganino said last week the roof of their condo, which the organization owns and is managed by Sutton Management, based in North Andover, Mass., began leaking more than a year ago and the problem recently became worse.

Ganino said that while he had reported the leak to the condo association and property managers, nothing had been done for some time.

After APWABA employees began suffering health problems due to what Ganino and Daniel suspected was mold resulting from the long term leak, including nearly daily headaches, nasal problems, scratchy throats, and even vertigo, they decided to take the problem into their own hands, Ganino said, hiring an indoor air quality company to test the office.

What the company, Green Air Solutions, LLC., found was much worse than they'd anticipated, Ganino said.

The company issued a report saying that there were many types of mold in the office that needed immediate remediation, he said.

According to the report, five air samples were taken by the company on Sept. 8 — in the conference area, in the ceiling cavity, in the lunch room, in the bathroom area, and outside the office.

The report showed elevated levels of aspergillus/penicillium in all of the rooms and stachybotrys in the lunch room area.

According to the report, while indoor mold levels should be lower than outdoor levels, at the APW office the counts of aspergillus/penicillium was much higher than outdoor levels of the mold.

The report also said that stachybotrys, which was also found in the office, is "a dangerous mold to be inhaled" and suggested that mold was likely caused by the leaking roof.

Based upon the findings of the testing, Green Air Solutions recommended "keeping the area clear of occupants until professional remediation takes place to reduce the mold spores to an acceptable level for occupancy," according to the report.

Ganino said he gave a copy of the report to Sutton Management officials and then hired a remediation company, EnviroVantage, based on the recommendations of Green Air Solutions.

EnviroVantage also tested the office on Sept. 15 and agreed with the findings of Green Air Solutions, saying that the current levels of the mold in the building were dangerous and likely were causing the health issues experienced by employees.

The company installed scrubbers in the office, which filter and clean the air, Ganino said.

Once again, Ganino sent a copy of the company's report to both the condo association and Sutton Management but said he was informed that any companies he hires without approval from the condo association would have to paid by the APWABA.

Ganino said he moved his seven employees out of the office soon after the consultation with EnviroVantage and that he has since rented a temporary office on Chestnut Hill Road.

Ganino said that while the property managers and condo association have since taken action on the issue, he believes they are still unnecessarily delaying the process and that by doing so they are putting his employees and other tenants of the building at risk.

Ganino said that after he sent the property manager and condo association the report from EnviroVantage, they hired their own company, Able Restoration, to test the office last week. The employee of the company sent to the office said he agreed with the assessment of EnviroVantage and that he also thought the building's HVAC system had to be overhauled and cleaned, Ganino said.

While Ganino said the company said they would send him an email copy of the report, he never received it, and that he has not received a copy from property managers or the condo association despite numerous requests.

Then, he received an email back from property manager Richard Stern and condo association president Frank Cieri, who said they thought the problem needed further study and that they had hired yet another company to test the office.

Since that visit on Sept. 21, Ganino said he has heard from Stern that it will take at least 10 days to get the results of the latest testing and that nothing will be fixed until the results are in and recommendations are made on how to fix it.

Ganino said he is saddened by what he and his employees have been put through and said he is also worried for the other tenants in the building after the employee from Able Restoration said there's no firewall in the ceiling and spores could spread anywhere throughout the building.

While Ganino said he was told by Cieri that he would alert the other tenants in the building of the problem, he is not certain that it has been done.

On Monday, Cieri declined to comment on whether other tenants of the building had been notified, but said that any allegations of unnecessary delays are not accurate.

"The board and the management company responded to this issue immediately," Cieri said. "We have hired an environmental company to test the ceiling tiles and the air quality and we have hired a roofing company to repair the cause of the original leak. We have done everything possible to handle this quickly and professionally."

Cieri said he has not yet contacted the city's health department about the issue since the board and management company are waiting for the results of the test from the environmental company.

Still, Ganino and Daniel said they wonder why a third and fourth testing were needed after he had already had two consultations done on the building that produced the same results, and said that what he views as delays are costing his business a substantial amount of money and business.

The company provides benefits nationwide to American Postal union members and retirees, and Ganino said that before this situation developed a two weeks ago, they were able to process claims in 24 hours and pay in 40 hours.

Now, however, Ganino said that they have limited access to their computers in the Industrial Way office and that business is slowed.

And while business has slowed, Ganino said the organization has also had to spend more money, paying condo fees for the Industrial Way property and paying rent and utilities in the temporary office. Even more money could be spent if the company finds a place to relocate permanently, which it is looking to do.

"We're looking to move," Ganino said. "We can't take a chance that we won't have a response to what is a clear biological threat."

Daniel agreed.

"We're not about to let our employees suffer under those conditions," he said.

Both Ganino and Daniel said they plan to take legal action if necessary and that their costs as a result of this situation are through the roof.

Ganino said they want the condo association to fix the roof and remediate the office to get rid of the mold, and that they want the condo association or management company to absorb all costs of repairs and all expenses the company had as a result of the mold problem, saying the groups were "remiss in their duties."

Still, Ganino said he is not confident this will happen without legal action.

"What we'd like and what we need doesn't seem to run along the same lines of the gentlemen who control our fate," he said.

Stern did not return calls by press time on Monday.

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