Mold runs rampant in Fort Belvoir barracks

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Mold runs rampant in Fort Belvoir barracks

Housing, maintenance officials seek source of problem

October 7, 2004

By Brennan

Staff writer

http://www.belvoireagle.com/archives/2004/october/7OCT/mold.shtml

Sgt. Mason T. Lowery described his room in McRee Barracks as musty,

damp, swampy and unclean.

Lowery lives in Building No. 2102, Tower E in Room 104 of the

barracks.

Lowery did not hesitate in expressing his concern toward mold, a

fungus that grew rampantly while he was out of town for a month.

After taking a trip to Maine from Aug. 30 to Sept. 30, the Soldier

returned to a mold-infested abode.

" I opened the door and I was like `Oh God,' " Lowery, 28, said.

Mold covered his futon bed, carpet, Velcro watchbands, and mountain

bicycle, gloves and ceiling vents.

" It's not a pleasant homecoming, " Lowery said.

The Soldier dumped baking soda on the carpet, in hopes of

eliminating the mold and smell. As for his belongings, he threw away

a pair of mold-covered sneakers.

Although most of the mold was eliminated after his cleaning spree,

Lowery pointed out a spot he missed.

" Do you see that? " Lowery inquired, while pointing to a black camera

case on a shelf.

" That's the only example I could find for ya,' " he said.

The camera case was covered in gray fuzzy mold.

" It's gross. It's like fur growing everywhere, you know? " Lowery

said.

Not alone

Lowery is not alone in his encounters with mold.

Mold is growing rampantly in McRee Barracks.

" We have a terrible mold problem, " said Marilyn Shaffer, Troop

Housing Office housing management specialist.

Mold is in every room and in every building of the 2900 area of the

barracks, Shaffer said.

" It's all over. It's on bathroom ceilings. It's on walls, " Shaffer

said.

Mold is growing in closets and on furniture, she added.

" It's everywhere. Some rooms, of course are much worse than others, "

Shaffer said.

The barracks are home to Fort Belvoir single Soldiers in grades E-6

and below, she said. Of the 404 rooms available, about 220 to 230

are inhabited.

" A lot of them I can't put anybody in, " Shaffer said.

Several of the rooms have been closed down and remain vacant until

the mold is cleaned up, she said.

Moving Soldiers out of their rooms was not an option as of last

week, according to Shaffer.

" We have nowhere to relocate them until we have some areas cleaned

up and fixed and so on, " Shaffer said.

Shaffer first learned mold was growing " rampant " in the barracks

when a DynCorp employee brought it to her attention about a month

ago, she said.

" I think you need to come see this room, " the employee told Shaffer.

Shaffer looked at the room.

" It was unbelievable, " she said.

Shaffer is determined to find the causes of the mold.

" We have to find the root of the problem, " Shaffer said. " We've got

to find out what's causing it. "

To address the situation, DeWitt Army Community Hospital was

contacted and Shaffer sent a newsletter out to the barracks

residents, explaining the mold situation.

, DeWitt Army Community Hospital industrial hygienist,

made a visit to Building No. 2109 in Tower B.

A Soldier that declined to name shared concerns toward mold in

his room.

" He said that his clothes were covered and smelled with mold, "

said. " I saw it on his pillow. It was on his blanket. It was all

over his Class A uniform. "

looked at three rooms.

" Of the rooms I went to, all of them had mold, " said.

Condensation leaking out of the fan coil units was a cause of mold,

noted.

" Usually it needs moisture to survive, " said.

" Mold is a fungus that needs food to sustain itself, "

said. " The food that it grows on is any cellulose-based material. "

Paper, clothing, upholstered materials and wood can all provide a

food source for mold.

Mold varies in color and species. Mold varies from green, brown,

black, blue, yellow and white.

It can grow within hours, if it has the proper conditions to grow,

according to .

" It doesn't take that long to grow, " said.

In bathrooms, mold feeds off dead skin cells, soap flakes and dust,

said.

Possible causes

Since mold requires moisture and a place to grow, it makes its home

in damp places.

Mold has been found in three areas of the barracks, said

Riordan, DynCorp Fort Belvoir division general manager.

" One is in the bathrooms, " Riordan said.

After taking a shower, moisture builds in the bathroom and remains.

The fans in the roof should draw air out of the bathrooms, according

to Riordan.

DynCorp maintains heating and air conditioning equipment and handles

barracks residents' work order requests under a contract with Fort

Belvoir. Yet, the fans have not been maintained, nor were they

covered under the contract, according to Riordan.

" Unfortunately it didn't list these fans as something that gets

periodic maintenance, " Riordan said.

The barracks, built in 1975, were renovated in 1997. During the

renovation, little work was done on the fans. Since then, the fan

belts wore out and the fans stopped working, Riordan said.

" There's not good ventilation in many of the bathrooms. We are

fixing that, " Riordan said.

Post officials allocated $85,000 for DynCorp to clean the fan ducts

and clean out mold in 20 rooms in the barracks, Riordan said.

Tearing out mold-infested carpet and replacing it with vinyl and

repainting the rooms are included the cleanup.

DynCorp workers were cleaning out the fan ducts to ensure there was

no mold in them, Riordan said last week.

Workers were checking 72 fans and installing new fan belts where

needed. If fan motors were burned out, workers would replace them,

Riordan said.

Riordan said the work was supposed to be done by the end of last

week.

" They should see some improvement, " Riordan advised residents.

Another source for mold is the fan coil units, located in the

ceilings. The units have drip pans that can sometimes overflow onto

the ceiling tile, saturating the tile and causing a food source for

mold, according to Riordan.

The fan coil units are maintained once a year, to ensure the drains

are clear. The last time the units were maintained was a year ago

but DynCorp plans to clean the units again by November, Riordan said.

Riordan attributed another the final cause of mold.

When residents turn their air conditioner up and open a window to

let in warmer air, it's an opportunity for mold to settle in their

rooms. When the warmer air from outside hits the walls inside, the

moisture condenses and mold grows, Riordan said.

" So now you have moisture and mold will form, " Riordan said.

Riordan recommends if residents open the windows, they should make

sure the air conditioning is off.

Health effects

1st Lt. Ricks, DeWitt chief of environmental health,

explained effects mold may have on one's health.

" Mold itself is not a health hazard, " Ricks said.

Yet, those with allergies to mold should take precautions.

" If they have known allergies or suspect allergies to mold they

should not disturb the mold, " Ricks said.

Symptoms for those that are allergic or may be allergic to mold

include sore throats, eye redness, itchy, irritated skin and

headaches, Ricks said.

If residents have been exposed to mold and experience these

symptoms, they should contact their primary physician, Ricks advised.

and Ricks pointed said there are common misunderstandings

about the health risks associated with mold.

" It's not this huge mold monster that's gonna' kill you, "

said. " It's not gonna' cause a disease process. "

Cleaning it up

recommended using a mild soap solution to clean up mold. Do

not dry or wipe the surfaces with a paper towel because it will

spread the

spores, he said.

If the mold is larger than a square foot, residents should contact

the hospital's industrial hygiene or environmental health divisions,

said.

While Lowery's weary of breathing the mold, he plans to keep his

room clean of it.

" I think it's completely reasonable to expect me to clean my room.

There's nothing at all strange about that, " Lowery said. `But I do

think

it's weird to have to wash my ceilings once a week. I think that's

above and beyond. "

Lowery keeps the ceilings washed " because the mold creeps back, " he

said.

Lowery said he understands that the Army has priorities for its

funding.

Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom are two things the

Soldier listed as " more important things going on in the military

right now. " But, he added, " that doesn't mean Fort Belvoir's mold

problem shouldn't be fixed. "