Mold leads to sudent illness

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Mold leads to sudent illness

University pays $130 for hospital bills; hall council donates $20

Gerstner | Staff Reporter

October 28, 2004

An independent testing company is scheduled to perform air-quality

sampling tests today after a steam pipe leak resulted in mold growth

in a in LaFollette Complex residence hall room. The room's two

residents were hospitalized earlier this week for illnesses

resulting from the mold.

and Teya Enerson, freshmen roommates on the fifth floor

of Brayton-Clevenger Hall, went to Ball Memorial Hospital Monday

evening after mold was discovered on the back of their dresser and

the wall behind it. , who suffers from mold allergies and

asthma, was treated for sinusitis and an upper respiratory

infection, and Enerson was treated for sinusitis and a headache,

said. Both were released early Tuesday morning.

said she noticed puddles on the floor near her dresser late

last week, and the students in the room below hers put in a request

for maintenance to fix leaking ceiling tiles. Maintenance officials

discovered a steam pipe leak inside the wall adjacent to the

dresser, and Monday morning a crew member moved the dresser to make

repairs.

" There was mold everywhere, " said, noting it was growing on the

bottom and upper corners of the dresser and on the wall.

, the Associate Director of Housing and Residence Life

Facilities, said the steam pipe had been leaking for a while and

resulted in an unusual case of mold growth because the leak was in

the enclosed space behind the dresser.

" It was just in a weird location, " he said. " This is the first time

we've had a mold problem. "

After opening the wall and repairing the leak, said the

maintenance crew member patched the wall. and Enerson,

disturbed by the disarray in their room, asked their hall director

for a new place to live and were offered a room on the seventh floor

of their hall, said. They have chosen to sleep in the room of

neighboring residents, however, because the the seventh floor room

was dusty.

" It was not a place to send someone sick, " Enerson said.

The students began experiencing headaches, fatigue, coughing, watery

eyes and sinus congestion about three weeks ago. Freshman Meredith

, one of the residents whose room and Enerson sleep in,

said she and other floor residents also have noticed the same

symptoms.

said the Environmental Safety Department examined and

Enerson's room Monday and that plans are underway for maintenance to

check the rooms surrounding and Enerson's.

" There's been a lot of concerns with the students, " he said. " We

want to make sure our students are fine. That's our main concern. "

said the university is paying for their hospital bills and

crediting $130 to their bursar accounts for the damages and

inconveniences caused.

The students also received $20 in change for laundry.

" We're living in half our room, " Enerson said. " It's a hassle, and

it's just stressing us out. "

Mold leads to sudent illness

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10/28/2004 Just great, these girls had to bilk... Steve MCG

10/28/2004 By the way if you didn't know media... Teya and