Mold plagues students' apartment

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Mold plagues students' apartment

http://www.wate.com/Global/story.asp?S=3673663

Pealor and Brittany Book say mold in their apartment made them

sick.

A photo submitted by the young women shows how mold formed in the

base of windows and walls of their apartment.

Managers of Knoxville Place dispute the women's claim that the mold

is a health hazard.

August 2, 2005

By AMELIA GRAHAM

6 News Reporter

KNOXVILLE (WATE) -- 6 News uncovered serious complaints about a

popular apartment complex for UT students. Mold making is making

residents sick.

Knoxville Place stands 12 stories tall and is located right across

from UT's campus.

Some of the amenities include a fitness center, free HBO, free

Internet, your own parking garage.

If that sounds too good to be true, some residents say it is.

" It was just fuzzy and black and green, " is the way Pealor

describes what's in her apartment.

and Brittany Book were among the first students to move into

the apartment tower when it opened last August. By November, they

had problems.

" At night I would come in and the window sill would be all wet from

the condensation and it would start growing mold all on it, " said

.

" And there's one, two, three, four, four windows in the living room

and then one in each bedroom and it's black and fuzzy and then green

and fuzzy, " Brittany added.

The students say they immediately called the front office.

" They'd send people up, and they would look at it, and bleach it

out, " said .

and Brittany say this went on for months, and the mold went

from unsightly to unhealthy.

" Swollen lymph nodes, we all had flu symptoms, night sweats, " said

. " We just couldn't sleep well at all. "

Two weeks ago, apartment managers finally let and Brittany our

of their lease.

6 News tried to talk with the manager at Knoxville Place, but we

were sent from one manager to another without getting an answer to

our questions.

Before moving out, contacted Mold Lab International. The

company has an office in Knoxville and tested both and the

apartment.

" First I got it tested in my body, " said . " Anything over nine

is harmful for you, and mine was over 250 and they had to stop the

test. "

SIGNS OF MOLD

Stained ceiling tiles or walls.

Black, brown, orange, pink, or green specks around any plumbing

grout or tile.

Musty, earthy, or urine odor.

Deficient siding, or wood siding where the paint has cracked and

water has come in.

Swollen, crumbling walls or buckling floor boards may also be

signs of mold underneath.

That was from just one swab of a Q-tip.

The lab's report showed the mold count in the apartment was more

than 10 times the normal range.

Brittany says she believes the management at Knoxville Place was

uncooperative with their mold problem was because of their

age. " That's what I feel like. The whole time, because we're

students, they treated us like we were five, like we had no idea

what mold was and what it's repercussions were. "

Though the students were released from their lease two weeks ago,

they're not satisfied. They want to be reimbursed for their medical

bills .In 's case, that totals more than $17,000.

6 News asked the apartment managers to respond to our investigation.

The vice president of Place Properties disputed the local lab tests,

saying the type of mold identified is common on healthy individuals

and is not a health hazard.

The vice president also said mold found in the apartment occurs

regularly indoors and out.

According to Place Properties, there is no scientific basis for

what " normal range " is for mold.