mold problems - Keene State College students

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Unhealthy living in Owl's Nest 3

Part one of a three part series

By Foley

Published: Thursday, November 3, 2005

They're one of the coolest places to live on campus - apartment and residence

hall living in a residential setting - the nine Owl's Nest buildings are a

desirable living space.

Yet for seven Keene State College students, their Owl's Nest 3 apartment

apparently proved to be an unhealthy living space as seven students reported

medical problems associated with mold poisoning upon moving in on Aug. 21 and

Aug. 28.

" Two of us had pink eye (conjunctivitis), one had kidney problems, and a number

of us had stomach problems and headaches, " said junior Genevieve Florkowski, a

health science and psychology major.

Krauthoff, nurse practitioner for Health Services, said a person would

have a reaction to mold only if she was allergic to it, and " stomachaches and

headaches are secondary symptoms as a result of the primary symptoms. " Some

primary symptoms are conjunctivitis, sneezing, runny nose, postnasal drip,

itching throat and coughing according to wrongdiagnosis.com. Organs like the

kidneys, Krauthoff said, will react negatively to mold " only if the fungus

contaminates the organs and grows there. " It's rare, and a person's immune

system has to be compromised, he said.

Senior Lynn Therrien signed a release of information form for Health Services to

discuss with the Equinox her visits on Aug. 29 and Aug. 31, 2005. The

information indicated Therrien went to Health Services with a pain in her back

and it was diagnosed as a potential kidney infection and treated with an

antibiotic. She felt better when she came back for a follow up, a kidney

infection was ruled out, and she was referred to a neurologist.

The student's complaints were directed to Jim Carley, associate director of

Residential Life and overseer of Residential Life facilities.

" After I got involved [the students] told me about [the illnesses]. I think one

of them went to the doctor, " said Carley. " One of the things that I did was pass

that information on (to the institution). [The students] told us what was going

on, and we were already in the process at that point of getting this stuff

looked at. "

Bills and Restitution

Therrien, a health science major, said, she did not expect the college to offer

to pay her medical bills because " they didn't offer for anything else. " She did

not ask the college to pay the bills because she did not want to go through the

hassle.

The students accumulated other expenses related to the mold infestation. While

the apartment was being repaired, the women were living in another residence

hall and had to buy toiletries and other items, said senior Graham.

" Our stuff was packed away in gray bins, and we didn't know where it was, " she

said.

She said her cell phone bill went up, and she is sure everyone else's did.

" We never found the phone jack, " said Therrien.

Carley said, " The phone lines were directed over there. "

Corinne Kowpak, vice president for student affairs, said the college did not

offer to pay the students' expenses because the students did not ask.

" I don't think the college would offer to pay because there is no way of drawing

a direct relation, " she said.

Owl's Nest apartments are billed at premium room rates ($2,454), while rooms in

Carle Hall are billed as double/multiple room rates ($2,134) according to the

housing information webpage under KSC Residential Life.

" The president said she would give us the $320 difference between living the

first semester in premium housing and Carle, " said Therrien.

Ann Gagnon, senior administrative assistant for the President's Office, said

President Helen Giles-Gee did not disagree with the statement.

" The president authorized a refund of some amount, " said Carley.

" Next semester we have to pay for premium housing, " said Therrien.

Discovery of Mold

According to the lab report from Covino Environmental Associates Inc., there was

a high growth rate of the mold genus of cladosporium and ulocladium found in

various areas of the apartment. Trichoderma and acremonium had moderate to low

growth, and penicillium or aspergillus were discovered.

Loren Launen, assistant professor of biology, said cladosporium is very common

in soils and plants, and there is some suggestion it may cause allergies. She

said it is questionable if some strains produce toxins.

Trichoderma is common and might be associated with allergies, said Launen. Some

species make mycotoxins, she said, but it is unclear if enough are produced to

make someone sick.

Mycotoxins are toxins produced by a fungus and can produce negative health

affects in animals and humans, according to healthandenergy.com.

Launen said the only thing that stood out in the report was the presence of

acremonium and uloclasium because they " typically only grow where there is quite

a bit of water. " She said both molds can cause allergic reactions.

Old growth penicillium and aspergillus spores are difficult to decipher, and

they are usually reported as " spores typical of Penicillium/Aspergillus "

according to the Environmental Microbiology Laboratory website.

Therrien said on Aug. 21 four of the students moved in for preseason volleyball.

Graham, a communications major, said the room smelt like a wet cat or dog. Three

students came about a week later.

" Colleen [] and Mandy [Gray]'s room was the worst with mold, " said

Therrien.

" I slept in the room twice, " said Gray, a senior and sociology major. " It smelt

so bad I couldn't sleep. "

and Gray are members of the intercollegiate lacrosse team.

The students said they first complained to Kate , residence director of

Owl's Nest, and Mike Merli, resident assistant for Owl's Nest 3.

Therrien said told them to get Febreze (a fabric refresher) then

visited the room and said the smell was unbearable.

" Our RD didn't do much, " said Graham.

" [Merli] didn't know how to help, " said Therrien.

and Merli said all questions must be referred to Carley.

Judy Raper, director of Residential Life, said, " I was involved initially

because Jim Carley was out of town on the day I went to look at the apartment. "

One of the students and her mother met with Raper. Raper said the mother was

very upset and wanted to speak with someone in an upper office.

Raper said her involvement ended when Carley returned.

" The institution wanted to make sure that the folks who were involved in this -

they always knew who they could go to, " said Carley

" [The students] worked through the RD and we worked through [uNICCO] just

because we did not know what the reason could be, " he said.

Part two of three will run in the Nov. 10 issue of the Equinox.