Workers Concerned About Health At Mold-Filled Gov’t Building

[Guest guest]

20th December

Workers Concerned About Health At Mold-Filled Gov't Building

http://www.jonesbahamas.com/?c=45 & a=6610

Tosheena -Blair

The Bahama Journal - Nassau,Bahamas

Some workers at the Ministry of Education are irate over a severe

mold and mildew problem in the Boulevard complex, which one

expert says is posing a health risk.

Last Thursday, the Ministry of Education held a meeting at the Sir

Kendal G L Isaacs Gymnasium to alert employees about the problem.

" We asked them what species of mold is it and they won't tell us.

I've done my research and all are harmful except one, " said one male

employee, who asked to remain anonymous.

One female worker, who also spoke with The Bahama Journal on Monday,

added, " At the meeting they mentioned closing down the portions of

the building in stages, but we still have to be here while they

treat it. "

According to the Bahamas Public Service Union's secretary general,

J. , it's a problem the government has known about for

some time.

He wrote a letter in 2003 to officials in the Ministry of Youth,

Sports and Culture, which addressed that very issue. That particular

ministry is also housed in the Boulevard building.

In the letter dated December 15, Mr. - an agriculturist by

profession - suggested the mold was Liposcelis divinatorius, more

commonly known as barklice or booklice.

Under a microscope the insect would appear yellow/brownish, with a

soft body and no wings, according to experts.

" One can contract upper respiratory maladies as well as esophagus

maladies from direct contact with the mold…if something was done

about it then, you wouldn't have this problem today, " he told the

Bahama Journal on Monday.

" We got calls from some union members and the senior shop steward

today (Monday). I believe the building might have been constructed

cheaply because pipes in the walls are emitting water and that's why

you have the booklice and other molds. "

To investigate the problem, government officials appointed a

technical committee headed by of the Department of

Environment Health.

" We have formulated an action plan and what we are doing to date is

following that plan, " Mr. said. " There are molds in the

building. That occurred due to the condensation problem which is

simply the warm air coming into the building interacting with the

cooler air.

The Ministry of Works has contracted with a private company, 's

Air Conditioning, already to rectify that problem and once that has

been done then everything should be okay. "

Mr. added: " It was a design problem in the building [that

caused] this problem. [There] should have been plans in place to

push cool air out to ensure that warm air is not coming in the

building. Plans are being put in place to correct that. "

He said the mold and mildew problem should be corrected by the end

of March.

" The Department of Health is always concerned [about] safety issues

and we never allow anybody to remain in an area where work is being

undertaken so areas where work is being done, persons will be

relocated from that area and the air condition system will be shut

off, " Mr. said.

His department started to treat the outside of the building last

weekend for rodents and the inside for insects, which like moist

areas and feed off of mold.

" DHS has been monitoring the building and we discovered that the

molds are not toxic. They are just standard molds that occur in

buildings experiencing this type problem, " Mr. said.

" If you have existing respiratory problems, this can aggravate them,

or it can possibly contribute to some respiratory problems. It won't

kill you. It might irritate you more so than anything else. "

E-mail This Print This Most Viewed

Reader's Comments: