WSU students blame mold in Elliott Hall for rash of illnesses

[Guest guest]

WSU students blame mold in Elliott Hall for rash of illnesses

BY JILLIAN COHAN

The Wichita Eagle,Wichita,KS

http://www.kansas.com/188/story/37141.html

Three Wichita State University students were sent to the Wichita

Clinic for observation Wednesday after complaining of poor air

quality in the offices of the student newspaper in Elliott Hall.

Although the student journalists believed mold or mildew in their

work area was to blame for their symptoms -- which included

headaches, nausea and coughing blood-speckled phlegm -- university

officials said the only mold they found in the journalism building

was two floors above the Sunflower's production space.

" The rain that we had a few weeks ago started seeping in, so the

carpet has been wet at least two weeks, " said university staffer

Robbie Norton, who serves as the student newspaper's business

manager.

Norton said that while she and other daytime workers were fine, the

students who work late at night in the Sunflower offices started

feeling ill about a week ago. In all, 12 students were examined at

university health services, she said. Because of their symptoms,

they were not able to put out Wednesday's paper.

The students reported their concerns to university police March 27

and again on Sunday, said Sunflower sportswriter McCall.

By Wednesday evening, McCall had been sent home from the Wichita

Clinic with a diagnosis of tracheal bronchitis. He said his symptoms

included headaches, nausea, stomach cramps and coughing up a small

amount of blood. Two other students were still undergoing

observation, one of whom showed symptoms of pneumonia, he said.

A smoker with a history of migraines, McCall said he hadn't felt

this bad since he was stranded in a New Orleans hospital during

Hurricane Katrina. While he said the university was right to pay for

his medical care, he was disappointed that it took several calls to

university police before an environmental safety expert was called.

" If they were spraying chemicals, they should have told us, or if

there was a mold problem, they should have alerted us, " he said.

Mold may not have been the problem. Although a WSU police report

filed Sunday said " a water leak with mold was found in the room, "

the university's director of environmental health said his

examination of the building Wednesday revealed no mold in the

Sunflower's basement offices.

An expert on mold removal took a sample from the basement area for

further study, said Glendon , director of environmental health

and an associate professor of environmental health and safety.

Elliott Hall does not have a history of mold or air quality issues,

he said, " but any time we have rain, there's a potential for

problems. "

said he did not doubt that the students felt ill, but that he

was waiting for a report from the university doctor before deciding

whether to close the building. If he concludes that an investigation

is warranted, said he would invite experts from Sedgwick

County Health Department to respond to the complaints.

" It's not a bad thing that these (students) spoke up, " he said. " We

can't fix problems if we don't know about them. "

Reach Jillian Cohan at 316-268-6524 or jcohan@....