Video - Mold at Wilmot state prison: who's at risk?

[Guest guest]

Tom McNamara Investigates

Mold at Wilmot state prison: who's at risk?

KVOA.com - Tucson,AZ

http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=6522519

Employees at the Wilmot state prison say indoor mold has made their

lives miserable and threatened their health for two years. The

Department of Corrections has had outside experts do evaluations.

They've had inmates clean-up certain areas believed to be infested

with mold.

But, one employee complains to News 4 that they simply haven't done

enough. The Investigators dug through health reports and talked to

experts regarding mold standards and what may make some people sick.

The Investigators weren't allowed into Wilmot state prison to see

any affected areas, but a man who works at the prison tells News 4

the mold concern makes conditions there perilous for his

health. " Joe " says, " I've seen people from the street come [inside]

in full body gear to remove mold. Mold has been present in just

about every building out there. "

A pile of reports requested from the state Department of Corrections

by News 4 appears to support his claims. In the past year and a

half, visible mold has been discovered in at least three buildings

at the prison.

According to the reports, much of it was cleaned-up by inmate work

crews.

Joe says, " Offices have had mold [and] inmates have removed mold

with drywall spatulas, filling five-gallon buckets. They've been

painted over where the mold was. "

According to the reports The Investigators got from the state and

this employee who came forward with his concerns, one area of the

prison appears to be worse than others, because of black mold.

Black mold can potentially trigger allergies and even asthma in some

people.

Parts of the Echo Unit where visible black mold is present were

closed-off last August and sealed-off with plastic by an outside

contractor in February.

Corrections has asked for money to repair the roof and get rid of

the mold, but that's " on hold. "

This employee claims the moldy area is a hazard to anyone who works

in or near the Echo Unit. He says he's developed respiratory

problems and has been to his doctor twice now because of the mold.

` " I don't have severe symptoms but it bothers [me]. And it bothers

[me] that the people that can do something about it seem to choose

not to. "

In a written statement, the Department of Corrections tells News

4, " [We] have been working with OSHA to address the issue of mold at

a single unit inside the Arizona state prison complex - Tucson.

Several buildings at ASPC-Tucson have been used for more than twenty

years beyond the state's recommendation, but due to lack of funding,

remain in use...we will continue to work to mitigate the problem and

protect our staff and inmates. "

News 4 contacted indoor air expert, Dr. Mark Sneller, and showed him

the report of air samples taken inside the Echo Unit.

" That's a lot of spores, " says Sneller. " That's a lot for us. And,

for an indoor environment, that's a lot. "

Sneller says very high levels of a type of mold called Stachybotrys

is the only worrisome item in the report. He claims it could affect

employees who are susceptible to allergies or asthma. But, he also

says this type of mold is not toxic to humans. " This is a very high

level of mold indoors, whatever it is. Whether it's `stackie' or

whether it's aspergillus or alternaira or even a combination of

them, that's high. "

Mark Norton of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in

Tucson says that the trouble in this situation is that it's

difficult to set safe standards for mold count. How it affects

people or even if it affects people varies from person to person.

Norton says, " There are no high or low limits, such as you would see

with other chemicals that we deal with like lead or carbon monoxide

or other types of chemicals where we know we have a cut-off point or

set point and we can go in and say `alright, anything above this,

you're in violation of a standard. So the state waits more funding

to clean-up the mold.''

At least one employee waits for answers to come sooner rather than

later.

" It bothers me, " says Joe, " that the administration seems to choose

to ignore or to do as little as possible, only when forced. "

But the Department of Corrections says nurses are available to

employees who think they may suffer from mold-related illness or

discomfort. Any employee bothered by mold can easily be reassigned

to other areas of the prison.

[Guest guest]

SO STACHY IN AZ. IS NOT TOXIC?

>

> Tom McNamara Investigates

> Mold at Wilmot state prison: who's at risk?

>

> KVOA.com - Tucson,AZ

>

> http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=6522519

>

> Employees at the Wilmot state prison say indoor mold has made their

> lives miserable and threatened their health for two years. The

> Department of Corrections has had outside experts do evaluations.

> They've had inmates clean-up certain areas believed to be infested

> with mold.

>

[Guest guest]

I would think that regardless of what thier crimes were, the sentences given

to prison inmates were for time to be served in jail, not to be infected

with mold illness.

certainly, mold and jails have a long association and millions of prisoners

deaths have been hastened by it. But that doesn't make it acceptable. Or

legal. For prison employees or prisoners.

Both are being taken advantage of by a system that values their health as

worth practically nothing.

They are expendable.