Inver Grove Heights / Workers allege college is infested with mold

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Inver Grove Heights / Workers allege college is infested with mold

Officials, calling the substance yeast, say tests show no problems

Twin Cities,MN*

BY FREDERICK MELO

Pioneer Press

09/08/2007

http://www.twincities.com/ci_6836416?source=rss

For months, cleaned long tendrils of fuzz off vents,

chairs and carpeting at Inver Hills Community College. Sometimes it

was black. Sometimes it was white. It always looked to him like

mold.

and other night workers brought their concerns about what

the substance was to their general maintenance supervisor. The

supervisor told them to strike the word " mold " from their

vocabulary. She said what they were looking at was yeast - a common

and harmless byproduct of spilled drinks and discarded sugars that

could be easily vacuumed away.

" Every time we found it, she would say, 'Oh, it's yeast.' She would

reprimand us if we said mold, " said , 46. " A friend of mine

calls it monkey fur. Anyone who has worked up there has seen it. "

College officials disagree. They've hired air-quality experts to

conduct months of samplings in two classroom buildings. And in a

recent visit, state inspectors found scant evidence of mold in

either site.

" It appears that the stains in the Science Building are yeast, " said

Charlie Cheesebrough, a spokesman with the college in Inver Grove

Heights.

As a precaution, he said, workers have been issued gloves and

respirators to use if they spot suspicious substances.

Unconvinced, eventually found maintenance work at another

school and filed a complaint about his supervisor with Inver Hills.

But his former co-workers continue to worry that they're being

forced to clean potential allergenics without the appropriate

equipment or training.

Four members of his old maintenance team interviewed by the Pioneer

Press said they still have concerns about the substances they

encounter and wanted more information from the college about what it

is. They said they had seen black or white growths across heating

vents, chairs, carpets and computers.

" There's two major buildings that are infested. It's gotten as bad

as I've ever seen it, " said a worker, who asked not to be identified

for fear of losing employment.

Another woman, who was in the probationary period for new workers,

said that after being forced to vacuum the ugly spores, she was

fired for leaving work 90 minutes early, complaining of feeling

sick.

The woman, who asked that her name not be published until she found

a new job, has filed complaints with Dakota County and the state

Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

St. -based Legend Technical Services tested the air in late 2005

after complaints of bad odors in the Science Building. Their report

said the source of the foul odors was unclear, but it was possibly

related to weak air pressure and a rooftop exhaust vent positioned

too closely to an air intake vent.

The firm downplayed the possibility of widespread mold

contamination, finding " small mold reservoirs " in two carpets,

laboratory shelving and a few other select areas throughout the

building. The evaluation, which focused on air quality, was limited

to the Science Building.

After Legend's May 2006 report, the college found evidence of mold

in the Business Building and is awaiting the results of a separate

air-quality inspection by the same firm.

" If there's a complaint from an employee about any health or safety

issue, we're going to investigate right away. And we did in this

case, " Cheesebrough said. " And if necessary, we're going to bring in

outside experts. And we did in this case. "

After two recent mold complaints from workers, the Minnesota

Department of Labor and Industry sent state OSHA inspectors on Aug.

30. They walked through the Science Building, the Business Building

and their adjoining tunnels and found no evidence of mold, except a

small patch on a riser in a science lecture hall, according to their

inspection report.

No citations were issued and " a decision was made not to return to

the facility, " according to the report.

Workers point out that the buildings had been wiped ready for the

new semester by the time OSHA arrived.

maintains that his former supervisor made his crew drag

vacuum cleaners into the Science, Business and Liberal Arts

buildings to suck up the unsightly spores. The vacuums were then

returned to the buildings they came from, raising the possibility of

spreading the spores around.

" We call it Vacuum-fest, " said a worker, who asked not to be

identified. " All you're doing is moving the spores from one building

to another building. You're just cross-contaminating. "

Cheesebrough said the college will inspect its vacuum cleaners to

determine whether they have HEPA filters, which are designed to

catch especially fine particles.

Frederick Melo can be reached at fmelo@... or 651-228-

2172.