Mold infestation forces out two Hall residents

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Mold infestation forces out two Hall residents

Kelsey McKinney, Staff Writer, kelseym@...

Issue date: 10/5/07 Section: News

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10/05/News/Mold-Infestation.Forces.Out.Two..Hall.Residents-

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When sophomore Byers and her roommate moved into their

efficiency-style apartment in room 213 of Hall, they quickly

discovered their quaint, little apartment had more to offer than a

private bath and kitchen - it had mold. In the three drawers where

their silverware, spatulas and measuring cups might have gone, a

thin layer of green mold already inhabited the space.

Mold was also growing on the underside of the drawers and in the

cabinetry where the drawers are housed. The roommates immediately

reported the problem to their apartment community assistant,

Dohanich.

Two hours later, two women from the housekeeping staff arrived to

clean the mold.

Byers said the ladies spent about 20 minutes cleaning the cabinetry

and " there was still mold on the particle board after the two ladies

left. "

The girls were unsatisfied with the cleaning job and decided to

clean it themselves. Byer's roommate called in her mother, Margaret

McCain, for assistance.

The mold was not the only problem.

" We had to scrub the floor, scrub the walls, scrub the cabinets,

scrub the inside of the cabinets, pull out the fridge and vacuum,

and kill the cockroach… " said Byers.

Between the two roommates and one of their mothers, it was a five-

hour undertaking.

" There was a cleanliness issue that should have been addressed

before they moved in, " Dr. Doug Hallenbeck, the executive director

of Resident Life Student Housing (RLSH) said.

" I first suspected a mold problem the moment I stepped into the

building, " McCain said. " Once I saw the large quantity of mold

actively growing in the cabinetry, I knew from experience that this

could be indicative of a problem with the air system. "

McCain lived in an apartment in Plano while her home was being

remodeled. After living there a week, she developed symptoms that

she remembered experiencing from exposure to mold. She discovered

mold in the air vents and moved elsewhere. Other families in the

complex experienced similar symptoms and followed suit, she said.

Her concern and past experience led her to unscrew the vents and

look inside. She said she discovered the ducts were extremely dusty,

and contacted RLSH to address the air quality problem.

According to Hallenbeck, when a student has a complaint about the

air quality in a room, RLSH enacts a standard response. First, a

staff member from Campus Planning and Plant Operations (CCPO) clean

the coils, which the air comes in contact with while cooling it. If

the problem persists, the air quality is tested. Depending on the

results, it is decided whether any additional steps need to be taken.

A tour of the air-handling unit in the attic of Hall revealed

a seemingly clean system. The unit's coils and filters were clean.

SMU also shines UVC lights on the coils, which kills mold spores in

the air.

The girls moved into their room on Aug. 21, and two days later CPPO

placed an Aircuity machine in their room to analyze the air quality.

As is standard practice, the machine was left in their room for one

week to gather information about the types of particles present in

the air. At the end of the seven-day period, it was removed, and a

software system analyzed the information and compiled a report on

the machine's findings.

SMU's Aircuity test showed " no action suggested, " which is the

highest rating, for air cleanliness and building pollutants. For

comfort and ventilation it found " improvement possible. " Looking

further into the report, the temperature was at 75 degrees, and the

machine is programmed to suggest the temperature stay at 72 degrees

or lower.

After seeing the report, SMU determined there was no air quality

problem. But Byers and her roommate were still suffering from

allergies.

" You'd wake up and you're totally stuffed up and you sneeze all

day, " Byers said, who suffers from seasonal allergies.

McCain said she noticed her daughter, who is allergic to several

types of mold, was experiencing itchy eyes, coughing and trouble

sleeping.

SMU hired a private company, Farmer and Associates, to test for air

borne mold spores. The company tested the room on Sept. 11, about

two weeks after the Aircuity test was completed.

A rule of thumb for evaluating a potential mold issue is to consider

if the mold count inside is higher than the mold count outside, said

Dr. Louis Hosek, who has 27 years of experience as a manager of a

corporate industry hygiene department for a Fortune 500 company.

The highest mold count was for Aspergillium/Penicillium. The test

showed 9,830 spores per cubic meter inside room 213 and 10,714

spores per cubic meter outside.

Without seeing the results of SMU's mold test, McCain decided to

hire her own expert to do a full mold report. The test was conducted

on Aug. 13 by RCI Environmental Inc. The company's report shows it

found 14,630 Aspergillium/Penicillium spores per cubic meter and 307

spores per cubic meter outside.

The two reports differ, and Hosek suggested that the discrepancies

were likely due to the tests being conducted on two different days,

by two different companies, with slightly different equipment and

conditions outside differing from one day to the next.

Human error also factors into the equation.

The spore collections are counted under a microscope, and a lab

technician counts the spores for a sample area and multiplies it to

get the total.

" No matter how good or qualified they may be, you've got a human

being counting them, " Hosek said.

However, SMU and McCain's private companies use the same laboratory,

Steve Moody Micro Services, Inc.

McCain's company did a swab test of the ductwork that pumps air into

the room. According to the report, the swab detected " abundant mold

growth. "

But more importantly than the mold count are the people living in

the space, said Hosek.

" Some people could have a reaction at a low level and others could

have a very high count and not have any reaction, " he said. " If the

student is having a reaction, then you have a problem, and you need

to lessen the mold count. "

Byers and her roommate were still struggling with allergy symptoms

despite the efforts of RLSH and CPPO.

Moving out

Between dealing with the cleaning, air testing and mold testing,

Byers was just trying to focus on school.

" I got out my book to study because I have four tests and [a

cockroach] crawled across my book, " she said.

Her mother, Byers said, " That's when I got a call

saying, 'Hey, mom, will you come get me?' "

and her husband, Byers, drove from Plano to pick up their

daughter that evening, Sept. 24.

" It was not the girls' imaginations as I first suspected, "

said. " The minute I walked into the room there was no doubt about

it. It smelled musty and then had two HEPA filters running. "

When returned home he said he used his asthma inhaler, which he

has not used in years.

Earlier that day, Byers' roommate decided to move out to temporarily

live at home in Frisco until the two could find an apartment near

campus.

Byers and her roommate have rented a loft in Mockingbird Station,

but are still commuting from home. They are waiting on furniture.

" We didn't want them to move, " said. " It was a perfect

compromise of having an apartment and still being on campus. "

McCain agreed, but decided it was for the best to move her daughter

out.

" I received word yesterday from Dr. Hallenbeck that he received [my

mold] reports and we could expect a full refund of all money paid to

SMU for Hall and that they would investigate further into the

situation in Hall, " she said

Byers and her roommate are gone, but the mold wasn't.

When Byers moved out on Sept. 24 the mold appeared to be growing

back on the particle board.

" There was some reason why the mold grew there, " Hosek said.

Mold needs three things: food, moisture and the right temperature,

said Mike , director of energy management for CPPO. Moisture is

basically the only thing you can control to prevent the growth of

mold.

" They just need to clean up the mold and eliminate the source, "

said.

Both roommates are wondering if the next resident of room 213 in

Hall will have a similar move-in day or if RLSH's

investigation will uncover the problem.