Mold follows SUNO to new campus

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Mold follows SUNO to new campus

College working on repairs to buildings Sunday, November 25, 2007

By Pope

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/metro/index.ssf?/base/news-

25/1195974382121270.xml & coll=1

To get away from its mold-infested buildings on the campus that

Katrina-related floodwater inundated, Southern University at New

Orleans moved its classrooms and offices, as well as some living

quarters, into temporary buildings a half-mile away.

But SUNO wasn't able to escape its problems. According to

inspections completed last month, mold has followed SUNO to at least

three of the 45 structures on what is called the North Campus, a

fenced compound that abuts the Lake Pontchartrain levee.

Several factors seem to be responsible.

, a spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management

Agency, said continuous wind from the lake has loosened and even

disconnected the corrugated-metal roofs of the temporary buildings

at the seams where the panels overlap.

" The wind works its way under the seam and puts upward pressure on

the fasteners, " he said. " The pressure gradually loosens the nails

until they disconnect. "

Every building is being inspected, said, and defective nails

are being replaced with screws.

Environmental reports on three buildings blamed poorly installed

windows and doors, and problems with the air-conditioning system.

Cracks around some windows and doors let rain in, inspectors found,

and flawed air-conditioning systems were conducive to mold growth.

In one building, an improperly functioning system let in warm,

humid, unfiltered outdoor air, resulting in mold on ceilings, desks

and office equipment.

Mold also thrived when people in some buildings closed their vents,

resulting in poor circulation and conditions conducive to mold, said

Trent , SUNO's environmental specialist.

Turning off the ventilation system at night also gave rise to mold,

he said.

The first reports of mold in North Campus buildings came in July

2006, he said.

Work on the defective windows, doors and air-conditioning systems

has begun, said , who estimated that the repairs should take

a month.

There is no estimate yet of how much the repairs will cost, SUNO

spokesman Harold Jr. said.

Meanwhile, SUNO Chancellor Victor Ukpolo said, " We're doing all we

can to monitor the buildings. "

The mold, which thrived inside walls, under carpets and even under

buildings, triggered health problems before anyone could see the

spores, as Corbi , an administrative assistant at SUNO since

August 2006, can attest.

Respiratory problems

Her problems started in January, with migraines. Then came

infections that wouldn't go away, followed by nausea, vomiting and

problems with her legs.

" At one point, I could hardly walk on either leg, " she

said. " Climbing steps is a pain, and I can't walk much. "

and her colleagues suspected something in their building was

amiss, but, she said, university personnel couldn't do anything

because they couldn't see anything.

But a window had been leaking, she said, and there was no mistaking

the smell pervading their work area.

" It smelled like something dead, " said. " The smell was

pungent. We would be in and out of the office so we could get some

fresh air. . . . My boss was sneezing and coughing all day long.

That was all he did. "

, who has a history of asthma, was sent home for a week, and

she started to feel better. But a week after returning to work, " I

had a bronchial infection, " she said.

This happened four times: would go home, and her condition

would improve. Then she would return to her job and get sick again.

She was put on prescription after prescription. One day, her

pharmacist, whom she had come to know well, asked about her problem

because, he said, she looked haggard.

" I said, 'I feel the way I look,' " replied.

This fall, building inspections began. In 's building, she

said, an inspector lifted the carpet and found mold, and he found

more in the wall.

She was sent home at the end of September and returned Nov. 12 on

light duty. She is taking a prescription antibiotic and using two

inhalers and a nebulizer, and she and her colleagues have been moved

to another building until their building can be repaired.

" We're bunched up in a small area, " said. " They moved us,

but there's no room for files or supplies. If my boss needs

anything, he needs to go back into the building. "

Mold under buildings too

SUNO employees who have made mold-related complaints have been moved

to temporary quarters until their areas can be repaired, Ukpolo

said.

In addition to the mold growing inside buildings, mold has been

thriving beneath them.

" When it rains, water sits, " said. " They just started

pumping sand under some of the buildings, but that's after the fact.

Even though they're doing it now, a lot of those buildings probably

already have the mold underneath it. "

Besides, she said, " unless you clean and remediate it, pumping sand

is only going to stop the growth. It's not going to get rid of the

growth that's already there. "

Meanwhile, work continues on SUNO's main campus. Occupancy of the

first building, a multipurpose gymnasium, is expected in early

January, said. The move back will be piecemeal, as buildings

are ready, he said, and the process, which will include the first

phase of SUNO's first student-housing building, is expected to be

complete by fall 2009.

.. . . . . . .

Pope can be reached at jpope@... or (504) 826-

3317.

Dark mold grows out of an air-conditioning vent in an office at

Southern University's North Campus. According to inspections

completed last month, mold has followed SUNO to at least three of

the 45 structures on the campus. [3668942]