Mold in the U building poses potential health risk

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Mold in the U building poses potential health risk

Telescope - San Marcos,CA*

By Alejandra

http://media.www.the-

telescope.com/media/storage/paper749/news/2008/05/05/News/Mold-

In.The.U.Building.Poses.Potential.Health.Risk-3364711.shtml

Students may be noticing big things happening around the U-building,

which is home to Palomar's Communications Department, as facilities

and outside specialists attempt to deal with a recently discovered

mold problem.

The problem was first suspected when Anne Hathaway, academic

department assistant secretary, noticed a " moldy smell " in the

building. Initially Hathaway dismissed it, keeping doors open to air

out the smell. But when she developed respiratory problems and a

cough she said she felt like she could no longer ignore it.

The U-building is made up of faculty offices and student labs, where

students are often working for several hours a day. With so many

people using the building, Hathaway brought her concerns to Norma

Bean, Arts/Media/Business/Communications Department Dean, who moved

her and several others experiencing health problems to another

building.

Professor Pat Hahn was one who moved offices. Hahn said he sneezed

all the time as a result of the mold. Rather than stay in the U-

building he decided it was best to err on the side of caution.

" The concern is that you retire in 5 or 10 years and then you find

out you have some kind of disease, " Hahn said.

The school has brought in an industrial hygienist to deal with the

situation. Industrial hygienist specialize in environmental stresses

in the workplace that can cause sickness, according to www.aiha.org.

Much of the work to rid the U-building of the mold was conducted

over spring break. The entire east wall was torn down and replaced.

Recently they have begun to tear out the carpets from underneath all

the cabinets where more mold was found.

It is not known exactly when the mold first began to appear but it

is assumed that it began in the winter after several rainstorms

pounded the North County area.

The U-building was erected over 25 years ago and was only meant to

be on campus temporarily but has never been replaced.

These factors combined to create a perfect breeding ground for mold

Hahn said.

Unlike Hahn and Hathaway, Facilities Director for the Communication

Department, Greg Baker, said that he has yet to be affected. Despite

the fact that he continues to work in the U-building, he has not

felt any physical side effects.

" I have not heard any complaints from the students who use the

equipment in the building to edit their videos, " Baker said.

, a Visual Communications major, said she was not

concerned about the mold, saying that as long as it was not black

mold, then she wasn't going to be worried.

Hahn said that after a meeting with the industrial hygienist last

week, it was determined there is still too much mold but they will

continue working.

Hathaway said the school responded appropriately and that the

concerns of her and her coworkers were respected.

At the time of this story's publication, a representative from the

Facilities Department could not be reached for comment.