Sun News:College's mold leaves faculty and students sick, tired. ton, SC

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The Sun News (http://www.thesunnews.com/)

Sunday, Sep 6, 2009

Posted on Sun, Sep. 06, 2009

College's mold leaves faculty and students sick, tired

By Tony Bartelme

The Post and Courier

Science professors and researchers at the College of ton are

struggling with long-standing mold contamination in the college's main science

building that they said is making them and their students sick.

The problem is in the Rita Liddy Hollings Science Center at and

Coming streets, and on a recent warm afternoon, construction workers were

tearing out slabs of drywall that were covered with green mold.

Across the hallway, temperatures in a lab were 83 degrees, rendering some

of the lab's delicate and expensive instruments unusable because the high

temperatures would skew any results.

Faculty say the brick three-story building has serious ventilation

problems, and dank moldy odors permeate their offices and classrooms. Some

instructors have developed allergic reactions and skin and health problems.

College officials acknowledge that the building needs to be renovated but

say they don't have money to do a major overhaul.

Robin Humphreys, a geology professor, is one of several faculty members who

said mold has been a problem for nearly a decade.

She said that after one particularly bad mold bloom on the third floor, she

became so ill from an allergic reaction that her lips turned blue and she

had to lecture her students using a microphone.

Colgan, chair of the department of Geology and Environmental

Geoscience, confirmed that many of " my colleagues feel ill as soon as they walk

into their offices. Some have come to my office with their eyes watering

and their skin red. They want to work but they've had to go home. "

Students have made similar complaints, he said.

Other faculty members, including some who asked to remain anonymous because

they feared their positions in the college might be affected, said the

college has sidestepped their pleas for help by doing minor or cosmetic

repairs.

Several mentioned that when they complained that leaks were making ceiling

tiles moldy, maintenance workers simply replaced the tiles and did not

repair the leaks. They said they often feel better after they leave the

building for the day or go on vacation.

Mold grows quickly in the South's sweatbox climate, creating ripe

conditions for " sick building syndrome " when buildings aren't properly

ventilated.

Once established, the spores can produce toxic byproducts that trigger

asthma and allergic reactions similar to hay fever and flu.

Mike on, director of media relations at the college, said " the whole

building has had problems in the past, and that's why we're building a new

science building. "

The new building is nearing completion and some science departments will be

moved from the Hollings building. The college will then renovate the

Hollings building, he said. But that renovation may take time.

First, an in-depth study of the problem needs to be done, on said,

adding that no timetable has been set for this assessment.

Once that study has been done, the college will have a better idea of what

it needs to do to fix the Hollings building and how much it will cost. Even

so, on said the college doesn't have the money to do a major

overhaul. The building was built in 1975 and expanded in 1988.

Humphreys and other faculty members said the building needs major work

immediately. " There is no excuse for not treating this problem, " she said.

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