Inspectors find mold in 2 more state buildings

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Inspectors find mold in 2 more state buildings

X. Mullen Jr.

RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL

1/17/2002 11:19 pm

As two more state offices - one in Reno and one in Carson City - are checked

for toxic mold, Nevada officials are hatching a strategy to discover

potential mold infestations in state buildings before workers become sick

and a remedy becomes very expensive.

Over the last few years, Nevada officials have dealt with toxic mold

problems in the Grant Sawyer Building in Las Vegas and the University of

Nevada, Las Vegas library. Last month, workers in the Reno office of the

State Welfare Division had to be relocated because of toxic black mold in

the walls and ceilings of the leased building.

This week, inspectors tested for mold at the Reno office of the state

Division of Parole and Probation, 1301 Cordone Ave., and at the 400 W. King

St. building in Carson City, after workers reported water damage and visible

mold growth.

Some people in both buildings have reported symptoms of respiratory

illnesses, but state officials said none of the employees has filed a

workers' compensation claim.

Sue Dunt, state risk manager, said her office has been handling mold cases

as they come up, but officials would rather find problems early. Since there

are no accepted standards for mold exposure in buildings, the state will

have to develop its own, she said.

" We're working with five prominent industrial hygiene firms to build a

consensus about how to take samples and how to interpret them, " she said.

" We want to develop a mold-testing protocol for the state, which would be a

first in the nation.

" Right now we're reacting to complaints of possible mold. We'd like to get

ahead of that and be proactive. "

Mold causes illness

Spill a glass of water on a carpet and your home probably isn't at risk for

indoor mold growth. But ignore a plumbing break, roof leak or a flooded

basement and you may be asking for a mold problem that could affect your

health, environmental medicine experts say.

Uncontrolled water leaks that saturate organic building materials - such as

ceiling tiles or sheet rock - create mediums for mold growth. Dry spores can

get into the air and into the respiratory systems of the occupants.

Current theories point to chemicals, called mycotoxins, and spore wall

components called glucans, that may be the actual agents of disease, doctors

said.

At the Grant Sawyer Building, occupants complained of various respiratory,

" allergic " symptoms, chronic fatigue, headaches and other illnesses. The

problem turned out to be mold caused by heating valve leaks in ceilings and

walls.

In the Parole and Probation office in Reno, inspectors said water-stained

ceiling tiles will be replaced, Dunt said. She said air samples in the

building showed no mold spores but more air samples and surface samples are

planned. The roof will be inspected, she said.

This week, employees were surveyed about their health conditions that could

be related to mold.

At the King Street building in Carson City, which houses the state

Occupational Safety and Health Division and the state Risk Management

office, mold has been discovered in the basement.

" We believe it's the result of the 1997 flood, " Dunt said. " The good news is

that the basement doesn't communicate with other areas of the building.

There's no way for the mold to get to the occupied spaces. "

Dunt said the state is working with two prominent environmental disease

experts to develop standards for mold investigations and decide on

preventive measures.

" We want to catch water problems in buildings before they turn into mold

problems, " she said. " We also need to identify the health hazards for these

issues.

" We're developing guidelines and six months from now we hope to have

something that is workable. "

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