Black mold found at YSU

September 15, 2002

By JOHN BOOTH Tribune Chronicle

YOUNGSTOWN - The presence of black mold spores has forced the closure of

nine Youngstown State University classrooms, affecting several hundred

students, university officials said Thursday.

Test results received Wednesday identified spores of Stachybotrys chartarum

in samples taken from three classrooms and a hallway in Beeghly Center, YSU

spokesman Walt Ulbricht said.

About a dozen classes in the affected rooms were canceled Thursday.

Those will resume today in Fedor Hall.

''In some cases, it's in the ceiling area, behind ceiling tiles. In other

cases, it's behind some wallboard,'' Ulbricht said. ''The samples were taken

Aug. 28 and 29 and then sent out for analysis.''

Molds can cause allergic reactions similar to hay fever, according to the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and people with respiratory

conditions such as asthma can experience difficulty breathing.

Ulbricht said a handful of faculty members and students complained of ''eye

irritation and minor respiratory problems'' after attending classes in the

rooms.

The test results did not quantify the amount of black mold spores detected

but assigned each area a designation on a five-tier scale ranging from

''none'' to ''massive'' amounts of spores.

The four areas that tested positive for the spores were in the three

mid-level ranges: one showed the presence of ''few'' spores, one showed

''many'' and two showed ''numerous'' spores present.

Other areas of Beeghly Center will remain open, Ulbricht said, including the

swimming pool, gymnasium and fitness center.

Len , director of the university's Office of Environmental and

Occupational Health and Safety, will oversee the placement of between 40 and

50 air quality monitors throughout Beeghly Center to check for possible

spreading of the spores.

''Mold spores are found everywhere that we live,'' said in a news

release. ''It only becomes a problem when they are highly concentrated.''

A flooding problem in one of the classrooms in July spurred 's checks

on the rooms, Ulbricht said. During a follow-up investigation, he said,

noticed the potential for black mold.

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