published on 09/28/06

Mold in TA forces students out, again

Brian Farkas Assistant News Editor

On Friday, Sept. 22, Buildings and Grounds gave students 36 hours to evacuate Terrace Apartment (TA) 33 after finding extensive mold damage. The four residents had reported that two living room windows and one bedroom window were infested with so much mold that they could not be opened or closed completely.

“The wood holding the windows in the wall is completely rotted through,” said Amy Boggs ’07, one of the affected students. “The primary issue, in the beginning, was the fact that we could not use the windows.” According to Boggs, the windows were open when she moved into the house and had not been closed since. “As [our] TA has no eaves, this was particularly problematic when it rained because the rainwater would essentially drain right into our living room,” said Boggs.

Excess moisture is the primary cause of mold, according to Director of Facility Operations for Buildings and Grounds Kiki Williams. She acknowledged that this was not the first mold problem in the College’s residential facilities; it was found in another apartment this past month, and nine TAs had severe damage to walls over the summer. The Town Houses (THs) also have a history of mold. Williams said there is “a capital plan currently in place to replace all of the TAs,” although no timetable has been made public. The TAs were built in 1972, and, while they have had minor repairs in the last 30 years, have never undergone significant renovations.

The Office of Residential Life relocated the students to singles in Jewett House after Buildings and Grounds notified them of the problem. “The students couldn’t remain while work was being done for safety reasons,” said Assistant Director of Residential Life Rich Horowitz. “Above and beyond the inconvenience is a concern for their safety.” Since the residents did not have meal plans, Residential Life provided refrigerators and issued the students meal vouchers.

Exposure to mold can cause health problems (see sidebar). Vassar students have experienced the negative affects of mold in more ways than solely being displaced from housing—an infestation in the THs in October 2004 forced ten students out of two houses after two of the students began to experience health problems from mold toxins. The THs had to be completely renovated due to the extent of the mold growth.

Rachel Schles ’07, one of the students displaced by the most recent mold incident, e-mailed a complaint to the Office of the President, the Dean of the College, the Dean of Students, the Dean of Studies, Residential Life, Buildings and Grounds, the VSA President, and the VSA Executive Board. Boggs said that the administration is “in the process of examining what happened that it took so long for the problem to get fixed, and examining overall the failure to communicate between Residential Life and [Buildings and Grounds].”

“We feel it is necessary that our situation be brought to light in order to avoid other students going through the same thing,” said Boggs. “We don’t want to point fingers…but it is also imperative that it is not ignored.” The students did not know when they will be permitted to return to their TA.

Health Impact of Mold Exposure

Depending on the species of mold, its level of toxicity, and length of exposure, mold can have mild to serious effects on human health. Children, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems are more likely to be impacted by the presence of mold.

Common reactions to mold exposure are:
Allergy. Those who are already susceptible to allergic reactions will likely experience symptoms due to mold exposure, or may develop additional environmental allergies. Flu-like or cold-like symptoms such as sneezing, congestion, sore throat and coughing indicate the early stages of allergic inflammation.

Interstitial Lung Disease. Because many species of mold are small enough to be inhaled, long-term exposure to toxic mold, often due to one’s profession, is suspected by experts to be the cause of respiratory disease or irritation.

Any of the following:
Eye irritation, skin rash, coughing, headaches.

While many studies have been conducted to divine the correlation between mold and illness, a direct correlation between indoor mold and health issues remains elusive. This is due mainly to the interplay of the variety of factors that may contribute to respiratory illness.

Source: epa.gov/mold

—Acacia O’Connor, Senior Editor

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