Mold Infestation GSU

The following is an excerpt from online newspaper The Fount: "The Silent Killer At GSU Pt. 2"

Two state officials familiar with flooding in Grambling State University's A.C. Lewis Memorial Library confirmed a serious incident in the basement approximately 1 year ago, and certain staff members indicate flooding to be an ongoing problem there every time it rains.

While GSU's Media Relations Department has effectively denied any comment on the issue, Lincoln Parish Health Department's Inspector Allen Hansen said that in his eight year tenure, he responded to one incident of flooding at GSU's library reported to him last August 2008.

In the comment sections of his health inspection report dated 8/7/08, the inspector indicated "water standing on floor throughout entire basement, light intensity in many areas of the basement are not at least 10 foot-candles, floors not clean throughout basement, trash on floor throughout basement, 2ND AND 3RD FLOORS: air vents are dirty throughout both floors. This office recommends contacting an environmental consulting agency for possible indoor air quality issues and/or mold remediation."

The health inspection report was forwarded to GSU officials Dr. Horace Judson, Mr. Ed Alfred and Mr. Calvin Wortham. The health inspector also indicated that the basement passed re-inspection after the clean-up.

 

According to another state official affiliated with GSU who wished to remain anonymous, "We jumped very quickly on that. A third party environmental hazard cleaning company did a'hepa-vac'of all contents of the spill, anti-microbial algaecide paint was sprayed on the walls and floors after the standing water was removed."

According to the same source, "The college library basement is now an open floor concrete basement with all inner walls removed - everything that had mold has been removed, the algaecide is sprayed annually and we're still trying to find out how the water keeps getting in. It is my opinion ground water seepage is the cause because drainage around the building has failed."

The main heating and air conditioning system is located in the basement, which by all indications floods regularly depending on the amount of rainfall.

 

Even though the GSU campus library basement is reported to receive regular "algaecide" treatment, just one year after health inspection our snapshot above reveals something that looks like mold. At the very least these air duct vents are unsightly, unnerving and cause for further scrutiny.

Grambling State University's Emergency Disaster Response Manual states: "Whenever an emergency affecting the campus reaches proportions THAT CANNOT BE HANDLED BY ROUTINE MEASURES, the President, or his designee will declare a state of emergency, and these contingency guidelines will be implemented." According to this manual, a flood which affects an entire building is apparently considered to be a "major emergency."

However some feel their situation has not been treated as a major emergency by Grambling State's administrative staff because their health concerns have thus far been ignored. Due to persistent health symptoms they experience by continual exposure to what appears to be a sick building, they have stated their situation is extremely urgent and their very lives are at risk.

One campus staff person said their health symptoms disappeared after being away from the building for an extended period of time, the symptoms reappeared upon returning to work full time there, and that's how they knew the campus library is making them sicker and sicker.

Another staff person we interviewed angrily stated: "Algaecide is not fungicide! They might've cleaned the basement, but they ain't did nothin' to the vents in this place. If the administration was in this building it would've been handled by now!"

That same person had this to say about the GSU school motto: "Everybody is somebody, unless you work in the library!"

A few have even taken it upon themselves to test the air circulating in the campus library by activating mold detection kits they recently purchased at a local hardware store.

A recent air quality test showed "a large amount of fuzz" growing on the test kit after just a few days of exposure to campus library air. The fuzz looks similar to what appears in the photo above . According to our source, an independent laboratory is currently testing that particular mold detection kit.

To add insult to injury, as of today 8/12 according to a GSU library staff person and a GSU student, the university's Nursing Department has just been moved to the campus library due to a malfunction of the air conditioning system and of all things, a mold infestation in the nursing building.

Nursing classes will now be held in the library and crowd out certain other classes currently being held in the library for an undetermined period of time.

What's so offensive to the library staff is that they have been complaining about a mold problem to the GSU's administration for some 7 or 8 years to no avail. At the first sign of a mold problem in the nursing building the nursing department staff was accommodated immediately and the library staff was virtually ignored.

But has the nursing staff of GSU been moved from the frying pan into the fire? Please stay tuned as we hope to report the mold test kit results in GSU's library, and follow up on the reported mold problem in GSU's nursing building in our next segment.