Wade Johnson
Taylor Vance
UNIVERSITY, MS– Crosby Hall residents have reported being sick because of black mold growing in residence halls and poor air quality.
Kendra Ingram, a freshman political science major who lives in Crosby, said she was diagnosed with bronchitis earlier in the school year and has had a sore throat and cough throughout the year.
“I have been sick since August,” Ingram said. “When I went into the University Health Center in August, they knew I lived in Crosby right away and said that was the reason I was getting sick.”
Ingram also said that her portable air filter has turned black.
“My friends roommate sent out a room transfer but I don’t know if it got accepted or not,” said Ingram. “The problem is that there is no where for us to go.”
The Daily Mississippian obtained an email sent to Crosby residents on Oct. 5 by Lionel Maten, assistant vice chancellor for student affairs and director student housing saying the university will “be inspecting rooms in the building and working with facilities and environmental services staff to clean up areas as needed.”
Caitlyn Bone, a freshman elementary education major that also lives in Crosby said she has been sick, but she does not think it’s from mold because she hasn’t seen any mold in her room.
“I noticed a significant amount of dust in my room within the first few weeks so my dad advised me to put a filter on my vent,” Bone said. “I did so and was promptly told to remove it (by maintenance) as it was ‘causing’ dust. I personally don’t know of anyone moving out yet, but I would not doubt it happening soon.”
Jim Zook, vice chancellor for strategic communications and marketing said the university is aware of concerns of the air quality from Crosby residents and the “concerns are being taken seriously.”
“We’re working diligently. We have housing staff throughout the weekend talking with the students and parents,” Zook said.
He said the university has found a substance growing in some rooms, but the university cannot confirm what the substance is.
“Our housing staff has called in an HVAC contractor, and environmental contractor will be on site tomorrow to conduct air quality tests,” Zook said. “And, our housing office has been in regular contact with the residents and with the folks of Crosby to keep them in the loop of everything.”
Bill Sothern, a Certified Industrial Hygienist and Chief Investigator and Founder of Micrologies Inc. in New York said all too often, he sees many environmental investigations, particularly dealing with someone who has to spend money to fix a problem, conduct an air sample and end the investigation.
“Don’t let someone come in there and take the air samples and let them tell you something is okay because air samples are famously subject to false negative results, ” Sothern said. “That’s a recipe for deception.”
Sothern said the air samples aren’t a bad tool for an investigation, so long as they are compared to outdoor air samples as well.
He also said long-term exposure to mold can lead to allergy and asthma problems and the mold remediation is a process that should be conducted by professionals.
“(Mold remediation) can be very expensive, and remediation has to be handled in a highly prescribed manner. The work manner has to be isolated and care has to be taken not to contaminate the surrounding areas,” Sothern said.
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