An air quality sampling test taken after mold was discovered intwo Lafollette Complex rooms returned with typical results, a BallState industrial hygienist said.
"The counts were higher on the outside of the building than theinside," Marc McFarland, an industrial hygienist for FacilitiesManagement, said. He explained that workers from HoosierMicrobiological Laboratory also took air samples outside theresidence hall to compare the presence of mold in the air bothindoors and outdoors. A higher mold count outside the building, hesaid, means indoor levels are safe. �
The lab also tested the species of indoor and outdoor mold thatwere present in the air, both living and non-living spores.
"It was typical in both samples," McFarland said.
A total of nearly $1,050 has come out of a Housing and ResidenceLife reserve fund to pay $685 for air quality testing, $150 each toDiaz and Enerson for damages to their belongings and $60 for theirprescription medications.
The laboratory took air samples in several residential rooms ofBrayton-Clevenger Hall Oct. 28. Earlier that week, the universityremoved mold from two of the hall's fifth floor rooms. Moisturebuildup from a steam pipe leak within the wall shared by the tworooms caused mold to grow behind the dressers, maintenanceofficials said.
Megan Diaz and Teya Enerson, freshmen who lived in one of therooms, moved to the seventh floor of Brayton-Clevenger Hall to getaway from the disarray in their fifth floor room. Both werehospitalized the day they watched a maintenance worker reveal moldbehind their dresser.
"We've had our good and bad days, but we're getting better,"Diaz said. Diaz was treated for an upper respiratory infection andboth were treated for sinusitis. They still occasionally takeprescription medication for nausea.
"Some days I still feel sick," Enerson said. "It's wearing offslowly though."
Enerson said she and Diaz do not yet know if they will move backto the fifth floor.
Kelly Engle, who still lives in the other fifth floor room wheremold was found, said she suffered a sinus infection following thediscovery but has recovered. Her roommate, Jennifer Mattingly, andother floor residents, she said, are also faring well.
"Everyone's feeling a lot better," she said, adding that she hasheard of no further mold discoveries or complaints of relatedhealth symptoms. "I think they've solved the problem."
McFarland said that he knows of no other cases of mold growth inresidence hall rooms and that maintenance will continue to watchfor its presence.
"We'll keep on top of the steam leaks," he said.
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