UM profs say mold making them sick

Spores keep showing up in Woods Hall building

After a week away in upstate New York, Barnet Pavão-Zuckerman walked back into her office at the University of Maryland and instantly felt something was wrong. She walked over to her shelves and saw that, once again, mold spores were coating the spines of her books.

“It was like a swamp in here,” said the anthropology professor.

Professors who work out of Woods Hall on the state’s flagship campus in College Park say their working conditions have been making them sick for years. Mold spores show up on their desks, books and clothing, leading to health issues such as severe skin irritations and exacerbated asthma or allergies, they said.

Some classes have had to be moved from the building after students reported similar concerns, according to department officials.

Anthropology professor Thurka Sangaramoorthy filed a written complaint about the conditions last September after dealing with mold in her office since 2012. Over the next six years, she said she was forced to throw away personal photos, awards, and hundreds of her treasured books — all damaged by mold. An allergist prescribed her a daily medication to deal with a persistent skin irritation that had started to worry her children.

“This has been and continues to be a significant health and safety concern that is having a negative impact on faculty and students alike,” she wrote in the memo.

The university also has come under fire for the way it dealt with mold in student housing.

Last year, mold found inside numerous dorms forced the university to put hundreds of students up in College Park hotels. Many students reported getting sick from the conditions.

The university released a statement Friday saying that when visible mold has been identified in Woods Hall, departments worked together to remediate it.

Facilities Management officials wrote in a statement that they are aware of the ongoing humidity issues in the building, and are taking “proactive measures to combat humidity challenges,” including through mold remediation, renovations and installing rain guards.

University spokeswoman Katie Lawson wrote in an email that the university “invested nearly half a million dollars in foundation waterproofing, a new foundation drainage system, commercial grade dehumidifiers, and window sealing in Woods Hall.”

“We are currently finalizing a plan to relocate faculty offices,” she wrote.

But professors say more permanent and expensive measures must be taken.

“The consensus is that the building needs central air, and we don’t have that right now,” Pavão-Zuckerman said. “Small solutions are inadequate.”

Paul Shackel, chair of the anthropology department, said the situation has hurt morale among the faculty and staff. He said professors have been forced to look for alternative places to set up shop on campus, or are working from home.

“The majority of faculty have said they’ve been impacted in some way,” he said. “It’s affecting people’s health and it’s also affecting the productivity of faculty.”

Sangaramoorthy said she’s taken steps to rejigger her class schedule so she doesn’t have to spend much time in Woods Hall anymore.