After being made aware of the mold issue in Hudson and seeing it for ourselves, we collected and identified mold, a process that took several weeks. We took samples from the walls on third floor suites and offices. Director of Technology Services Jason Cloninger noticed the mold growth in his office in late August, but has experienced no negative health effects. He said, “I have talked to physical plant about it and they did say that they would get replacement tiles,” but these have been slow in coming. Cloninger did not seem distraught by the situation but did say, “It’s never good to see mold growing in your office.”
In Dr. Mark Benedetti’s office, mold growth can be seen – most likely A. Niger from the dark color.
Three species of mold were identified from an air vent in Cloninger’s office (Hudson 301): Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus nidulans, and Penicillium notatum. None of these commonly cause severe infections in humans. However, A. niger and A. nidulans can, on occasion, cause fungal ear infections. It should be noted though, that when we physically see these molds (like the picture of Hudson office 330) it is evidence that the mold is there and that it could be spreading, especially around air vents that could blow around the hyphae (the mode of vegetative growth). Those who are allergic to the medicine penicillin will also be allergic to the mold, P. notatum, that produces it. So in the vicinity of that mold, breathing in the spores will cause an allergic reaction characterized by red, itchy eyes, runny or stuffy nose, cough, dry skin and potentially a rash.
Procedure
- Collected samples from several places (hallway, offices, stairwell)
- Placed samples in a warmer at 37 degrees C
- Waited three days
- Used mold grown from 301 to reculture three new plates in an attempt to separate and identify colonies
- Three molds identifiable
- Created slides of each type to look at under microscope
- Veronica Milligan predicted aspergillus niger and penicillium and couldn’t identify the third
- With chair of biology Dr. James Bray’s help, confirmed penicillium, confirmed Aspergillus niger, and identified Aspergillus nidulans
The Federal Emergency Management Agency defines mildew as an early stage of mold, suggesting it is easier to clean up and eliminate. However, older mold that is still growing and spreading should signal concern about a larger issue.
All three molds are visible here. Each one was recultured and grown separately to make identification easier
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that molds may not cause problems for everyone, but some people inherently have mold allergies and people with immunocompromisation may react poorly to mold spores in the air. They also note that mold can cause respiratory issues in otherwise healthy people and lead to asthma symptoms for those with asthma.
The CDC provides suggestions for preventing and eliminating mold in an indoor area. Controlling mold can be done by maintaining indoor humidity levels and fixing leaky roofs, windows and pipes. If flooding occurs, thoroughly clean and dry the area that was affected.