Mold damage to a file-room wall, which was discovered in the Woodbury Arts and Sciences Building on the University of Colorado at Boulder campus Oct. 3, is being removed by a contractor beginning after 5 p.m. today and continuing through the weekend.
The building is expected to be reopened on Monday, Oct. 16. The 120-year-old, four-story Woodbury Arts and Sciences Building is the home of the College of Arts and Sciences Advising Resource Center and faculty and staff offices of the East Asian Languages and Civilizations department and some other arts and humanities offices. No classes are held in Woodbury.
Employees have been encouraged to file workman's compensation claims with the university if they wish and 15 employees have complained of symptoms, primarily itchy eyes and throat, runny nose or flu-like symptoms, according to Lou Mitchell, director of CU's Department of Environmental Health and Safety.
The mold, a form called stachybotrys, is believed to have been caused by a heat exchange malfunction that occurred several months ago and caused small leaks in the building's radiators, which eventually saturated a wall in room 110 and led to growth of the mold. Large furniture pieces that lined the wall prevented employees from spotting the problem sooner, Mitchell said.
Two firms will work on cleaning and abatement of the mold throughout the weekend including Excel Environmental of Aurora, which will remove walls, clean affected areas and erect barriers to prevent spread of the mold, and Herron Enterprises industrial hygienists of Lakewood, which will monitor the air in the building to ensure all the mold is removed.
Most of the mold is contained in the north wall of room 110 of Woodbury, which is primarily a storage area for advising records of students in the arts and sciences college. The records will be sampled and inspected for mold through HEPA processing, or High Efficiency Particulate Air.
"Any wall in the building that is wet will be removed and disposed of during the cleaning and abatement process that we're beginning tonight to prevent spread of the mold," Mitchell said. Although some small spots have been found beyond room 110, most of the mold caused by the leaking radiators is located in that room, he said.
A second source of mold in the basement level of Woodbury was discovered when crews began investigating the source of water in room 110 and found small areas of mold in the basement.
"The basement has been affected by water infiltrating from outside the building's foundation," Mitchell said. "The building's roof scuppers are not draining water away from the foundation wall. We will also conduct abatement in the basement and later make improvements to prevent water from entering the basement."