Mold damages books in Maryland library

Thousands of books affected by mold

Staff and patrons may be exposed
to mold spores in affected libraries.
Image courtesy of Paul/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Library staff members have closed an entire floor of the McKeldin library, one of the main libraries of the University of Maryland, until further notice after discovering an outbreak of nontoxic mold in August.

Thousands of books were affected by the mold, a library spokesman said. Staff workers had noticed small amounts of mold for three years.

Library staff and a specialized contractor will clean all the shelves, and every book on the floor will be wiped down and vacuumed, a process that could take months.

Authorities listed various reasons for the mold damage, including

• high summer temperatures
• inefficient heating, ventilation and ventilation system
• high humidity

Libraries generally maintain about 50 percent relative humidity. At the McKeldin library at the time of the outbreak, that number had risen to 75 percent.

Facilities Management workers brought in dehumidifiers to reduce the humidity, adjusting the air conditioning controls and checking that all the monitors work correctly.

The mold exposure has been contained to that one floor, the spokesman said, and it is unlikely that staff will have to dispose of any affected books.

The bulk of the cleaning is scheduled to begin in October.

There are no immediate plans to change or update the heating and air conditioning system on a large scale.

Source: The Diamondback

Remove mold and contaminated air in libraries and archives

Libraries are housing thousands of books and they often suffer from poor indoor air quality due to outdated HVAC systems and humidity problems.

Updating or fixing HVAC systems can be expensive, but library staff and facility management can help improve indoor air quality by using portable air cleaners with the right types of air filters.

Electrocorp has designed a range of indoor air cleaning systems for libraries and archives that feature UV germicidal filtration for mold spores and biological contaminants, HEPA filters for particles and dust and activated carbon walls for chemicals and odors.

Contact an Electrocorp IAQ specialist for more information and a personalized recommendation.

Mold health effects spur complaints by ex-sheriff's worker

Regular exposure to mold and mold spores has been linked to
adverse health effects such as respiratory disease and headaches.

Working in a sheriff's office should be safe, but one former worker has filed a complaint, saying she was unjustly fired after experiencing health effects from mold poisoning.

The former clerk in the Lee County Sheriff's Office was fired for using more sick days than she had accrued.

The former clerk, who had worked in the office for seven years, said she suffered from COPD, (a chronic lung disease), anxiety, panic attacks, headaches and back pain after being exposed to mold. She filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) accusing the sheriff’s office of disability discrimination and retaliation, saying they fired her instead of dealing with the problem.

She plans to sue the sheriff's office over her medical problems.

The office has since been closed for mold remediation, after the air was tested by trained staff, and renovations are supposed to begin.

Mold - a serious exposure risk

Regular exposure to mold spores has been linked to respiratory disorders such as asthma and COPD as well as neurological symptoms such as anxiety, depression, aggression, short-term memory issues and blurred vision.

Those affected have reported headaches, rapid heart beat, chronic fatigue, pain and other health effects.

Seek medial treatment if you experience any of these symptoms. Mold health effects are often misdiagnosed.

Source: The News-Press

Keep the air clean in law enforcement offices

RAP air cleaners

Electrocorp is a leading distributor of indoor air quality solutions for law enforcement, providing air cleaners with activated carbon, HEPA and UV to remove airborne chemicals, particles, mold, bacteria, viruses, odors, fumes, dust and other contaminants.

Air cleaners such as the RAP Series, I-6500 Series and the AirMedic Series have been used in law enforcement offices and storage areas.

For more information, contact Electrocorp today.

Law enforcement officers being exposed to dangerous levels of toxic mold on the job

Researchers are warning that police officers could be facing potentially harmful levels of airborne mold while raiding pot-growing operations.

The team reviewed 30 marijuana-growing operations in Colorado and discovered mold levels 100 times higher than considered safe. In some cases the levels were so high the testing equipment couldn`t take a reading. 

"These are pretty incredible exposures," said Dr. John Martyny who conducted the study. "These are extremely high levels that we would consider dangerous.”

The team found that seventy percent of the sites studied had levels that would "be a sufficient concern for anyone who might live there." 

"The threat to the health and safety of our officers posed by these marijuana grows is a different kind of danger that we had not adequately considered," said Barbra Roach, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration-Denver Division. 

The research was funded by a Justice Assistance Grant and the Colorado Drug Investigators Association, the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, and County Sheriffs of Colorado.

Does your law enforcement agency need to provide better protection from on the job mold exposure? Electrocorp has worked with numerous agencies to customize affordable air cleaning equipment for raids and tear downs involving drugs as well as air cleaning units for evidence storage. Contact an Electrocorp air quality expert for recommendation and pricing.