As a consultant, I am in a different facility and facility type almost every day. One of the most common issues that I come across is mold. Mold is naturally occurring in both indoor and outdoor environments. There is no way to keep mold spores out of our facilities. Mold spores can enter your facility from the outside through doorways, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems with outdoor air intakes. Mold spores in the air outside also attach themselves to people, making guests clothing, shoes, and bags convenient vehicles for bringing mold into our facilities.
Mold spores drop and grow where there is excessive moisture, such as where leakage may have occurred in roofs, pipes, walls, plant pots, or where there has been excessive water use or flooding. Many materials within our facilities provide the necessary nutrients that encourage mold to grow. Wet cellulose materials, including paper and paper products, cardboard, ceiling tiles, wood and wood products, are particularly conducive for the growth of molds.
All molds should be treated with the same respect to potential health risks and removal.
Black Mold
Black mold is most commonly known as a significant contributor to “Sick Building Syndrome.” Sick Building Syndrome refers to situations in which building occupants experience acute health and comfort effects that appear to be linked to time spent in a building.
Stachybotrys chartarum is a greenish-black mold. It can grow on material with a high cellulose and low nitrogen content, such as fiberboard, gypsum board, paper, dust, and lint. Growth occurs when there is moisture from water damage, excessive humidity, water leaks, condensation, water infiltration, or flooding.
Common areas to look for black mold are basements, crawlspaces, mechanical equipment areas, ice equipment areas, cooling towers, bathrooms and kitchens where moisture and condensation may be present and come together with mold spores.
Black mold tends to have a strong, musty smell and, of course, it displays a trademark black/green color. Kerry Painter, assistant general manager of the Cox Business Center in Tulsa, Okla., tells a story about returning to her office in the Northshore Harbor Center in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Black Mold had taken hold in the facility. Kerry was in her office for a very short time when she realized that it began to become difficult to breathe. Her characterization is that it “felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest.” This, while an extreme example, gives us some insight into the consequences of the cumulative effect of unaddressed mold growth in your facility.
Symptoms of mold exposure
• Nasal and sinus congestion, runny nose
• Eye irritation, such as itchy, red, watery eyes
• Respiratory problems, such as wheezing and
difficulty breathing, chest tightness
• Cough
• Throat irritation
• Sneezing / Sneezing fits
If you think you have mold in your building what do you do?
Consider hiring a professional mold testing company, which will take samples of the air and any areas of mold growth, identify precisely what type of mold is present and recommend next steps for remediation.
In most cases mold can be removed from hard surfaces by a thorough cleaning with commercial products, soap and water, or a bleach solution of no more than 1 cup of bleach in 1 gallon of water. Absorbent or porous materials like ceiling tiles, drywall and carpet may have to be thrown away if they become moldy. If you have an extensive amount of mold and you do not think you can manage the cleanup on your own, you may want to contact a professional who has experience in cleaning mold in buildings. It is important to properly clean and dry the area as you can still have an allergic reaction to parts of the dead mold and mold contamination may recur if there is still a source of moisture.
The Bottom Line is that public assembly facilities, by their very nature, can be vulnerable to mold growth in many areas. We must be aware of this and develop and execute a program of awareness and response to ensure that we are providing a safe and healthy work and entertainment space for our employees and guests.
Russ Simons is...
managing partner, Venue Solutions Group, and has been in this industry for more than three decades, working in arenas, stadiums, design, construction, safety and security. Send questions about any aspect of venue operation to askruss@venuestoday.com or mail questions to Venues Today, P.O. Box 2540, Huntington Beach, CA 92647.