Today's "mold" meeting: just cricket sh*t

     On November 1, faculty received an email from the college that announced

     In response to the discovery of active mold in A205 and concerns from faculty, staff and students who work in the building, the college had each room of A200 tested for mold. We learned that the building had very low mold counts overall, but it had a couple of issues which are being addressed. On Monday, November 4, [Director of Facilities] John Edwards will hold an open meeting in the faculty lounge area in A200 at 2 p.m. to answer any questions you might have regarding this issue. We work hard to ensure that everyone is secure in the space in which they work. To expect anything less is not acceptable.

     Normally, emails to my college email account are routed to my home account, but, for some reason, the routing failed and so I did not see this email until after today’s meeting.
     It provided some details:

     …[I]n A205 [i.e., the Anthro classroom] the presence of an active mold type was found in the original and the follow-up tests. This is why A205 was immediately closed. The specific type of mold found in A205 was identified in only one other place in the building. For safety, we are working with the faculty assigned to that space to accommodate scrubbing, inspecting, cleaning, and retesting. In this office test, only one spore was found, indicating it could be a random occurrence. Please note, the total mold count in that office was 80, which also is well under what is found outside in the typical ambient air we breathe (i.e., the A200 outdoor mold count of 2920). In addition, classroom A213 has a higher mold count than the exterior ambient air reading for a specific set of inactive mold spores. To be on the safe side, we are moving students and staff from classes in that room to accommodate further investigation and remediation.
     In testing the entire building, three problems were discovered. All three are located in very different areas and all with very different causes. The active mold in A205 was caused by a lawn sprinkler inadvertently set to spray water into a window casement. … The cause of the office issue is a complete unknown at this point and, as indicated, may not even be a problem. We have chosen to treat it as a concern. The final issue in the classroom is likely from a very old leak in the wall …. Again, we will find the problem and get it fixed.
     …[W]e want to remind the campus community that we react to these issues in a very orderly and timely manner. Immediately following notification that the air in A204 [sic] may have been contaminated with mold, classes were moved from the room. The tested count for mold in A204 was zero, as it was in two other spaces in A200. Two other areas on campus (the Police Department and A100) were tested recently and these tests results indicated there were no problems.
     We look forward to seeing you at 2 p.m. on November 4. We hope we can answer any questions you may have at this time.

     Few of the most concerned A200 faculty could attend today’s meeting, owing to their teaching schedules. But I was available, so I attended. (VPI Craig Justice attended the first few minutes of the meeting but then walked back to his office.)

My report of today's meeting:

     In his customary whispery manner, John Edwards, Director of Facilities, murmured forth an account of the procedure when there exists a concern of mold in one of our buildings. “We’re not the experts,” he said, and so the actual remediation steps will be taken by those people when that can occur.
     He suggested that the college goes overboard in responding to these issues, that the college is exercising a wealth of caution.
     I noted that, on some accounts, problems in (e.g.,) A205 were noted already in the summer and yet the room was not locked until fairly recently. Edwards then stated that the only complaints that were received about A205 (in the summer) concerned the temperature of the room, not the specter of mold. As soon as he and his people heard about the mold concern, they took action, he said.
     Edwards explained what will happen to A236, A205, and any remaining affected area: it will be sealed off and the cleaning will occur. Then it will be tested again. Etc.
     I read a question on behalf of another instructor who has an office in A200. “I’m aware,” she wrote, “that the most hazardous stage of remediation is the clean-up itself as spores are disturbed and can become airborne. … I’d like to know if you plan to seal off the contaminated areas … during the duration of the clean-up.”
     Naturally, because of my cold (or whatever it is), I coughed and wheezed my way through this verbiage. It was comical, I suppose.
     Edwards was quick to emphasize that the instructor is quite correct about remediation being the most hazardous stage. And so, yes, the rooms will indeed be completely sealed, etc. That hasn’t happened yet, evidently, because college personnel are “not the experts,” who will do the actual work. (In the case of A236, a faculty office, the mold indications were fairly minimal, and it does not appear that the two instructors will opt to move out of it. An attempt will be made to work around the faculty presence.)
     I noted that, earlier today, I examined the wall at the end of the hall (at the southeast corner of A200), and I noticed an alarming degree of dilapidation. Further, I noted what appeared to be a significant amount of “termite feces” piled up at the bottom of the (interior side of the) wall.
     “That’s not termite feces; that’s cricket feces,” declared a certain instructor whose office is closest to the affected area. She immediately walked over and inspected the wall. She soon returned, declaring that it’s “cricket shit, not termite shit.” This yielded a brief discussion of the nature and evolution of termite turds, which, we were told, are “like sand, not flat.”
     “They turn black,” added John.
     No explanation was given as to the lag time between the first reports of possible mold issues in A200 and official communications from the college to denizens of A200 concerning this matter.

Gracie, cat