  |
| |
|
Faculty union insists on safe
mold cleanup January 28, 2004 As a mold problem in several buildings at Westchester Community College spreads into its second year, the faculty union is pressing for a campus-wide inspection and the hiring of an industrial hygienist. The Virginia Marx Children's Center was closed two months ago, and is not scheduled to reopen until April, said Anne D'Orazio, president of the Westchester CC Federation of Teachers. Children and staff have been relocated from the daycare center. During the recent winter break, more offices and classrooms were closed again for additional work. All secretaries in the Classroom Building had to be relocated and faculty were not able to get into their offices, said D'Orazio. "It's a very active building," she said. "This was a very disruptive process." When the federation formed a Health and Safety Committee in 2001, little did members know how much they would be needed: Mold was on the way. Last summer, several federation members returned from their vacations to find mold covering potpourri in their desks, and gray mold sliming their waste baskets. Multiple offices were then closed in the Classroom Building and the new library on the Valhalla campus after mold was found in rooms, ducts, insulation and piping. "Men came in in space suits and said,'Get out immediately, don't take anything,'" said D'Orazio. By the middle of August, staffers were showing symptoms, primarily headaches. The roof of the college's executive hall is also being worked on because of mold problems, D'Orazio added. The growth of mold indoors is caused by the presence of moisture. Whether dead or alive, mold is allergenic. Some molds may be toxic; all molds are potential sources of health problems, said Wendy Hord, health and safety specialist for New York State United Teachers. The federation's health and safety committee has been a funnel for information and complaints. In the fall, it joined with the campus labor-management health and safety committee to hold a campus-wide informational meeting with guest speaker Dave Newman, an industrial hygienist from the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health. NYCOSH is a coalition of local unions and health and safety professionals advocating for safer workplaces. The Westchester CCFT has reported to its members that the administration plans to remove acoustic insulation, and then inspect those areas previously unavailable due to the insulation; sanitize metal ceiling tiles; complete duct cleaning; replace pipe insulation and remove some carpeting; and install commercial dehumidifiers. But problems persist, and the federation is advocating for a campus-wide inspection and the hiring of industrial hygienist Edward Olmsted, a NYSUT consultant. "They (administrators) said he's too pro-union - as if mold were a union problem," D'Orazio said. "The WCCFT health and safety committee is anxious to step in and work on solving problems of unsafe and unhealthy workplace conditions in individual buildings." - Liza Frenette
|
|
| | |