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Old mold found in UI building
(Gazette, The (Cedar Rapids, IA) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Aug. 2--IOWA CITY -- Flood damage repair in a newer University of Iowa building led to the discovery of a mold problem that appears to have originated before the June floods.
The Iowa Advanced Technology Laboratories, on the east bank of the Iowa River, sustained about $8 million in building damage and $34 million in content damage to its high-tech labs from the flood.
During cleanup, industrial hygienists discovered mold through air sampling in a cleaned portion of the building's first level, said James Walker, director of the UI Health Protection Office.
The mold spores did not match those in the outdoor air, leading workers to search for another source, he said.
They found a leak had damaged wood on a portion of the west wall -- on the river side of the building -- that was encapsulated between exterior metal sheeting and an interior wall, Walker said.
He noted the leak likely was small and may have originated in the roof and traveled down the four-story building.
"You don't even know it's there until you take off the Sheetrock," Walker said.
It was unknown how long the building was leaking or how much repair would cost.
Repair likely will seem insignificant, given the $231.75 million damage estimate to the UI campus, which includes flood protection efforts, building and content damage, debris removal and leased space.
Walker said the mold appears not to have been a health hazard. No employees had complained of any health issues that may have stemmed from mold, he said.
Several professors who conduct research in the building doubted their work would have been affected by mold.
Gregory Carmichael, co-director of the Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research, said he wasn't aware of any experiments that would be mold-sensitive, but added "we have a lot of people in the building." His office has been in the building since the 124,439square-foot structure opened in 1992.
Formerly known as the Iowa Laser Facility, the $25.1 million building, designed by world-renowned California architect Frank O. Gehry, was plagued by difficulties from its inception in 1986.
Problems included downscaling, lost chances to hire top-level researchers and construction delays.
In recent years, besides the environmental research office, other offices there included the Optical Science and Technology Center, Microfabrication Facility and the Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Institute.
The UI women's rowing team uses the east wing as a boathouse.
Walker said the building should reopen in time for the fall semester.
-- Contact the writer: (319) 398-8428 or cindy.hadish@gazcomm.com
To see more of The Gazette, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.gazetteonline.com.
Copyright (c) 2008, The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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