Toxic Mold Found in College Dorm

Last week, students attending Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland were forced to evacuate their living spaces after toxic mold was found growing in a dormitory bathroom.

Promptly after returning to campus for the fall semester, several students living in the Charles B. House (a housing unit on campus) started to complain of cold and flu-like symptoms such as sore throats and stuffy noses. Other occupants of adjacent dorms then began developing similar symptoms within the following weeks, and several students were admitted to the Chester River Hospital due to worsening symptoms.

After closer inspection of the students’ living quarters, a foot long patch of mold was found growing behind a toilet due to a leaky pipe that was supposed to be repaired six months prior. The students’ suites also had mold coming out of the vent in the bathroom and was seeping into the bedrooms. Increased humidity and dirty air conditioning units were also considered possible culprits of the students’ health problems.

Shortly after the mold growth was discovered, Washington College promptly hired an environmental company to perform both indoor and outdoor air tests. The results from these tests are still unknown, but the students have since been evacuated and relocated to different housing. In the interim, the school plans to replace the affected walls in the bathrooms, and to sanitize all of the surfaces in the dormitory suites, including the ceilings.

Upon moving out of his old dormitory, Austin Murphy, a junior at Washington College, remarked, “Now that I’m out of that environment I’m starting to feel better.”