| Mold-related difficulties continue By Erik Alsgaard UMConnection Staff Staff and employees of the Baltimore-Washington Conference continue to work in temporary office space across the parking lot from the Conference Center. Meanwhile, progress is being made in addressing problems caused by the mold on many fronts. People are still getting sick, said Martha Knight, associate financial officer who is responsible for managing the conference center. But we continue to work to keep the health and safety of our workers first and foremost. Recent tests have shown that some of the toxins from the mold at the 9720 Patuxent Woods Drive building may have been carried over on papers and files to the temporary facility. Recently, two people working on a mailing developed severe skin rashes on their hands and legs, said Knight. Another person, working with some of the paper, ended up with finger-tips that looked like purple balloons. Staff from the conference office of pension and health benefits have been moved out of Suite 300 in the temporary facility because of the problem, said Knight. These people are now working at home. Other staff members from the finance and administration office have also been relocated the second move they have had to make in six months. Temporary help has been hired and a clean room has been erected in the temporary facility to copy urgently needed documents. The goal is to separate us from our paper, said Knight. Other documents and files will be copied under a priority list developed by the Administrative Team. Scanning documents into a digital format was deemed too expensive right now, said Knight. Mold problems surfaced in the Conference Center in November 2002. Shortly thereafter, staff moved out of the building into a temporary facility next door.  Staff and employees met in mid-April with Dr. Clifford Mitchell, an expert in dealing with indoor air issues from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He briefed the staff outside the temporary building because many peoples sensitivity to the mold was such that they could not enter.
In a lively 150-minute conversation, staff and employees were able to question Mitchell about an interim report he had issued on the 9720 building. That report, issued after he did a walk-through of the building Feb. 28, noted several structural concerns that needed to be addressed before the building could be reoccupied. I cant find anything in that space to prevent me from placing a group of people in that building after the remediation steps have been taken, he said. Several employees at the meeting quickly disagreed with Mitchell, saying that for them, because of their exposure to the mold, their immune systems have been permanently damaged. Even the slightest exposure to the mold would cause problems. Mitchell, who was initially contacted by the landlord of the 9720 building, but who said he was a neutral third party, agreed at the end of the meeting to issue a second interim report. Meanwhile, the trustees of the Baltimore-Washington Conference continue to search for alternative office space in the Columbia area. To date, the conference has paid about $145,000 in expenses directly related to the mold problems. We hope and expect to recoup some of those expenses from workers compensation, said the Rev. James Knowles-Tuell, conference treasurer. Approximately $54,000 has been spent in medical costs, he said, $76,000 in facility costs and $15,000 for temporary workers. The conference, through its lawyers, is also exploring all options available regarding the building lease, which expires in 2006. | 
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