The Possibility of Mold at Pitt-Greensburg

In an interview with Joseph Bleehash, Director of Facilities and Security, I asked about the state of mold on campus. Bleehash stated, “continuous sampling” is done after major rain events to ensure that no one is exposed “to high levels of spores.”

Bleehash continued, “last year an anonymous letter from a university entity,” targeting Bleehash, made “unfounded” claims of mold on campus and the lack of action taking place to rid the campus of it.

Preventative measures are taken annually, with campus wide mitigations occurring primarily in the summer while students are away.

Bleehash expressed that when a maintenance request is received stating anything along the lines of “fuzzy spot” or “mold” they act proactively and quickly with “special sprays” they use and “mildewcides.”

Bleehash said there have not been any widespread issues with mold on campus. However, Bleehash explains that any campus maintenance is report based. It is the staff and students’ “due diligence,” to report anything that could be mold or mildew, Bleehash said.

At the end of my interview with Bleehash, I held up a photo taken in Westmoreland Hall, of what Bleehash identified as a “return air grill.” Its primary function is to pull air back to the furnace. Bleehash explained that due to humidity and the inversely cold temperature of the grill, moisture collects with debris and dirt there.