TEMPE, AZ — Multiple families claim their children have fallen ill due to a mold issue inside Arizona State University dorms.
ASU says that is not the case.
So, ABC15 did some digging and spoke to a mom and dad who say their child, who goes to ASU, has been under specialists’ care for months.
They believe the illnesses stem from mold issues inside the dorms, they say, ASU did not take care of.
So, they hired their own inspector to go in and take a look.
“And I was like ‘oh my God’ that’s all inside of the vent,” said the mother of an ASU student, while sitting next to her husband.
These parents, who don’t want to share their names, were reacting to photos their daughter sent them taken, they say, inside her ASU dorm room.
“I was like… What? I mean… I was completely in shock,” she added.
They tell us their child moved into a room in ASU’s Palo Verde West dorm in August. Weeks later, they say, she fell ill.
“Lethargic, headaches, lost her voice for like two and a half weeks,” added the mom.
They say she also experienced severe eye irritation.
Dr. Cheri Dersam, an integrative and functional medicine physician at Integrative Medicine of Arizona, says that can be a symptom of toxic mold exposure.
“We can see vision affect where it’s really a differentiation of between shades of gray. So, they may describe kind of blurry vision,” said Dr. Dersam.
“Her eyes were just… where the whites should be… was just… it looked like it was almost blood. They were so completely red,” said the mom.
ABC15 asked Dr. Dersam if severe eye irritation was a common symptom that stems from mold exposure.
“That’s a common symptom, yes,” Dr. Dersam responded.
Dr. Dersam didn’t treat any of the students in this case, but says mold exposure falls in the realm of possibilities and listed several symptoms.
“We see G.I. issues. Certainly, repository, chronic sinus issues. Swelling, rashes, fatigue, sleep disturbances… it could be hair loss. Or they get a headache, or sometimes they get a tingly sensation, or they become anxious,” added Dr. Dersam.
These parents tell ABC15 their daughter experienced most of these symptoms. So, in October, they sent their child Petri-dishes to collect samples from the vents and walls of her dorm.
“And within just a couple days, they were back, and I said this is a much bigger problem than we had originally thought,” said the mom in disbelief.
That’s when they say they alerted the school to mold concerns in their child’s dorm.
Thinking their child wasn’t alone, they also took to social media, asking if any ASU parents had similar experiences.
“We have over 100 parents that have shared stories with situations much worse than what we’ve experienced,” added the father of the student living inside of the ASU dorms.
ABC15 was able to contact more than a dozen of those families, sharing similar stories about students with health issues.
Many did not want to go on the record. Though one other parent, wanting to remain anonymous, did speak with us.
They told us their child’s symptoms got so bad when living in the Vista Del Sol dorms, they decided to get their urine tested.
“That’s the most valid way to test for mold,” said Dr. Dersam when looking at the test results from the urinalysis.
ABC15 presented the results of that November urine test, from RealTime Laboratories, to Dr. Dersam.
“They only test for toxic molds. That’s what this test is. None of these are good molds. So, you don’t really want anything on here, but if it’s lower than the criteria then possibly we don’t need to treat, but definitely, these are all over the minimum amount,” Dr. Dersam told ABC15.
The urine test results the parent shared from November show toxic molds were found across the board.
“You have Ochratoxin, Aflatoxin. Those are both from Aspergillus which grows in the walls of water-damaged buildings,” said Dr. Dersam.
Test results show ochratoxin coming in double what’s needed to be considered present in a sample. The trichothecene group, almost four times the amount needed, and gliotoxin, nearly three times over.
“And you, as a physician, if you're looking at this and this is your patient coming back with these results, would you be concerned?” asked our crew.
“I would, yes. I would treat the patient,” said Dr. Dersam.
Meanwhile, these parents do admit that ASU sent a crew to their daughter’s dorm in Palo Verde West in November to test for mold and clean affected areas.
Officials with ASU told ABC15 the following on November 9:
“Any reported mold concern in an ASU residential hall ventilation system is managed diligently by ASU Housing and or our affiliated partners such as American Campus Communities. ASU investigates each report to look for visible mold, water damage, elevated humidity and other conditions that could promote mold growth. ASU also conducts an indoor air quality screening to evaluate the condition of the ventilation system.
Since the start of the 2021 school year, ASU has found no evidence of significant mold growth in the ventilation system of any residential hall. What has been found in some of the occupied rooms is common household surface mold and mildew inside shower areas. In addition, dust and dirt was observed inside some air vents. ASU maintenance staff clean vents and replace air filters frequently throughout the year to help reduce dirt and dust in the air system.
In response to mold and air quality concerns raised by students and their parents, ASU has hired a firm specializing in mold and indoor air quality to conduct mold air sampling in numerous residential halls. Results will be compared to outdoor mold levels to determine whether there is a problem with the ventilation system. If the sampling indicates a problem, ASU will immediately begin remediation.”
“I said, this is crazy. What is ASU doing about this? And to be honest, they are not doing much,” said the concerned mother.
These parents tell ABC15 they hired a company to come out to the dorms and do additional testing, after ASU’s tests were done in November.
The CEO of Dwell Inspect Arizona confirmed with ABC15 over the phone that he personally gathered those samples from the student’s dorm room air vent and bathroom.
“That seems to be the most commonplace that patients find mold,” said Dr. Dersam.
Those samples were taken to a company called EMSL Analytical.
The company wouldn’t analyze the results for us, but we did get their expanded fungal report.
The tests found 16 substances in all, some of them which Dr. Dersam says can be toxic like, aspergillus, penicillium, chaetomium, and cladosporium.
“Many of the toxic molds are on here. Chaetomium is not a good one to have. The Cladosporium is not great, but it’s not as toxic as some,” said Dr. Dersam, while looking at the EMSL results.
We also took the results to another expert.
“What they’re saying in plain English is there’s evidence of actual growth,” said Michael Schrantz.
Schrantz is an indoor environmental professional and owner of Environmental Analytics.
He helped us break down what these results mean.
“So this is not about quantifying exposure. It’s about ID-ing a source,” he said, while looking at the EMSL report.
ABC15 asked about the categories listed next to the molds in the EMSL report. Some potentially toxic molds like cladosporium were listed as ‘high’ while others like aspergillus/penicillium and chaetomium listed as ‘rare.’
“You’ll see that there’s an asterisk next to a few of the quantities. The two high and the one rare. What they’re saying in plain English is there’s evidence of actual growth, that this just isn’t normal settling of background fungal structures,” Schrantz added.
ASU says mold readings that their tests found in November were within normal and safe levels.
On January 7, the university sent ABC15 an updated statement about the mold concerns:
“Any reported mold concern in an ASU residential hall ventilation system is managed diligently by ASU Housing and or our affiliated partners such as American Campus Communities. ASU investigates each report to look for visible mold, water damage, elevated humidity and other conditions that could promote mold growth. ASU also conducts an indoor air quality screening to evaluate the condition of the ventilation system.
Since the start of the 2021 school year, ASU has found no evidence of significant mold growth in the ventilation system of any residential hall. What has been found in some of the occupied rooms is surface mold and mildew inside shower areas and in drywall where water damage has occurred. In addition, dust and dirt was observed inside some air vents. ASU maintenance staff clean vents and replace air filters frequently throughout the year to help reduce dirt and dust in the air system.
In response to mold and air quality concerns raised by students and their parents, ASU hired a firm specializing in mold and indoor air quality to conduct mold air sampling in numerous residential halls. In general, the results did not indicate the presence of indoor sources of mold.”
When ABC15 asked again in February, ASU sent a statement with some more detail about its inspection, saying it hired a firm that conducted environmental air quality assessments on November 12 and November 15.
On February 15, ASU provided the following statement to ABC15:
“ASU responded promptly to address concerns raised by residents by conducting an indoor environmental quality assessment November 12 and 15, 2021, at various residence hall locations on the Tempe campus. That assessment showed:
· There were no water or moisture sources, or water damage observed during the inspection.
· There was some dirt and dust build-up on the air vents in some of the sampled rooms.
· There was no visible fungal growth observed during the inspection.
· The results for total airborne fungal spore concentrations did not indicate the presence of indoor sources of fungi.
These results confirm the indoor air quality within the residence halls is normal.”
We took the school’s statement to Schrantz, along with the EMSL report commissioned by the family, which is dated November 17.
“I think the clear elephant in the room is one of discrepancy. Mold doesn’t grow that quickly, to go from nothing to everything. That means there was enough moisture and enough nutrients from wherever they sampled for mold to grow,” added Schrantz.
We wanted to know more about what Schrantz called discrepancies.
There’s the presence of growing mold in one report (commissioned by the family), and ASU’s claim that their tests in November did not indicate the presence of indoor sources of fungi.
Then, there are the photos from the family and ASU’s statement saying its November inspection did not find water damage or visible fungal growth.
ABC15 asked Schrantz the following question: “Why do you think ASU’s test results were different than what EMSL’s lab results showed?”
“It can easily be attributed to... they were looking at different areas. We also know that we’re limited to the experience and knowledge of the inspectors,” he responded.
The family says when their daughter returned home for Christmas break, her symptoms improved.
Doctor Dersam says that is also telling.
“That cues me in to think that maybe there’s mold,” he stated.
These parents are asking for more tests to be done.
“The contrast is too much. I think we need to get kind of a neutral third party to get out there to take a deep dive because clearly, you have two different outfits claiming almost the opposite,” said the mother.
The parents hope more testing will, at the very least, clarify the discrepancies Schrantz points to.
“Do that for the kids,” said the mom.
ASU tells ABC15 they do take mold concerns seriously and begin immediate remediation when needed, as referenced below in an exerpt from ASU's January statement:
“ASU investigates each report to look for visible mold, water damage, elevated humidity and other conditions that could promote mold growth. ASU also conducts an indoor air quality screening to evaluate the condition of the ventilation system.”
The university spokesperson says they've found some mold and mildew inside shower areas and in drywall where water damage occurred, but the school confirmed that it was found during tests in Manzanita Hall last October.
They added that those tests were done by a different firm than the company that did the testing in November.
ABC15 asked ASU to clarify what specific dorms were tested. We have yet to hear back.
We also reached out to the Maricopa County Environmental Services Department to ask about what goes into determining whether indoor air quality is safe.
The department said, “No governmental entity has jurisdiction for non-workplace or residential situations.”
ABC15 will continue to follow up with ASU on this issue and will update with any new information that is provided.
