An environmental study in July found mold and water damage in 95 percent of the building’s 200 units and that mold ranged from moderate to “highly elevated” in the building’s common areas.
A Cincinnati-based environmental consultant said the mold had grown because Wilkinson’s roof and windows were leaking, a sewage pipe was leaking into a crawl space, and window air-conditioners in each unit were draining into the walls, causing condensation to leak onto apartments below.
But residents say the problem is back.
“No one wants to live under these conditions, but there’s nothing else we can do,” said Pamela Moss, who lives on Wilkinson Plaza’s first floor. Moss, 34, is a criminal justice student at Lincoln College of Technology and has lived in Wilkinson for nine years.
She says the mold problem has gotten progressively worse, and she no longer allows her 7-year-old daughter, who has a respiratory illness, to stay with her over her concern for mold spores in the building’s ventilation system.
Moss’ boyfriend’s bedroom in a ninth-floor unit has a black splotchy growth that shows signs of being treated with bleach, which he keeps on a nearby shelf.
“There’s only so much you can do when it’s coming from inside the walls,” Moss said.
Black mold can cause allergic reactions including sneezing, runny eyes or rash, said Brian Huxtable, a public health official with Dayton and Montgomery County’s air pollution section. It can also aggravate other respiratory illnesses, he said.
The mold levels at Wilkinson Plaza weren’t high enough to cause illness, but could have affected people with pre-existing conditions, said Erin Hooper, a spokeswoman for Premier Management of Greater Dayton in an email.
Workers repaired the building’s roof, plumbing and drywall in July and August. They also painted and worked on the building’s heating and cooling units, Hooper said.
“As of August 30, 2011, residents at Wilkinson Plaza were reported to be in relatively good spirits and no one had asked to be relocated to another property,” Hooper said.
Hooper and spokesman Kim Sharp said they didn’t know if the work was inspected afterwards to see if it had addressed the mold problem. They also weren’t sure if any additional work was planned.
Greater Dayton Premier Management employees, including CEO Gregory Johnson, were not made available for comment Friday. Hooper and Sharp work for Focusmark Group, a Cincinnati public relations firm, which Greater Dayton Premier Management hired to interact with the Dayton Daily News.
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