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Fungus
Health crisis at university building
Claudiu Ludoşan, Simina Mistreanu
Water leaking into the A building in the Leu campus is threatening its structural soundness, interfering with education and poses a health hazard to students and professors alike.
The eight-story building on 1-3 Iuliu Maniu Boulevard is shared by three owners: The Polytechnics University, The Romanian Academy and The University of Bucharest.
Two Faculties of the University, Psychology and Journalism, each occupy one floor. The Institute of Political Science and International Relations (PSIR) belonging to the Academy occupies the 7th floor. The building’s main owner and administrator is The Polytechnics University.
The leak appears to originate from the terrace on the 8th floor. Water infiltrates through the concrete walls, slowly affecting the entire structure. The effects can be clearly seen on the 6th and 7th floors where some of the offices walls have grown mold. The water is affecting electricity installations, telephone lines, furniture, computers and documents held there.
The situation has been allowed to continue for months without any action being taken. The Faculty of Journalism, which is on the 6th floor, made its first official complaint last June. The University responded and calculated along with the Polytechnics the amount that each owner needed to pay to repair the damage.
“The Polytechnics is organizing the tender for firms to repair the terrace. But for this, they need the agreement of all the owners,” said Marian Cilibiu the university’s general administrative director. “Each owner has to pay his share of the total price, depending on how much of the building he owns. We will pay for the two floors that we have.”
Cilibiu said he believed the delay was caused by the Academy’s refusal to pay its share. Journalism Faculty Dean Mihai Coman doesn’t understand why the tender is taking so long. “The biggest problem is indifference, the carelessness with which The Polytechnics treats this situation. Why do they need 100 years to make the auction for repairs of gutters and terraces?” he said.
“Besides that, we never had access to the roof. The roof was rented for several purposes and we never received any benefits from this. When it comes to repairs, we are asked to give money.”
Raluca Radu, university assistant at the Faculty of Journalism, is one the daily victims of the wall mold. Her office is two floors directly under the terrace, and is one of the most affected by the water. “We had two mushrooms on the walls, one was pink and the other one was brown, and besides that, the light system isn’t functioning anymore. We have also a mushroom which appears periodically in the R3 classroom” said Radu.
Dr. Ion Bulei, university professor at the PSIR, said that the Academy had agreed to pay its share, and that this payment is included in the 2007 budget. “We received money especially for these repairs. Last year the Academy agreed and it was something theoretical, and this year everything is real. We have the money, but The Polytechnics must redo its initiative”.
But officials could not say when the problem will be fixed. Mr. Zaharia the administrator of the building refused to make any comment on the matter. Under the law, classes should have stopped because the situation jeopardizes the physical health of the students.
Prolonged exposure to mold can cause eye irritation, nasal stuffiness or wheezing. More severe reactions are possible in people with allergies, asthma, respiratory disease or a weakened immune system and include fever, shortness of breath or infection.
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