Huntington Beach, CA, June 20th, 2019
KTVU recently broadcasted a report about complaints from students living in an aging dormitory at a top university in California. According to their reporting, students have expressed concerns about rodents, bed bugs, mold and other issues in a dorm that costs over $17,000 per year to reside in.
Not only is it unpleasant to live with rodents, bed bugs and mold, their presence can create indoor environmental quality (IEQ) problems. Rodents can spread certain diseases and allergic reactions are another potential health issue. Exposure could even trigger an asthma attack in some people with the condition. For some residents, an allergy or asthma attack could be triggered by touching areas or breathing air contaminated with rodent allergens.
The presence of bed bugs can be an ongoing annoyance because they often cause itching and loss of sleep for people living in an infested property. Some people may even suffer allergic reactions to their presence.
Dorm residents that are exposed to elevated levels of mold may experience various health issues. Molds produce allergens, irritants and in some cases, toxic substances known as mycotoxins. Inhaling or touching mold or mold spores may cause allergic reactions in sensitive individuals or trigger an asthma attack in some asthmatics. As an irritant, mold can impact people’s eyes, skin, nose, throat and lungs of individuals whether or not they are allergic to it. Breathing mold may also cause hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP), a disease that resembles bacterial pneumonia.
“Over the past several years there have been numerous media reports of students in dormitories across the nation dealing with these types of IEQ issues,” said Michael Chapman, Laboratory Manager at LA Testing’s Huntington Beach facility. “At LA Testing we can help in these situations through IEQ testing, sampling supplies and even easy to use test kits. Testing can be instrumental for identifying the presence of mold, bed bugs, rodent allergens and other conditions. These same tests can also help to determine the effectiveness of any efforts to remediate, eliminate or mitigate these exposure concerns if testing takes place after these efforts have been conducted.”
To learn more about mold, bed bug, rodent allergen or other environmental testing services, please visit www.LATesting.com, email info@LATesting.com or call (800) 755-1794. To obtain IEQ test kits, visit www.EMSLTestKits.com.
About LA Testing
LA Testing is California’s leading laboratory for indoor air quality testing of asbestos, mold, lead, VOCs, formaldehyde, soot, char, ash and smoke damage, particulates and other chemicals. In addition, LA Testing offers a full range of air sampling and investigative equipment to professionals and the general public. LA Testing maintains an extensive list of accreditations including: AIHA LAP LLC., AIHA ELLAP, AIHA EMLAP and AIHA IHLAP, CDC ELITE, NVLAP, State of California, State of Hawaii Department of Health and other states. LA Testing, along with the EMSL Analytical, Inc. network, has multiple laboratories throughout California including South Pasadena, Huntington Beach, San Leandro and San Diego.