Cleaning up moldy St. Pete condo is dangerous job

Article Courtesy of TV Channel 8 -- WFLA

By Shannon Behnken   

Published September 24, 2014

 

ST. PETERSBURG -- Crews spent Friday gutting the inside of a moldy, vacant condo in St. Petersburg. The black mold was so bad that it was spreading to neighboring units.

 

Removing this kind of mold is a detailed, dangerous job. Workers wore respirators and full body suits. They sealed up the entire condo and used an air conditioning unit to create negative pressure inside so that the mold spores did not escape the condo when disturbed during the remediation.

"Mold like this has to be removed by professionals," said James Rizk, owner of OHC Environmental Engineering, hired to oversee the project. "If this were left alone, it would eventually keep spreading."

   

8 On Your Side stepped in earlier this month and demanded answers when a neighbor said the condo was making her sick.
  
Josephine Ramos felt ill for months with headaches and breathing problems. Recently, she had a peak inside the condo next door and couldn't believe her eyes. There was mold covering the counter tops and the walls.
  
The condo was foreclosed and is owned by a bank. Ramos' complaints about the mess led nowhere.
  
8 On Your Side sent photos of the mold to Nationstar Mortgage. Air tests found not only black mold but asbestos, too. Ramos is happy to be in a hotel for now, and she's thrilled that she'll be able to move home to safe environment soon.
  
"I'm so excited," Ramos said. "This has been a long time, a lot of work, struggle," she said. "i'm glad the outcome is finally here, and I'll have a clean condo next door to me."

CONDO ARTICLES HOME NEWS PAGE