Some kind of life form has slowly taken over Cole Hall’s basement photo journalism lab.

A black substance has accumulated on the ceilings and crept down the wall. It’s on the photos, chairs, chalkboard, desks and cabinets. It has crept between the pipes, ravaged the ducts and disintegrated a leather book cover on the shelf.

What is it?

It is mold, and it has been accumulating for about 16 years. There is so much that it has disrupted classes and forced students to postpone the printing and developing of pictures. It also has caused lab photo technician Karen Grubb to have five assistants help pack up a large amount of equipment and personal items before a team of inspectors come in at 7 a.m. Monday morning to seal off the lab in chambers for the long cleanup process.

“We have no lab to use and assignments have been deferred,” Grubb said.

Every item in the lab must be wiped down by a special bleach solution or thrown away because they’re suspected to be contaminated by the mold.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency Web site, potential health concerns are an important reason to prevent mold growth by remediation or a cleanup. Several types of molds exist and all molds have the potential to cause health effects.

Molds can trigger allergic reactions and asthma attacks in people allergic to mold and in some rare extreme cases, cancer.

Northern Illinois health inspectors don’t know what kind of mold is in the lab, but samples have been taken.

The suspected source of the mold in the lab is water leakages, as the basement has been known to flood at times.

For 16 years, Grubb said she has been calling various people including the physical plant to get the problem of water leakage fixed.

“Small things have been done to fix the problem, but not enough was done because now we have a very large problem,” Grubb said.

Grubb said she got tired of mopping the floor every time a storm hit DeKalb.

In the late 1980s, Grubb built her own gutter system in the store room of the lab which minimizes flooding and water leakage.

The team of workers is expected to be finished with phase one of the project by Oct. 19, said safety officer Scott Mooberry. It consists of the abatement, or removal of, insulation and tiles on the storage floor. Both contain asbestos, which mold has accumulated on.

The second phase will address the source of the water leakage, which could take a while depending on the severity of the leak, Mooberry added. The inspectors will have to wear safety suits and masks while trapping all mold and asbestos into a sealed plastic bubble.

Grubb is more worried than relieved about the cleanup.

“We are concerned that if the rainwater infiltration problem is not addressed and resolved right away, the mold growth will re-occur soon after the new installation, and we will end up with a repeat of the present conditions,” Grubb said.

Everyone is hoping the cleanup will be as swift as possible.