The dangers posed by airborne contaminants have been front and center for the last three years as institutional and commercial facilities have worked to improve ventilation and air filtration practices to combat the spread of COVID-19. But the need to improve indoor air quality (IAQ) has been a challenge for maintenance and engineering managers for decades, as the struggles of military facilities to address such problems as mold are demonstrating.
The U.S. Army is continuing its seemingly uphill battle against mold and other ailments affecting its buildings, after extending the deadline on the 100 percent inspection of facilities that it ordered in October, according to Army Times.
The service announced the inspection after a series of reports revealed endemic mold issues impacting soldiers at Fort Stewart in, Georgia and Fort Bragg in North Carolina. At Fort Bragg, the conditions at antiquated barracks on Smoke Bomb Hill were so dire that 1,200 soldiers were relocated a week after a surprise inspection from the Army’s top NCO.
Originally, the inspection of all facilities was supposed to be complete by Nov. 18, according to an internal Army order obtained by Army Times. But that proved too short of a timeline.
The service extended the deadline to Jan. 18, an Army spokesperson said. The later deadline will allow local officials across the service more time, and it will leave time for service-level facilities planners to consider the new data when updating its facilities investment plan at a major conference in late January.
Dan Hounsell is senior editor of the facilities market. He has more than 25 years of experience writing about facilities maintenance, engineering and management.
