Mold in hospital’s maternity unit sickens more than 50 employees

More than 50 employees in the maternity unit at New York's Staten Island University Hospital North say they've been sickened in recent months by an odor that has been linked to mold, according to an article on the Fox News website.

Air monitoring devices have detected mold at “moderately elevated levels” in addition to “trace levels of anesthetic gases” in the nursery at Staten Island University Hospital North.

The hospital also found “water-borne mold behind a sink wall” and noted the “trace levels” of the anesthetic gases were sevoflurane and nitrous oxide, which “are routinely used during surgical procedures,” the hospital said.

The hospital said the detected amounts “pose no risk to patients, staff or visitors, but some of the affected nurses told the New York Daily News the mold has caused them to become ill, resulting in headaches, dizziness and sore throats, among other alleged symptoms.

Read the article.