Canada’s largest hotel — the Chelsea Hotel Toronto — discovered mould in hundreds of rooms across more than a dozen floors during renovations, but did not disclose this to employees or guests, a Star investigation has found.

The hotel says all the mould has been safely removed and the renovations are set to wrap up May 31.

Contractors for the hotel began removing the mould late last year when it was found at the beginning of renovations to 722 bedrooms in the top 16 floors of the hotel’s north tower on Gerrard St., just west of Yonge St.

After the Star met with hotel management to discuss the discovery, Ron Pellerine, the Chelsea’s general manager, sent a letter to employees stating that it had received “some inquiries regarding our renovation and questions regarding mould.”

“A potential mould issue was identified in the construction site,” reads the letter. “This was investigated and addressed and it was identified that there was no danger or hazard to hotel workers or guests.”

The Star has learned that on May 7, the hotel called an unexpected meeting of the joint health and safety committee, which includes representatives from management and employees, to inform staff of the Star’s inquiries. A summary of the meeting posted at the hotel and seen by the Star shows that management told the committee it had a “highly reputable company remove the mould from the building in a safe manner, following all health and safety guidelines.”

In an earlier interview with the Star, Pellerine said there was “no need or requirement” to tell staff because all the floors were sealed off during renovations.

“When we did the renovation, we shut down all the floors,” he said. “We do that to ensure that no guests or even employees could get on the floor for safety reasons, not just because of mould.”

Pellerine said a “very, very small amount of mould” was discovered in the bathrooms under renovation in the 40-year-old tower, while some mould was found in the bedrooms but not on a consistent basis.

A handful of travellers reviewing the hotel on tripadvisor.ca, which allows people to post anonymously, noticed mould as far back as 2012.

“Disappointing: mold and mildew on the shower (esp. the shower head),” wrote a reviewer going by the name “PAvel R” in March 2012.

The post elicited a response on the site from the hotel’s “guest experience specialist,” who posted an apology.

“The bathroom was gross! Mold on the walls/ceiling, tub was chipped and the wallpaper was peeling off,” wrote a reviewer going by the name Sue M in March 2014. “Mold is dangerous and unacceptable in a hotel of this caliber.”

“Will never be returning to this hotel again. It is more like a dorm room than a hotel. Mold in the bathrooms and holes in the wall where a hair dryer should be. I want my money back!!!” wrote a reviewer going by the name “watsd” on March 16, 2015.

One hotel employee said fellow staff were “shocked” when the Star told them that mould had been discovered.

“I’m very surprised because they should report it to us ... and they didn’t,” said the employee, who spoke to the Star on the condition of anonymity.

Lis Pimentel, president of Local 75, the Toronto branch of the Unite Here union that represents about 500 workers at the Chelsea, said her members were not informed of the mould when it was discovered, despite monthly meetings of the hotel’s joint health and safety committee.

“In any city, a fairly high percentage of people suffer from asthma, myself included. If you have other respiratory issues and you’re exposed to this sort of thing on a regular, daily basis, there could be significant danger. The hotel should have told us for that reason,” Pimentel said.

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The Star obtained photos taken in September 2014 — when guests were still staying in the rooms — by the architectural consultant for the project, WGD Architects Inc. The photos appear to show mould under bedroom window sills, in corners, behind toilets and wallpaper, and on ceilings in dozens of rooms.

A “mould tracking” document authored by WGD Architects and obtained by the Star shows that as of March 31, 2015, the hotel had been billed more than $1.5 million for the removal of mouldy and damaged drywall, installation of new drywall and special enclosures needed for removal of some of the mould.

The document does not state how much mould was found. It estimates the total amount of drywall to be both removed and replaced for all 16 floors to be 12,226 square metres.

“Mould is in many structures and from time to time must be dealt with,” Richard Dabrus, principal at WGD Architects, told the Star in an email. “In the case of the Chelsea, most of what was eventually found was encapsulated behind vinyl wall covering and on the inside surface of the drywall, posing no direct risk.”

During a meeting with a Star reporter at the hotel, Greg Budzalewicz, a spokesperson for the contractor, Tarpon Contracting & Restoration, stressed that the amount of drywall removed is not indicative of the amount of mould found. He said the mould remediation company that was brought in also specialized in demolition, so was asked to remove both mouldy drywall and drywall damaged in other ways.

As a result, when the hotel was billed for mould removal, the totals included the costs for removing both types of drywall.

Budzalewicz also said each hallway where work was being done was blocked off by a door with signs — including signs warning of the presence of mould — telling hotel staff and members of the public they were prohibited from entering.

Mould is considered a risk factor for health problems by both Health Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Labour.

An alert on the ministry’s website about mould in workplace buildings states that “sustained and/or extensive growth of any visible mould on the interior surfaces of a building is unacceptable. Mould growth on the interior surfaces of buildings is a risk factor for health problems.”

The alert says that common moulds pose no threat to healthy people, but may be hazardous to some.

“People who have asthma, bronchitis, hay fever, other allergies, or have weakened immune systems are more likely to react to mould,” the alert states, noting that the most common symptoms of mould exposure are runny nose, eye irritation, skin rash, cough, congestion and aggravation of asthma. The alert also states that there are no known long-term consequences of workplace exposures to mould.

The Occupational Health and Safety Act, provincial legislation that sets out the responsibilities of employers and employees, requires employers to “acquaint” workers or those with authority over workers about any hazard in the workplace and “take every precaution reasonable” to protect workers.

“As a result of these duties and responsibilities, an employer must advise workers of the presence of mould in the workplace,” Ministry of Labour spokesman William Lin told the Star.

The act is enforced through workplace visits by labour-ministry inspectors who have the power to issue compliance orders to employers. Failure to follow these orders can result in convictions that carry a maximum fine of $25,000 or imprisonment for up to 12 months for individuals, and $500,000 per charge for corporations.

The ministry says it visited the hotel on April 23 and ordered it to provide a “designated substance report” to determine whether any mould is present. The ministry defines a “designated substance” as a chemical, biological or physical agent to which workers’ exposure is prohibited, regulated or controlled.

“Compliance status for this requirement continues to be in progress. As this is an active and ongoing investigation, we are unable to provide further details,” Lin said Tuesday.

Correction – May 15, 2015: This article was edited from a previous version that mistakenly referred to the hotel being located on Gerrard St., just east of Yonge St.