Airborne mold spores confirmed at Sullivan East High School

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Airborne mold spores confirmed at East

BLOUNTVILLE -- Airborne spores of toxic " black mold, " or stachybotrys, were

found in one of eight rooms tested at Sullivan East High School, the head of

the Sullivan County school system announced Friday afternoon.

by RICK WAGNER

Bristol Herald Courier

Oct 12, 2002

BLOUNTVILLE -- Airborne spores of toxic " black mold, " or stachybotrys,

were found in one of eight rooms tested at Sullivan East High School, the

head of the Sullivan County school system announced Friday afternoon.

Testing of air samples also found that another of the rooms had a higher

overall level of mold than outside air.

Comparing outside and inside mold levels is the informal standard used

in mold testing because no national or state standard exists, according to

officials of S & ME, the Blountville company that took the samples tested by

Aerotech Laboratories of Phoenix.

Schools Director O'Dell closed Sullivan East effective Monday after

results of earlier swab tests on classroom ceiling tiles showed stachybotrys

was present in five of nine rooms tested.

Tests then were done for airborne mold spores. One room underwent a swab

test but did not undergo an airborne-mold test along with the other eight

rooms on Oct. 2.

The airborne-mold test results were announced on Friday.

Sullivan East students, some of whom have reported the mold made them

ill, will begin attending classes in Bristol Motor Speedway skyboxes

starting Monday and will continue until the black mold is removed and tests

show it no longer is present, O'Dell said.

" I think this report came back very favorable to us, " he said at a news

conference. " (Airborne spores of) what's commonly known as black mold (were)

found only in one room. "

People must inhale, touch or ingest the spores before suffering any ill

health effects, officials have said. O'Dell said inhalation would be the

most likely way anyone could have been exposed to stachybotrys at Sullivan

East.

He said the decision to close the school was the right one because of

health concerns and because students should not be present while the mold is

removed. The work is projected to cost $400,000 or more, not counting a

nearly $200,000 roof replacement.

The room in which the airborne spores were found was Room G-2, which is

near the gymnasium and is used as a math and reading resource room for

special-needs students.

" It was a huge surprise for us because all the complaints were in the A

circle or library, " O'Dell said.

The largest concentration of black mold found earlier in swab tests of

ceiling tiles was in Room C-32, the art classroom. O'Dell speculated that no

airborne spores were detected there because the mold had not been disturbed.

Meanwhile, Room A-9 was the only room among the eight tested for

airborne spores that showed higher levels of mold spores than in outside

air.

Room A-9 had 1,472 colony-forming units per cubic meter of viable fungi,

including 1,331 that were respirable, or small enough to be inhaled, and 141

that were not because of their size, according to the report.

In contrast, the outside air near Room G-2 tested at 1,296 total fungi

units, made up of 966 respirable and 330 nonrespirable ones.

Room G-2 tested at 577 units of viable fungi -- 94 inhalable and 483

noninhalable. Of the 577 units, 153 were stachybotrys.

Room A-22 tested at 413 units, A-5 at 224, C-1 at 813, C-7 at 354, and

G-14 at 353.

O'Dell said copies of a summary of the report and the whole report would

be available to parents and the public at the schools system's Central

Office in Blountville.

The summary includes a statement from Dr. May, medical director

for the Sullivan County Regional Health Department.

" Mold is a very commonly encountered organism and can be found

everywhere from bathrooms to tennis shoes, " May wrote. " Most people are

generally not affected; however, it can exacerbate symptoms in those who

have chronic allergies or asthma.

" These symptoms can generally be controlled easily with medications

along with decreasing the exposure. "

Teachers, parents and students have reported headaches, upper

respiratory problems, coughs, sleepiness and other health problems. Some

have attributed the symptoms to the mold, specifically the black mold.

A study in Cleveland linked black mold to lung bleeding that killed

infants, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta has

called those findings inconclusive.

Officials of Aerotech, the company that tested the Sullivan East

samples, said symptoms of exposure to stachybotrys " include dermatitis,

cough, rhinitis, nose bleeds, a burning sensation in the mouth and nasal

passage, cold and flu symptoms, headache, general malaise and fever. "

But Dr. Redd, the lead scientist studying air pollution for the

CDC, said in a Friday telephone interview that sleepiness, lethargy,

headaches and malaise were in what he called the " less-confirmed category "

of things stachybotrys could cause.

School officials have said the mold grew in ceiling tiles because

underinsulated chiller pipes, which carry cold water used to cool the

school, dripped condensation onto the tiles.

According to Aerotech, water-damaged ceiling tile is among the prime

breeding grounds for black mold.

Part of the mold-removal work at Sullivan East will include

better-insulating the cooling pipes, officials have said.

Rick Wagner may be reached at rwagner@... or (276) 645-2518.