Re: Why our schools are sick (Huntsville, AL)

[Guest guest]

This is the best one yet. Instead of keeping the school dry with

dehumidification ($1 per square foot), we are going to live with the

problem. Lets wipe mold loaded surface after every incident. No

wonder we need lawyers. Dirt and grime causes mold??? High

humidity???

>

http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_s

tandar

> d.xsl?/base/news/1035105477239370.xml

>

> Why our schools are sick

> Mold makes students, staff ill and creates expensive cleanup

problems here

> and nationally

>

> 10/20/02

>

> By CHALLEN STEPHENS

> Times Staff Writer challens@h...

>

> In the basement of Huntsville High School, Col. runs

seven

> dehumidifiers. Over the years, he's heard Junior ROTC cadets

complain of

> runny noses, watery eyes and other allergic reactions.

>

> " They don't normally know what's wrong, " said. " I don't

know that

> the students know so much about the mold. "

>

> A few black stains climb damp ceilings and walls here. Mold grew

over the

> driver's education simulators stored downstairs this summer. The

spots have

> been bleached, scrubbed and contained. But mold doesn't give up

easily.

>

> Across the country, from Nashville to Phoenix, mold and mildew are

creating

> million-dollar repair jobs, as school systems battle a growing

battery of

> respiratory complaints.

>

> " In every school somewhere there is some mold, just like in your

house, "

> said Brown, who oversees maintenance for Huntsville City

Schools. " The

> issue is how much. "

>

> Sometimes, mold can overtake a building.

>

> Earlier this month, a Jefferson County middle school was shut down

> temporarily after teachers and students came down with unexplained

> illnesses. Workers there tried to reduce mold and mildew, which may

have

> caused some of the breathing problems, skin rashes and other

reactions.

>

> In some extreme cases, mold closed a school forever. That happened

in

> Portland, Maine, last year.

>

> One of the first warning signs: black streaks by the air vent.

>

> " That's not a health hazard as long as you keep it under control, "

Brown

> said.

>

> Where mold comes from

>

> Molds grow when moisture and oxygen are present. They cling to

almost any

> surface, from tile to carpet to wood to paper. The mold releases

spores that

> spread through the air. That's usually how mold comes into contact

with

> students and teachers.

>

> Some are allergic to mold.

>

> It can impair breathing and cause rashes when people are allergic.

However,

> some molds also produce acidic molecules that irritate mucous

membranes in

> most people.

>

> And very rarely, schools encounter toxic mold. These potent strains

have

> been blamed for more serious health problems. Teachers in West

Carollton,

> Ohio, sued their school district last year, blaming the toxic mold

for

> memory loss and muscle cramps.

>

> Medical research hasn't confirmed such effects. One study found

toxic mold

> is deadly to infants. But the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention

> rejected that study. Research on toxic mold remains thin.

>

> Huntsville schools have never been sued over mold, said J.R.

, the

> city school board attorney.

>

> There have been no reports of toxic mold in Huntsville or

surrounding

> schools, Brown said. Yet he remains vigilant.

>

> Sick buildings

>

> Several years ago, Carol Spencer remembers rinsing every library

book at

> Challenger Elementary School in Huntsville with diluted bleach.

>

> That summer, mold covered the shelves, said Spencer, who is now the

> librarian at Whitesburg Middle School. Most book jackets survived

the rinse,

> she said. Things were worse next door at Challenger Middle School.

>

> " That was the sickest building I have ever been in in my life, "

said Tom

> Drake, who was principal at Challenger Middle from 1997 to

2000. " Water was

> dripping off the walls. "

>

> Twice teachers returned after summer break to clean green fuzz off

books, he

> said. School officials eventually fixed the air-conditioning system

and

> replaced the roof at Challenger Middle.

>

> Now Drake is principal at Grissom High School. He's seeing some of

the same

> warning signs of mold. There are black spots and fuzz-covered books

in the

> science wing. The roof leaks.

>

> Students with mold allergies complain, he said. So do some parents.

Drake

> has shuffled teachers to accommodate students. He's had custodians

bleach

> seats, walls and vents.

>

> There's not much more he can do, he said. Some days, students go

home sick.

> " Most of the time they just tough it out, " Drake said. Maintenance

knows

> about the problem. But soon the heating system will dry out the

building.

> That should slow the mold for a few months.

>

> " We'll survive with it, " Drake said, " but, good God, it's

aggravating. "

>

> Trapped moisture

>

> There are several reasons mold prefers schools, said Sara Coley, an

indoor

> air-quality specialist for Mid-South Testing in Decatur.

>

> First, schools are not used over the summer. That means the air

conditioning

> doesn't run enough to drain the air of moisture. The schools stay

cool, but

> floors and walls sweat.

>

> Second, starting in the 1970s, schools were built to restrict air

flow. As a

> result, they are more efficient in preventing heat loss, but

moisture can't

> escape. The Environmental Protection Agency says this is a chief

cause of

> mold growth in U.S. schools.

>

> The EPA also says problems at schools are not repaired as quickly

as at

> homes because of budget restrictions. Coley, who has looked for

mold in

> Madison County Schools, would agree.

>

> " Sometimes you have to patch and repair, rather than fix something

the way

> you would like to do, " she said.

>

> Also, Coley said, mold thrives on dirt and grime. Children track a

lot

> through school every day.

>

> Finally, school buildings are often aging. As roofs age, they leak.

Pipes

> drip. There is a never-ending battle to keep the water out.

>

> Green books and desks

>

> The complaints don't stop.

>

> Last year, teachers from Rolling Hills Elementary in Huntsville

complained

> about green spots on books and desks.

>

> This summer, a parent from Madison County Elementary complained to

the

> school board about mold in her child's classroom.

>

> Maintenance supervisors say both problems were cleaned and fixed.

>

> " You can't beat bleach for killing mold, " Coley said.

>

> Dilute it first, she said, maybe one part bleach for 10 parts

water. Or, she

> said, use one of the brand-name fungicides on the market.

>

> " You've really got to stay on top of that, " said Madison County

> Superintendent Ray Swaim, adding that custodians use chemical

cleaners

> weekly in county schools. " We've got that under control. "

>

> In Athens, Brookhill Elementary School, plagued with mold since it

opened 13

> years ago, received a clean bill of health this year. Two years

ago, it was

> shut down while air ducts were replaced and carpet removed. Parents

blamed

> the mold for students' headaches, nausea and nosebleeds.

>

> The school system spent about $1.5 million to fix the problem.

>

> So far, efforts in Madison County have focused on prevention.

>

> Huntsville City Schools started buying mildew-proof ceiling tiles

last year,

> said Brown, the maintenance chief.

>

> School officials installed a staged air-conditioning system at

Highlands

> Elementary this summer. The new system has two compressors for each

> classroom. The smaller compressor can't quite cool the room. When

kids go

> home, the big compressor cuts off, but the little one continues to

run and

> drain the air of moisture even when no one is in the room.

>

> " It's knocking the snot out of the humidity, " Brown said.

>

> There are similar systems at a few sites, Brown said, but many

schools still

> use old ventilation systems that allow the schools to sweat

overnight and

> during the summer.

>

> The county is using microbiological air filters to contain the mold

problem,

> said Kerry Wilkerson, who oversees maintenance for county schools.

The

> county hires outside firms to test the spore count when mold is

found, he

> said.

>

> " We've been real blessed we haven't had that problem, " Wilkerson

said, " but

> we're real watchful. "

>

> A waiting game

>

> For Col. , there's no hope in stopping the mold. Instead, he

runs his

> dehumidifiers and waits. The school board plans to break ground on

a new

> Huntsville High as soon as January.

>

> " The fix is the new school, " said. " We've been saying that

for

> whatever number of years. "

>

> It could be several years until the new Huntsville High opens.

There is no

> firm date. But there is little incentive to replace an outdated

cooling

> system at a school that's destined to be torn down.

>

> " That system is just shot and worn out, " Brown said, talking about

the

> Huntsville High building. " Yeah, they have problems. "

>

> Take 15 kids into the basement, he predicted, and one will have an

allergic

> reaction to mold.

>

> " If you know what's in there, " he advised, " don't go in there. "