Tests say Fairmont Elementary School free of mold

[Guest guest]

http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/ArticleDetail.asp?Cat=HOMEPAGE & ID=18339

Tests say Fairmont free of mold

By Gregg Powers

Press Staff Writer

Fairmont Elementary School is free of black mold.

City's Director of Schools Toni McGriff received negative

mold test results Wednesday.

" It is 100 percent clear, " McGriff said Wednesday afternoon. " There is no

black mold present. This is an indication of the quality work our

maintenance staff does. "

Swab tests confirmed Dec. 12 that toxic stachybotrys, commonly known as

black mold, had been found at Fairmont, prompting McGriff to close two

classrooms in one of the school's buildings and move students to other

buildings on campus.

Two area schools, Sullivan East High School in Bluff City and nearby Holston

View Elementary School in Bristol, have closed in recent months during mold

abatement.

But unlike those cases, Fairmont is an open campus composed of several

classroom buildings. The affected area was in one classroom, and each room

has its own independent air-handling system.

The school remained open while McGriff awaited air-quality test results to

determine whether abatement efforts were successful.

McGriff said the mold was spotted a few days earlier during a routine check

for leaks and other moisture. The mold had grown on a ceiling tile from

moisture spewed by a pressure-reducing valve in a waterline. Even before a

swab test confirmed that the mold was stachybotrys, maintenance crews moved

the valve outside the building, removed and bagged the tile and cleaned the

affected area with a biocide.

Sullivan County officials shut down Sullivan East on Oct. 4 after tests

confirmed the presence of stachybotrys. Mold and mildew problems had existed

at the school for several years, thanks to a leaky roof and condensation

from the school's heating and cooling system.

Students spent next five weeks at nearby Bristol Motor Speedway taking

classes in luxury skyboxes. The county spent about $600,000 to correct

Sullivan East's problems, including roof repairs and mold removal. The

school reopened Nov. 18 after air quality tests indicated successful mold

reduction.

Bristol officials shut down Holston View on Nov. 8 with hopes of a brief

hiatus. Students resumed classes, however, in a nearby church, and are

scheduled to return to Holston View after Jan. 1.

Black mold can produce hay fever-like systems for people with allergies and

can be hazardous to people with weak immune systems. It is known to grow in

water-soaked wood, ceiling tiles, wall paneling and unpainted plaster board

surfaces.

" We have had great cooperation from the students and the parents and

everyone involved, " McGriff said. " We have also taken a proactive approach

to handling things like this. We always want to make our schools as safe as

they can possibly be. "

(Contact Gregg Powers at gpowers@...).