Teachers move mold off the back burner

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Harvard Post

Harvard, Massachusetts

Teachers move mold off the back burner

By Moberly

Friday, November 12, 2004

After years of discussion and considerable documentation, the debate about

solving the mold problem in the Harvard Elementary School's kindergarten wing is

moving off the back burner and into the community. The issue has faded in and

out of prominence over the years as other projects have taken the limelight

but now appears poised to rise to the top of the town's agenda.

     A recent report by Environmental Health, Inc. has prompted renewed

interest in the problem and the best way to solve it. The report, issued by

Terrell of Environmental Health of Hollis, N.H., was conducted at the behest

of the Harvard Teacher's Association. According to President Diane Temple, HTA

received a $4,000 grant from the Massachusetts Teacher's Association to

retain an independent environmental consultant to review data gathered

throughout

the school by OccuHealth, Inc. of Mansfield. School Superintendent Mihran

Keoseian retained OccuHealth in 2002 to test, measure and document indoor air

quality at the elementary school in light of disagreeable odors, the

long-standing

presence of mold from roof leaks and anecdotal evidence of adverse health

effects on some staff and students. Terrell reviewed the data and

recommendations

made by OccuHealth in February 2003 and presented his recommendations in a

report dated Sept. 5.

     When asked why the HTA hired the environmental consultant, Temple said,

" We have been concerned for the last four years that we had a sick building

and that no one was doing enough to solve the problem. While the new wing of the

high school was being constructed there was no thought to doing very much

here, although I understand almost $140,000 has been spent on remediation

efforts

in the K wing. OccuHealth has done monitoring for the last three or four

years and their reports indicated that we had a serious problem and it shouldn't

be ignored.

      " We wanted to be the yeast on this issue, " she said.

     

Causes

     The presence of active mold in wall cavities of the kindergarten wing is

the result of water leakage compounded by time, according to the reports. Bad

roof design is responsible for much of the leakage HES has experienced,

Terrill said, something typical of the building's era.

      " Schools get maintenance that isn't on par with other buildings. If you

owned a company you wouldn't let the roof leak for five years. But schools are

always strapped for cash: They put wastebaskets under the leaks. " Bill

Spacciapoli of the Harvard Board of Health agrees with this assessment.

      " There are ongoing problems that stem from design issues and maintenance

issues at the school, " he said. These problems stem from the leaks and

associated water build-up in many of the building's interior spaces and have led

to

active mold growth within wall cavities. In a report from February 2003,

Hamilton, the Certified Industrial Hygienist from OHI, wrote, " The fungal

growth, which likely resulted from chronic roof leaks and associated water

filtration, is contained within the wall cavities but has not negatively

impacted

the air in the school rooms. "

     Mold growth contained within the wall cavities, however, is

extraordinarily high, according to both the OHI report and the review of

documents

provided by Environmental Health. While counts of mold spores below 20,000

counts per

cubic meter are considered normal, their report said, OHI tests found levels

of pathogenic mold spores numbering in the millions within several wall

cavities. But continuous quarterly testing of the indoor air quality at the

school

has never shown abnormal levels of mold, indicating that the spores have not

breached the walls. In a phone interview Nov. 3, Hamilton said, " As of this

date, testing has not shown that mold in the walls is affecting the air. "

     

Remediation

     Although testing has not shown unacceptable levels of mold in the indoor

air, the Board of Health has recommended a number of remedial steps in an

effort to improve indoor air quality. When asked why they issued orders in the

absence of data indicating problems, Bill Spacciapoli said, " We remediate things

based on recommendations put out by the DEP and the EPA and are supported by

the CDC, which really say you have to look at maintenance issues because

there's really no good way to establish an acceptable level of mold. So you

really

have to fall back on what are " good practices' for caring for the facility. "

     Some of these practices have included pressurizing the crawl space in

the kindergarten wing to keep moist air from coming up through the floor,

sealing off the boiler room from the rest of the building and recommending the

replacement of some of the carpeting. Spacciapoli said that he believes these

steps

have improved the conditions at the school, and said " It was much worse. Are

we where we want to be? Absolutely not. But we're headed in the right

direction. "

     To date, almost $140,000 has been spent on remediation in the wing,

according to Keoseian. This phased approach to remediation has generated some

concern that money is being spent on " Band-Aids, " and does not represent a

comprehensive solution to the problem. Nor has it satisfied many of those

concerned

with the possible health effects mold can have on human health.

     Continued next week.