Hampton Academy (New Hampshire) begins mold cleanup

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Hampton Academy begins mold cleanup

By Cronin

pcronin@...

HAMPTON - Hampton Academy Junior High officials spent April vacation trying

to get rid of mold that was found in several unoccupied rooms in the school.

Superintendent Gaylord said the mold was identified after the School

Department hired the firm of Desmarais Environmental Inc. to conduct tests at

the school.

The tests were conducted after several faculty members came forward about

being sick and said they believed their illnesses might have to do with the

building.

The report of an indoor air quality survey, conducted in December, January

and February, identified three areas of concern: temperature, carbon dioxide

levels and molds.

According to Ray Desmarais, of Desmarais Environmental Inc., school

facilities manager Lessard led a crew to conduct the cleanup of mold found

in the

elevator control room and in the office of the school resource officer.

Two types of mold, aspergillus versicolor and stachyboytry, were identified

in the elevator control room and in a crawl space, which used to be a bomb

shelter.

The molds were also found in the office of Resource Officer Tom Linane. His

office is located next to the elevator control room.

Linane was placed on medical leave about a month ago for unidentified

" health-related issues " that were suffered while on the job.

The cleanup operation was overseen by Town Building Inspector Schulz.

One of the issues that had to be dealt with was fixing water leaks in the

building, which causes mold growth.

The mold was cleaned with water and bleach.

Gaylord said they have already received preliminary tests that mold is gone.

More tests are underway and once the results are obtained they will be made

public at an upcoming meeting.

The mold that was found in the crawl space will be cleaned when school gets

out in June. The crawl space is full of old furniture with mold growth.

" There was just to much material in there to move in such a short period of

time, " said Gaylord.

School officials want to hire a company certified in mold removal for that

job.

Since the report was issued, that area has been closed off. Gaylord added

that a fan has been installed in the crawl space to ensure that none of that air

escapes into the building.

When the report was made public, Gaylord stressed that parents need not be

concerned. He added if there was any danger to the welfare of students, he

wouldn

’t hesitated to close the building.

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