Mold attacks floor tiles at town’s schools

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Mold attacks floor tiles at town's schools

By JEFF MILL, Middletown Press StaffPORTLAND -- Large sect06/04/2005

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ions of the flooring in the high school/middle school complex will

have to be pulled up and replaced after tests revealed microbial

growth in the glue that holds the tile in place.

Officials are still working to develop a hard number for the repair

project; but they said Friday the work will almost certainly

cost " in the low six figures. "

At present, an environmental specialist said, the growth is

contained in the glue (or mastic) beneath the floor tiles, and does

not represent a hazard to students or faculty or staff. Tests have

disclosed 19 individual areas in the two schools where the growth

has been discovered, the specialist, M. Weekes, said.

Weekes, who is president of Abacus Environmental Inc., of Ellington,

said, " It is highly unlikely the growth will become airborne. "

" Right now, we know to some extent that it's contained, " said a

lawyer who is representing the town in ongoing discussions with the

company that installed the tile.

Weekes described the growth as a common mold that was created in one

of two ways: in some cases, the growth developed when the tile was

laid on damp concrete. But in other cases, he said, the poorly

aligned or misaligned floor tiles allowed cleaning water to seep

into the glue and begin the microbial growth.

The growth is an extension of the what town officials contend is the

poorly installed flooring in the new $39 million school. Concerns

about the flooring have bedeviled school officials and delayed

completion of the project.

The Board of Selectmen met in a special emergency session Friday

evening to hear an explanation of the scale of the problem, and to

begin to set in motion the process of bringing the issue before

residents at a town meeting later this month or in early in July.

Lawrence G. Rosenthal, the attorney working on the tile issue for

the town, told the selectmen he expects much of the cost of

replacing the tiles can be regrouped through lawsuits against the

company that installed the flooring. But, Rosenthal added, the

remedial work must be undertaken immediately.

" The town cannot wait, " he insisted. " The problem is not going to go

away. "

Weekes said the flooring will have to be torn up in the affected

areas and the glue taken up, then the under floor cleaned with an

anti-bacterial solution before a new floor is laid.

" The problem, " Rosenthal interjected, " is the short time frame. "

He said the work must be done this summer to eliminate any chance of

the growth intensifying or spreading. " We don't want this lying

around until next fall, " when the students come back into the

building.

" It's not airborne, and it's not growing up the wall, " Rosenthal

said. " But, if you don't fix it, you're going to have that problem. "

Donna W. Finkelstein, the chairwoman of the School Building

Committee, said in the meantime, Bengston the director of

building and grounds maintenance for the school department, has

begun applying " an anti-microbial solution " to the floor during

every cleaning in an effort to retard any further growth of the mold.

Weekes said the growth has been found mainly in three areas: in the

music and art section of the middle school adjacent to the new

auditorium; in a lower-level hallway in the middle school; and in

the lower level of the science wing of the high school.

Finkelstein said the affected flooring would have to be removed

under more or less the same conditions that are used to remove

asbestos, to keep the mold spores from spreading throughout the

building

First Selectwoman S. Bransfield said she expects the building

committee to come before the selectmen next week with a firm cost

estimate. She said she hopes to put the issue before residents at a

town meeting on June 20. The earliest the town could award a

contract could be July 7.

" You need to be prepared to have some sections of the building not

available when the building reopens " in September, Weekes cautioned.

Selectmen W. Flood said he was prepared to go to " double

shifts " if need be to correct the problem before school reopens.

Weekes added, however, that " another problem is most of the

contractors who do this kind of work are already tied up for the

summer. "

In addition to the selectmen, Interim Superintendent of Schools Dean

T. Toepfer attended the meeting, as did Board of Education members

Honore Kenney and Allan .

At the conclusion of the meeting, Selectman H.

observed, " We've got to spend the money; its a `no-brainer.' "

" We have no choice, " his colleague, selectman W. Kutz agreed.

Ironically, it was what school building committee members have

characterized as " sloppy work " that led to the discovery of the mold

in the first place, Weekes said.

" We probably never could have discovered this if the floor tile has

been put down correctly, " he said.

To contact Jeff Mill, call (860) 347-3331 ext. 221 or e-mail

jmill@....

©The Middletown Press 2005

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