Mold-stricken wall sections replaced at West Valley High

October 24, 2000

Thursday, October 19, 2000

Education

Marny Lombard - Staff writer

At the first hint of mold in a West Valley High School science classroom

last week, officials replaced the offending section of wall, ran extensive

tests in several classrooms and now are optimistic that the mold is a closed

incident.

" With the way mold is and the way people are, I'm better off pulling (the

wall out), " said West Valley Superintendent Dave . " You don't want mold

getting into your air circulation system. "

It's no wonder that acted aggressively in order to prevent possible

problems.

Mold has become an nightmare in two high schools in Eastern Washington.

Riverside and Kettle Falls, Wash., have suffered years of problems with

mold. In Riverside, a class-action lawsuit is pending regarding the mold. In

Kettle Falls, the state came to the rescue with nearly $70,000 to stem

problems.

The mold at West Valley was discovered by Suzann Girtz, a physics teacher.

She smelled something similar to white board pens. It was a faint smell one

Friday, and overwhelming the next Monday. Girtz, who is pregnant, reported

the smell to Principal Cleve Penberthy. Girtz was sent home on leave for the

week.

At first, suspicions focused on a sink in Girtz' classroom that's designed

to drain chemicals and residues from lab projects into a holding tank.

But as Girtz doesn't teach chemistry, the sink hadn't been used for three

years. That allowed the trap under the sink to dry out and fumes from the

holding tank to filter into the classroom.

Workers resealed that trap, but inspectors kept testing. When they actually

knocked a hole in the wall, they got a positive, if mild, reading for mold.

Two sections of mold roughly a foot-square each were found inside the wall.

It appears the mold is due to moisture that seaped under the windows.

That same exterior wall was probed in several other classrooms and no

moisture was found, said.

Girtz returned to her classroom on Monday.

" I came back ... and I've got an entirely new wall, " she said.

Marny Lombard can be reached at 927-2166 or by e-mail at

marnyl@....

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