Mold found at another school

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Mold found at another school

Amador Ledger-Dispatch - ,CA

By Jenifer Gee

http://www.ledger-dispatch.com/news/newsview.asp?c=210151

Mold found in two portables at Ione Elementary School is in the

process of being cleaned up, according to Amador County Unified

School District administrators, who, along with county health

officials, are also investigating a potential mold finding in two

classrooms at Pine Grove Elementary School.

The test results for the Pine Grove classrooms will take up to seven

days to be returned and as a precaution, students in those

classrooms were relocated to another area of the school.

At Ione Elementary, one room was found to have one mold spore. The

room was completed and retested and is now clean. In the other room,

inspection and testing found that a higher than usual level of

allergen/mold was present.

Students were removed from both classrooms so they could be cleaned

and they will not be allowed back into those rooms until the Amador

County Environmental Health Department and a certified industrial

hygienist grant their consent, according to school district

administrators.

The same procedures will be in place for Pine Grove Elementary

should test results indicate a mold presence.

To identify other potential mold problems in other county schools,

the district is sending Indoor Air Quality Surveys to every school,

where teachers will complete the surveys before spring break. The

surveys will help the district prioritize inspections.

" The teachers need to help us out, " said Assistant Superintendent of

Business Services Barbara Murray.

On Thursday afternoon, a representative from the Joint Powers

Authority gave a presentation in the Ione Elementary School

gymnasium to parents, teachers, administrators and community members

about mold and the test results in the two portables at the school.

Doug Carson explained to the about 30 person audience the different

types of mold, how mold forms and how it can be removed.

Carson works for the Joint Powers Authority, which is a combination

of representatives from about 20 school districts in California who

work to reduce injuries and property and liability claims as well as

eliminate hazards.

During the meeting that lasted about three hours, parents asked why

schools can't inspect each classroom every year before school

starts.

" I know you'd like to hear 'yes,' but it isn't cost effective, " said

ACUSD Director of Facilities and Operations Matt Sherwood.

Sherwood and Carson also explained that mold is difficult to find

unless there is a water leak that can be traced to mold.

Carson said one way teachers can prevent mold growth in their

classrooms is to constantly run the heating, ventilation and air

conditioning system or a fan because it circulates fresh air into

the room.

Mike Huss, the Ione Elementary teacher who reported the mold in his

classroom, stated that teachers were now feeling pressure to turn

the HVAC system off to save on energy costs for the district.

Murray answered that all of the information she was receiving " is

new to me " and said she understands now that the fan needs to be

running, while the HVAC system can be turned off periodically.

One source of mold, Carson said, are plants. " Plants don't use up

that much carbon monoxide and what they bring is a lot of mold, " he

said.

Other mold sources include occupants, bioaerosols, heat, hair spray

and dry cleaning solvents.

Another issue the district will have to address is the life

expectancy of its portables. At Ione Elementary, the portables range

from three years old to 20 years old, which is the suggested shelf

life of a portable.

When health officials review a report on mold testing results, they

check to make sure the indoor count of allergens is less than the

outdoor count and that the species indoor and outdoor are the same.

They also look to identify if spores are slow growing or fast

growing.

When the test results yielded that there was one mold spore species

in the room that wasn't outside, it signaled a " red flag, " Carson

said, but doesn't indicate a severe health risk.

While the mold has been removed, there are still in-depth tests that

need to be conducted and the roof on room 16 needs to be replaced,

Carson said.

" We're not done, " Carson said. " I don't think there's a health risk

here but we're not done either. "

Mold 101

- All mold is an allergen.

- Mold has to have water to grow.

- There are 100,000 species of mold but only a handful of molds

create problems.

- Mold can be found in mirrors, wallpaper, under the carpet, under

sinks and toilets, and inside walls.

- Mold cannot be killed. It must be physically removed.

- Specific and non-specific side effects of mold include headache,

fatigue, shortness of breath, sinus congestion, coughing, sneezing,

dizziness and nausea.

- Mold spores are seeds that float, land on something and then

sprout.

- Too high relative humidity is at 60 percent, which means high

condensation forms and mold grows.