Should they go back to school?

[Guest guest]

Should they go back to school?

Parents weigh options; Plantation classes to resume today

aharris@...

Originally published April 25, 2007

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Experts disagree about whether Plantation Elementary School should

be open before test results are back that show whether there is

toxic mold on campus.

That leaves parents like Jackie Sharpe and Breaux uncertain

about what to do. The school was closed Monday and Tuesday as

workers cleaned air vents and tested air quality. It reopens today,

but the district does not know when the initial results will be back

from the pre-cleaning.

Superintendent Easton said he is " exceedingly comfortable "

sending children back to the school on Kaliste Saloom Road.

One local allergist said recent ailments of Plantation students

could be attributed to many things. A state inspector said, upon a

visual inspection, the school appears safe.

But, two experts from Louisiana - environmental consultant Wilma

Subra and LSU biologist Claudette Reichel - said test results should

come back before putting people back in a building. Two other

national experts said until the source of the Stachybotrys mold

reported to be found in air sampling by the district is found and

remediated and the rest of the building clean, it's not safe for

kids.

Some parents don't feel safe sending their children back into the

school.

Jackie Sharpe's two children have had mild symptoms, but she's

worried about sending her children back to Plantation.

" I have no idea. I've been trying to find out if it's clean, tested,

what is what? I don't know, " Sharpe said. " I don't know what to do.

They're not so sick that they need to be homebound, I'm in a hard

place. "

Breaux said her kindergartner, who received allergy shots

and breathing treatments while attending Plantation, will not be

attending school this morning.

" It's become a trust issue whether the right people and appropriate

people are testing the school. I hate to think that way, I feel like

the board hasn't left us with too many options but to think the

worst, " she said. " We really don't know what to do, who to believe

and who to trust at this point. We are really upset it has turned

into what it has turned into. It should just be about the safety of

the kids and everyone that works and goes to school there. "

Breaux said since pulling her daughter from the school last week,

she has been fine after months of respiratory problems.

School officials contend that the allergist who spoke to parents,

Brent Prather, and the Department of Health and Hospitals official

have said the school is safe. Both performed a walk-through tour of

the campus. School officials also cleaned the band room, where

Stachybotrys was found in air samples. But, the source of the mold

remains unknown and according to experts, Stachybotrys requires high

levels of moisture to grow.

Bordelon, the planning, facilities and maintenance director for

the district, said both the company performing the testing and the

one performing the cleaning most recently reported nothing

suspicious at the campus of more than 600 students.

But, some experts have said until it is known what is in the rest of

the school, it's not prudent to send students back to class.

Claudette Reichel, the extension housing specialist with LSU's

AgCenter who is in the biological and agricultural engineering

department, said " if a source of mold has not been found and

removed, risk of more airborne spores is there. "

" It's a risk that remains. It's a risk they need to deal with, "

Reichel said.

Wilma Subra, an environmental consultant in New Iberia, said if you

don't find the source, the spores will be back in the air.

" You wait until test results come back clean before you allow people

to return, " Subra said.

But, Lafayette Parish School officials continue to contend that the

school is safe. They originally tested three rooms, including the

band room, which their test results showed required attention.

In an April 16 letter from Plantation Principal Kay Marix to

parents, air sampling results showed, " the results of air samples,

especially the amplified levels of Stachybotrys are of particular

concern and may be posing an undue health risk. "

The district closed the room, remediated it and tested again. The

air sampling test results were negative for Stachybotrys. But, some

parents were concerned that the source of the mold was never found,

which means the spores could be back in the air.

National expert, K. May, B.S., R.N., B.S.N., said Stachybotrys

does create a health risk, and until the source of the mold is found

and the school gets back clean results, the school should not be

open.

May, who is accredited by the EPA and OSHA, has been studying the

impact of mold and other hazards for more than 30 years. May said

mold can create a host of health problems and lead to a compromised

immune system, which has lasting effects.

Another expert in the field is Phyllis Filoso, who is certified in

indoor air quality. Filoso said individuals react differently to the

same substances depending on their body chemistry and genetic

susceptibility.

She said factors include exposure to different amounts, stress

during exposure, health, genetics, age and sex, medical treatment,

preexisting conditions and other health problems.

" Children are more susceptible because their systems are still

developing, " she said. " They are still growing. They have higher

respiratory rates and are breathing in more of it than an adult

would. "