More on the Canadian School

[Guest guest]

Round 3.

This one now looks to me like they will bring in new experts in mold who

will most likely say it is slightly elevated, but no problem (right or wrong)

while simultaneously leaving a new key component out of the puzzle - that the

children in question are now probably hypersensitive/chemically sensitive from

pre-clean up mold exposure.

Now, their new room might have some sort of chemical component they are

reacting to instead of mold, (but would not have reacted to had it not been for

their mold exposure). They are going to be looking for answers in the

building, when they also need to be looking for answers in the children...it

seems

to me.

" Every time (Dwayne) goes (to school) he gets a rash, a headache or

a sore throat, " Hendriks said.

The last time the seven-year-old attended class was April 19 and 20.

Two days later he ended up in the emergency room, because he had a

sore throat and a rash on his face, Hendriks said.

Mould worries parent of Tecumseh school student; school mould Blamed

for son's rash

Chatham Daily News - Chatham,Ontario,Chatha

ELLWOOD SHREVE / The Daily News

_http://www.chathamdhttp://wwhttp://wwwhttp://wwwhttp://www.c_

(http://www.chathamdailynews.ca/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?)

contentid=506320 & <WBR>catname=L<WBR & classif=

Tony Hendriks sees a disturbing trend when his seven-year-old son

Dwayne Somerville goes to school - he becomes ill.

The Grade 2 Tecumseh Public School student stayed home this past

week recovering from a rash his parents believe is being caused by a

mould situation at the Chatham school.

" Every time (Dwayne) goes (to school) he gets a rash, a headache or

a sore throat, " Hendriks said.

The last time the seven-year-old attended class was April 19 and 20.

Two days later he ended up in the emergency room, because he had a

sore throat and a rash on his face, Hendriks said.

Since being off school, Dwayne's rash has almost cleared up and he's

feeling better, his dad said.

However he's not sure about sending his son back to school.

" Our main concern is with his health, " Hendriks said. " He's not

going to get his education if he's not healthy. "

He wants his son to return to class, but wants to make sure Dwayne's

going to stay healthy.

Dwayne's class has been removed from Room 124 at the school after

mould was discovered in the room before March Break.

There continues to be a mould situation at Tecumseh school, despite

extensive remediation work on the ventilation system and other

cleanup measures, confirmed LKDSB director of education Gayle

Stucke.

But a baffling situation has arisen with the all-purpose room the

Grade 2 class from Room 124 used after the mould situation arose.

Stucke said some students and the teacher continue to have a

reaction in the form of rash, despite the fact the all purpose room

has tested clear of any mould.

" I don't think that room is near as clear as they say it is, "

Hendriks said.

The class has since been moved from the all-purpose room, Stucke

said.

She said parents would be advised to see their family physician to

see if their children are allergic to something because testing

shows " it's not a mould problem in that room. "

If a specific allergy can be pinpointed, she said testing for that

can be done.

As well, the board has contacted a London doctor who specializes in

environmental issues, Stucke said. Arrangements are being made to

have the doctor consult with board officials and interested staff,

she added.

The Ministry of Labour is aware of what the board is doing along

with the Chatham-Kent Health Unit, she said.

Although he hasn't seen any of the affected people at Tecumseh or

consulted with their physicians, Chatham-Kent'consulted with their

Health, Dr. Colby said, " I would be highly skeptical that this

has anything to do with the mould that's growing there. "

Mould is everywhere and humans deal with just fine with our immune

systems, he said.

" In any group of people, you have some unexplained symptomotology

for various things going on their life (such as) viral infections,

skin irritations or allergies, " Colby said. " I think it's highly

presumptuous, at the very least, to blame all this on the fact

there's some mould growing in a couple of classrooms. "

Meanwhile, the battle with mould continues at the school.

Consultants recently conducted clearance testing, which showed all

affected rooms at Tecumseh to be at acceptable levels, except Room

124, which had an elevated level of the mould type cladosporius,

Stucke said.

" There's no explanation as to why it would show up in that room

(now) when it hadn't shown previously, " she said.

Stucke said another firm has been called in to work with the

original consultant to try to get to the bottom of this situation.

Evasive testing, which included taking out a panel at the top of the

wall, showed the presence of mould, she said. The mould was

contained to the panel, but wasn't the same type of mould found in

the air, she added.

" It really is a quite a mystery, " she said, noting the school is

clean, bright and well maintained.

Panels in Room 124 are being replaced and the two consultants will

work together to do more testing, " and hopefully that will be it, "

she said.

" We're determined we're going to find a solution, " Stucke said. " I

think we've demonstrated we're willing to do any remediation that's

required. "

************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.