Mold found in area school

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Mold found in area school

Chambersburg Public Opinion - Chambersburg,PA

By ROXANN MILLER For Public Opinion

http://www.publicopiniononline.com/localnews/ci_5647124

Public concerns about conditions in the St. Elementary School

prompted school officials to test the school and find mold in

portions of the building.

On April 4 and Monday, Analytical Laboratory Services Inc.,

burg, performed a fungal sampling survey and visual inspection

at the school that houses 400 kindergarten through fifth-grade

students.

The scope of the survey was to visually inspect accessible areas for

water infiltration or fungal growth and collect air samples for

fungi.

According to a letter that was sent home with students

Wednesday, " fungal growth was identified on pipe insulation above

drop ceilings in one wing of the school. "

The wing affected is the north wing, the newest portion of the

school, which was renovated in 1991. About half of the students in

the school occupy this wing.

Twelve classrooms and the hallway of the wing are affected. Eight of

the 12 classrooms are slated for remediation while the other four

will be addressed, according to Business Manager Rick Kerr.

" ALS said the school didn't need to be closed, but the mold had to

be removed, " Kerr said.

ALS tested for eight types of mold, but the district was most

concerned about aspergillus/penicillium, according to Kerr.

" We found other types of mold, but I was concerned about

aspergillus/penicillium because in one room it was much higher than

the outside air count, " Kerr said.

He said school administrators were unaware of any mold issue until

the Public Opinion posted a story about the Buchanan High

School in Mercersburg that sparked online comments about mold in the

elementary school in St. . Both schools are part of Tuscarora

School District.

" Nobody was aware of the mold. Everybody was shocked, but because

there were community comments, we went back and looked at the

history and the history was it (St. Elementary School) was

clean in 2004 but in 2000 there were a couple of classrooms that had

to be remediated, " Kerr said.

" Our initial response was from the online comments that we were

hearing and when we talked to the maintenance director we found the

last air survey was done in 2004, " said Nadine , St.

Elementary School principal. " We did this to be proactive. "

In 1992, the district had to install an external drain outside a

couple of classrooms because water was getting into the building and

causing mold. Then, in 2000 mold appeared in a couple of classrooms.

In an effort to solve the most recent mold issue, some students will

be moved today to the art and music rooms.

All mold removal will take place after school, weekends and during

the summer months to minimize disruption to the students.

" I tell parents all the time our responsibility is to educate the

students and to keep them safe. In order to keep them safe we have

to get rid of this mold, " said.

Also this afternoon ALS, environmental consultants for the district,

is to bring in three or four contractors in a pre-bid conference.

The contractors are expected to present the district with their

quotes on Monday or Tuesday.

Kerr said the remediation will take three to five days per

classroom, if it is done one classroom at a time.

It will cost between $30,000 and $40,000 for the remediation, which

does not include the cost of replacing insulation.

Kerr said the money for the project will probably come from the

approximately $200,000 that was earmarked for either the reserve

fund or to repair the high school swimming pool.

Both and Kerr said they are not aware of any students who

have exhibited health issues due to the mold.

Kerr said the district does not conduct routine air testing.

" It (testing for mold) averages $2,000 a building, and if there's

not an indication that there's a problem, I don't feel like spending

the taxpayers' money, " Kerr said. " In this case because there was

community comment on that article, people asked the question. That's

why we did this. Because the 2004 air quality was OK we didn't have

a concern at St. . But people said there was mold at St.

, so we decided it was worth looking into. "

Kerr said the district is considering conducting air quality testing

in the other unrenovated buildings this summer as a precaution.

The other unrenovated buildings are the high school and Mercersburg

Elementary School.

McGarvey, spokesperson for the state Department of Health,

said the school district is using a firm, ALS, that has extensive

experience in the field of environmental issues and confirmed that

the company has conducted air quality testing in other schools in

the state.

While the state Department of Health does not require school

districts to conduct air quality testing, it has established a set

of guidelines dealing with indoor air quality.

Health risks

McGarvey, spokesperson for the state Department of Health,

said mold may or may not cause health problems.

" It is very difficult to say what the symptoms are for people who

are exposed to mold and that's because the symptoms can range from

nothing to headaches and respiratory trouble. It's a very individual

reaction and each individual reacts differently to mold. That makes

it hard sometimes because one person might have a runny nose and

another person in the same classroom won't have any problems at all -

- while another person may be complaining of having trouble

breathing, " he said.

Air quality

What Pennsylvania guidelines say:

- Children may be especially susceptible to air pollution. The same

concentration of pollutants can result in higher body burden in

children than adults because children breathe a greater volume of

air relative to their body weight.

- The typical school has about four times as many occupants as

office buildings for the same amount of floor space. A variety of

potential pollutant sources exist in schools, including art and

science materials, industrial and vocational arts, and gymnasiums.

- Sources of indoor air contamination include polluted outdoor air

and underground sources (e.g. radon, pesticides, and leakage from

underground storage tanks). Indoor air contamination can also be

caused by a variety of indoor sources (e.g. equipment, furnishings,

and housekeeping supplies).

- To prevent or help resolve indoor air quality problems effectively

and efficiently, schools must ensure that recommended temperature

and relative humidity ranges be maintained in the indoor air and

that the HVAC system is working properly.

- Pollens and molds may cause allergic reactions, such as asthmatic

episodes, for many individuals. No standards exist for biological

agents in indoor air, although the American Society of Heating,

Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers recommends relative

humidity levels between 30 and 60 percent to control growth.

Other control measures include general good housekeeping and proper

maintenance of HVAC equipment. Adequate ventilation and good air

distribution are also helpful.

-- Pennsylvania Department of Health Indoor Air Quality Guidelines

for Pennsylvania Schools, May 2002