Parents, school officials disagree on mold safety

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Parents, school officials disagree on mold safety

Plantation reopens after testing

The Daily Advertiser - Lafayette,LA

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School officials said they were " exceedingly comfortable " sending

children back to Plantation Elementary School on Wednesday, when the

school reopened after two days of mold testing and cleaning.

Not all parents agree. And experts on mold and the results of

exposure to it continue a debate, making it difficult for parents to

decide what to do.

The campus was closed Monday and Tuesday for cleaning and testing

after school officials found a potentially harmful mold in one room.

Seven students have tested positive for tricothecene, a toxin

created by the kind of mold found on campus.

Breaux still is at a loss. Her kindergartner did not attend

school Wednesday.

" I still don't know what to do at this point, the best direction, "

she said.

Bordelon, the school district's planning, facilities and

maintenance director, said the school's principal reported normal

activity on campus when it reopened Wednesday.

" No abnormal amount of absences, " according to the school, Bordelon

said.

But, Breaux isn't sure when to send her daughter, Olivia, back to

the school. Breaux said Olivia has suffered from new allergies and

respiratory problems since beginning school at Plantation on Kaliste

Saloom Road in August.

Breaux has been administering breathing treatments and allergy

treatments, which she stopped recently when she pulled Olivia from

the school. Breaux said her daughter is feeling much better.

Belsom said his two children were not back at school Wednesday,

and he isn't sure when they will go back. One of his children tested

positive for exposure to tricothecene in a urine test that is not

FDA approved. His other child has been tested, and they are waiting

for results.

Breaux said the controversy surrounding testing the school and

appropriate testing for the students has left her searching for

answers.

Jester Nutritional in Maurice, the only area office some parents

found to do the testing, is no longer offering it. Jane Hebert, co-

owner of Jester, would not say why.

Breaux said she may try to have Olivia tested anyway.

One mold expert, Ritchie Shoemaker, a land doctor and author of

Mold Warriors, treats people exposed to toxins, including toxins

produced by mold. Although Shoemaker could not comment specifically

on the case at Plantation, he did share some of his experience with

toxic exposure and the biology of mold.

Shoemaker said air sampling is not the best way to test an

environment.

" The days of relying on air samples have disappeared, " he said.

He said a test that uses the environmental relative mold index is

more appropriate, but not always conclusive. Shoemaker said it is

important to realize that mycotoxins, which include tricothecene,

are part of a bigger picture.

" Mycotoxins are a small part of the iceberg, " he said.

He said many factors can contribute to toxic exposure and measuring

toxins is " rough " because it is not yet known how much it takes to

make someone sick and because each person is different.

" Even if they had the same environment, we do not know the minimum

threshold for the genetically susceptible person to become sick when

exposed, " Shoemaker said.

He said about 24 percent of people have a genetic basis for

susceptibility. Shoemaker said, ultimately, the facts surrounding

cases like Plantation are " a complex biological situation. "