Update: Key Middle School safe from mold, HISD says

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Key Middle School safe from mold, HISD says

Houston Chronicle, Houston, TX*

By MATT STILES

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/5104783.html

Report on Key Middle School by ICU Environmental, Heath and Safety

After an independent company's report said Key Middle School does

not pose a mold risk to students and staff, the school opened as

usual this morning for classes.

District spokesman Terry Abbott said inspectors have found the

northeast Houston campus to be safe, contrary to complaints from

custodians that mold had made several workers sick over the weekend

and would endanger others if the school remains open.

" The union has continued to try to scare people about Key Middle

School, but the scientific and medical evidence now clearly

contradicts their claims, " Abbott said today.

Despite the ongoing controversy, several parents said this morning

they felt comfortable sending their children to school. A

representative of the teacher's union said a teacher was already

feeling sick, after his first day back in the classroom.

Corina Ortiz of the Houston Federation of Teachers, said the male

teacher who reported feeling sick last week was having difficulty

breathing this morning and his eyes were watering.

" HISD is saying the building is safe. At this point in time, we are

denying it is safe, " Ortiz said. " The kids are here, so hopefully

nothing will happen. "

Still, Bobbie said she considered keeping home her

granddaughter Brittivia ph, but the girl wanted to return after

the holiday weekend.

" I just let her come, " said as she waited to take her bus to

work. But several other parents dropping off their children along

Kelley Road said they hadn't heard concerns about the school or they

weren't worried.

" We were worried at first until we found out it was the cleaning

supplies that caused the problem, " said Shaw,. who was

dropping off his son, Darius . " Before that, we weren't going

to allow him to come to school. "

Hours after city leaders called for municipal health workers to test

the building, district officials opened the campus at 4000 Kelley to

news reporters on Monday. They then held a news conference with

private inspectors, who said mold is not a threat at the campus.

The tour came two days after at least seven employees became sick

while cleaning rooms in the 50-year-old school. Although some

workers raised concerns about mold, district officials insisted that

bleach fumes were to blame.

Earlier Monday, more than a dozen members of unions representing

teachers and support personnel in the Houston Independent School

District held a protest outside the school.

The protesters, complaining that members were being forced to work

in a hazardous environment, called for an independent assessment.

They said mold was visible in the school and listed numerous

symptoms, including nausea, respiratory ailments and rashes.

" We want the school district to come in and close these doors,

temporarily, and send in a professional (hazardous materials) team, "

said Wretha , president of the 6,800-member Houston

Educational Support Personnel Union.

Also Monday, City Councilman Jarvis , who represents the area

but does not have authority over school policy, got at least one

environmental inspector to look at the structure. City health

department spokeswoman Kathy Barton said later, " We do not see any

threat. "

Abbott, who invited reporters to discuss the issue with several

district executives with responsibility for building safety, said

custodians had been asked to clean the ventilation units in several

classrooms. Those workers accidentally did so with the units

working, which sent noxious chemicals " back into their faces, "

Abbott said.

Reporters were shown several classrooms, including in the area where

custodians were sickened. No mold was visible, but portions of the

building had a dank, musty smell and one laboratory classroom was so

humid that condensation accumulated on desks.

Gilmore, a senior project manager with ICU Environmental,

Health and Safety, supported the district's position that the bleach

caused the sudden illnesses. The company was hired to determine what

had made the workers ill.

Gilmore said most rooms contained fewer microbial agents than

commonly are found in ambient outdoor air. The laboratory had

slightly higher, but not hazardous, levels, he said.

Following Gilmore's recommendations, district officials said they

will continue monitoring air quality for several days. They also

pledged to work harder to keep employees safe.

" Obviously, something went wrong, " said Dick , the district's

chief business officer, although he noted that the workers wore

masks and gloves. " We're going to do a lessons-learned exercise and

look at retraining and see what we've all learned. "

Abbott said the district would be monitoring the conditions at Key

today, despite all evidence that the school is safe.

" Out of an abundance of caution, we have extra facilities experts

and our medical services people at the building today and will

continue to monitor the activity there, " he said.

matt.stiles@...

Staff writer ka Mellon contributed to this report.