Mold Concerns In Knox Co. Schools

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Mold Concerns In Knox Co. Schools

Sep 6, 2007

WVLT-TV Knoxville, TN*

Reporter: Jessa Goddard

http://www.volunteertv.com/news/headlines/9624757.html

A group of parents says sending your children into Knox County

schools everyday is the equivalent of sending them into a burning

building.

The problem, they say, toxic levels of mold in the classrooms.

Knox County school officials say mold spores are everywhere, and the

can't get rid of them entirely.

But they are working to fix problem areas.

Lucas says her son, , should be at school with the

rest of his fourth grade class at Farragut Intermediate.

Instead, he's at home, and has been, since August 27th, sick from

exposure to toxic levels of mold.

" I would go to school, he would have severe nosebleeds and he would

get them there, and i would have to bring him home or take him to

the doctor from there. "

To address the growing problem of mold in the classroom, Knox County

school officials added an environmental services supervisor to their

maintenance staff.

Specifically to take samples, test and report mold spore counts.

Rob Riley, the Knox Co. Environmental Services Sup. says, " I can

take airborne levels. I take air samples, and I can also take swab

samples or surface samples and i send those to a third party lab to

get analyzed. "

Riley says just like outdoor mold spore counts vary daily.

Levels inside the classroom can vary, too, and they're doing their

best to accommodate every student.

" With 50,000 and something students, I guess we have, there is going

to be a small percentage that we're not going to be able to help. "

Lucas says she has a problem with that, because her son actually

isn't even allergic to mold, and he wouldn't be sick unless levels

were hazardously high.

" We take precautions with the kind of food that they're allowed to

eat, why are we exposing them to toxic mold everyday? "

Lucas and some other parents and teachers have organized a group

called the Indoor Air Quality Awareness Team to convince Knox County

school leaders to take immediate and drastic action.

In the meantime, will remain home schooled, and says,

for the time being, healthy.

Lucas says she began to suspect mold was a problem five years ago,

when some of 's classmates at A.L. Lotts were experiencing the

same symptoms as him.

Knox county school officials dispute that there is an ongoing mold

problem at any one school, and say they address complaints and

correct them on a regular basis.