Lake Zurich school district confronts mold concerns

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Lake Zurich school district confronts mold concerns

Air quality is questioned in Whitney Elementary School and facility

reopened to house Whitney kids

Chicago Tribune*

By Tara Malone | Tribune reporter

April 7, 2008

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-school-

mold_08apr08,1,6940106.story

When flooding, asbestos and toxic mold shuttered a Lake Zurich

school last fall, administrators shifted students to a vacant school

next door.

A Lake Zurich School District 95 official called the move " overly

cautious " at the time. But eight months later, some parents and

janitors contend it may not have been cautious enough as this school

might also have mold problems.

Parent Carolyn Fitzgerald is urging the district to hold a public

hearing about air quality at Whitney Elementary School's new home

after a janitor described " green and yellow mold " in ceiling tiles

when he spoke to a panel of state lawmakers last month. District

officials dispute the description, citing reports that said the

reopened school's air quality was acceptable.

The exchange illuminates the challenge of gauging indoor air quality

in public schools, given that it's largely unregulated.

Fitzgerald and other district residents said they plan to circulate

a petition this week to rally support for a meeting and have worked

with state Rep. Ed Sullivan Jr. (R- Mundelein), who offered to

mediate the forum.

" Leaky, damp buildings lead to poor, indoor air quality that can

lead to poor health, " said Fitzgerald, who said she removed her son

from the school because she was concerned that any mold could affect

his health.

Fitzgerald spoke Monday during a rally organized by the Service

Employees International Union in the northern suburb to support two

workers dismissed by Aramark Corp., the company District 95 hired to

provide custodial services. The workers contend they were fired

after they spoke publicly about the mold. Charges have been filed

with the National Labor Relations Board and await review, a board

official said.

An Aramark spokeswoman said the dismissal was unrelated to talk of

mold.

The school district closely monitors air quality in the reopened

school, and the results of a Feb. 2 test came back " just fine, " said

district spokesman Jim Jennings. Mold concentrations found indoors

were less than half the concentrations found outdoors, a common

measure of a healthy building environment, the report found. Results

are pending from another test. " We ordered new air testing to test

for mold since the new allegations came out, just so we can put this

thing to rest, " Jennings said.

An Illinois Department of Public Health inspector did not find

evidence of mold during a routine asbestos check in September, said

agency spokeswoman Melaney Arnold.

School air quality remains largely unregulated. The Environmental

Protection Agency offers guidelines that instruct schools how to

avoid mold or clean it up when detected. There are standards for

ventilation and work-place safety.

" But no agency has regulatory authority over the indoors of a

school, " said Mark Bishop, deputy director with the Healthy Schools

Campaign. " One of the issues with indoor environments is . . . it's

very hard to point to a single measurement or single number and

determine whether air is healthy or not. "

Lawmakers considered the issue as part of a hearing before the

Illinois House education committee last month.

Rep. Jerry (R-Rock Falls) said Lake Zurich is not the only

school district to confront the possibility of mold. He said a step-

by-step process might be needed to guide schools or parents as they

investigate the presence of mold.

Meanwhile, some Lake Zurich parents hope a public hearing about air

quality in the Whitney school will spur the district to answer their

remaining questions and do further tests.

District resident Virginia , a retired teacher, said she

became concerned when a report last fall said the school had high

humidity levels, often a contributing cause of mold.

" I hope to heavens that building is perfectly safe, but unless we

actually see something that makes sense and that the EPA and board

of health can look at and say 'this is reasonable,' " she and others

won't be satisfied, said.

District officials closed Whitney Elementary School when mold was

found after a flood in August. It was shuttered permanently when

tests revealed the mold was capable of producing toxic chemicals and

that an extensive clean-up would be required. The school's 450

students were moved to a vacant former middle school.

An Aramark employee, Gustavo Gomez, helped prepare the vacant

school. Gomez told lawmakers that he " saw [ceiling tiles] that were

very old, and they were covered in what appeared to be yellow and

green mold. "

Jennings said what Gomez described as mold " could also just be dust

that was wet. "

tmalone@...