Butte mold attributed to water leaks, sloppy mopping

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Butte mold attributed to water leaks, sloppy mopping

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By DANIEL DULLUM, Staff Writer October 23, 2008

Casa Grande Valley Newspapers - Casa Grande,AZ,USA

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QUEEN CREEK - After confering with indoor environmental experts in a

closed meeting on Wednesday, the Florence Unified School District is

continuing with its efforts to remove mold that appeared in a couple

of classrooms at Butte K-8 earlier this month.

" People may find this incredible to believe, but you're not

obligated by law to do anything about mold in a school, " Derrick A.

Denis, vice president of indoor environmental quality for ,

Seif, , Inc., of Tempe, said. " But the general health

guidelines tell you that it should be addressed.

" What we have at Butte is typical of what we have in most

buildings in America. We've found mold in hospitals, schools,

commercial buildings, homes. But in this case, we have the luxury of

working with a district that was proactive and interested in

identifying every place where there might be an issue. Now that

we've done that, we're going to go get 'em. "

Denis said that an old mopping procedure was the main source of the

moisture that helped the mold spread into two classrooms at

Butte.

" About four years ago, there was a change in mopping procedures, "

Denis explained. " Apparently, mopping was done in a very water-

intensive manner - a bucket on the floor, dump the bucket, slosh,

slosh, slosh. If you get water under the baseboard and it gets into

the drywall, the vinyl baseboard keeps the water from evaporating.

" Most of the mold we found is in spots behind the baseboard, and

it's probably associated with mopping. "

A second cause of moisture was what Denis called " miscellaneous

plumbing. "

" It can be almost anything, like a toilet that overflows,

handwashing stations that may have a leak, probably associated with

plumbing, " he said. " We did find some wet areas associated with

bathrooms that need to be investigated. "

Noting that mold cannot grow without water, Denis explained part of

the plan is identify the water source, address the mold, and prevent

the mold.

" What we're trying to do is develop a plan that covers all of those

things, " he said. " Prevention will include backsplashes in those

areas that seem to be getting water, use different kinds of

baseboards.

" We did our discovery this week and we know what we've got. Now

we're trying to determine scheduling, budget, and what are the best

repairs. We just presented the district with the information, now

they can decide what actions to take. "

Denis said that his answer to every parent who has asked if mold

will return to the school is " probably, yes. "

" Of course. If there's a leak that goes undiscovered in any

building, you'll have mold growth, " he said. " The objective is to

try not to have leaks and discover those that you can and respond in

a timely fashion. "

According to Larry Cline, FUSD public information, there has been no

determination

on specifically what kind of mold was found.

" We've been told there are nearly 100,000 species of mold, and from

that number, 10 or 12 are toxic or possibly fatal, " Cline

said. " However, because of the tests have have been done, we've been

assured that toxic mold is not a worry at this time.

" Safety is our district's top priority, " he continued. " Many air

quality tests have been performed, and the district is comfortable

and pleased with results from our consultant. "

Denis added, " There are nearly 1,000 different kinds of mold spores

that can be found in this part of Arizona. The mold we found is

really a hodge-podge of possibly 10 or 12 different molds growing on

the same spot of wall. But it really doesn't matter what kind of

mold it is. If any mold is present, that's unacceptable and should

be addressed immediately and be treated as if could present a health

risk.

" The biggest risk from mold is for people with allergies. "

Cline said the district's course of action involves three levels.

The " discovery phase "

is where all rooms at Butte have been inspected for visible

mold. Toward that end, Cline reports that the baseboard in all rooms

have been removed in search of mold.

" In doing that, we have found some mold, but it's a limited amount, "

he said.

The " remediation phase, " which involves locating and removing the

mold, began Wednesday, and the " reconstruction phase, " if necessary,

involves the replacement of drywall and/or insulation.

" In the final analysis, the consultants will inform us of their

findings, what our options are, and the district will decide what

options it will take, " Cline said.

The cost to the district for eradicating the mold is approximately

$75,000.

On Oct. 10, followup tests related to a previous report from Aug. 25

indicated that mold was still present in the drywall and insulation

of the affected classroom. All classrooms and ventilation systems at

Butte grade 3-8 campus were tested over the weekend of Oct.

11-12.

As a precaution, a sample of classrooms in the Pre-K areas, the

portables and the original classroom buildings were also tested; the

results indicating air quality comparable to outside air.

In his statement, Dr. Nine, FUSD superintendent, said, " Based

on obtained air sample results, and visual assessment, our

contracted environmental professionals (, Seif, , Inc.)

have advised us to maintain school in session at Butte K-8

and have provided a plan for investigation, remediation as needed,

and reconstruction as necessary. "

According to a statement issued by FUSD on Oct. 15, mold was first

detected in a classroom at Butte in August and reported to

the district's facilities administrator. The teacher and students

were immediately relocated to another classroom.

After the affected classroom and adjacent empty classroom were

sealed with all ventilation isolated from the rest of the school,

the Pinal County Environmental Health Department was notified. The

Extreme Water Damage and Restoration Company and the Arizona School

Risk Retention Trust - the district's insurance carrier - assured

district officials that isolating the areas to prevent overexposure

to students or staff was appropriate.

Originally the Trust asked the district utilize one of their vendors

to test the isolated area and confirmed the presence of mold, and

scheduled remediation for the week of Sept. 22. However, the

district was informed by the Trust that it had exceeded its $25,000

liability for Butte because of a similar claim filed in 2004.

As a result, the district had to reschedule remediation on Sept. 26

with the original testers, Extreme Water Damage and Restoration, in

which the affected drywall and insulation was removed and the areas

were cleaned and sanitized.

" Basically, it's a construction project, " Denis said. " It has to be

scheduled in such a way that it works for the school. How long the

process takes will depend on how the school is phased. Do you wait

until the weekend, or until you're in break? How much ability do you

have to move students around? All those things are being assessed

and it's all in flux right now.

" Short of taking a building apart, you're never going to find all

mold, but drains fail, plumbing leaks, toilets overflow. Those

things happen, " he concluded. " But because we have identified some

things right away, they will be addressed, and the school will be

made better. It doesn't mean it's bad right now, just that it will

be improved. "

Cline said that updates on the mold situation at Butte will

be posted on the district's Web site (www.florenceusd.org) and the

district's urgent situation hotline at (520) 866-3523 and (480) 888-

7531.