Mold found at northern Pinal school

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Mold found at northern Pinal school

By DANIEL DULLUM, Staff Writer* October 24, 2008

Arizona

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?

newsid=20176833 & BRD=1817 & PAG=461 & dept_id=68561 & rfi=6

QUEEN CREEK - After conferring 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 School 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

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 said. " 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, hand-

washing 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 to identify the water source 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 back splashes 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 officer, 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 that 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 it could present a

health risk.

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