Bad air may make your children ill - 5/18/97 (First in a series on the deplorable condition of ton, S.C.'s schools)

[Guest guest]

Bad air may make your children ill

by TONY BARTELME

5/18/97

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One Color Staff Photo by Fortner of Benji Polston showing two bags of dust

removed from St s Elementary School air conditioners

First in a series

What is happening to my children? Cumbee was worried. Her 6-year-old

son had always been a healthy baby.

He just isn't the same anymore, she thought. Teachers at his school, St.

s Elementary, were phoning nearly every other day, saying ``'s

sick again.'' Worse, doctors said he now had severe allergies. And the boy's

behavior was different. He seemed more distracted and hyperactive.

And poor Krista. Cumbee's 11-year-old daughter also was having a tough time

at school. During the day, headaches pounded her forehead, headaches so bad

that by the time she climbed on the bus home, she would start vomiting.

I guess this is normal , Cumbee told herself. Kids get sick, right?

Funny thing, the children seemed to feel better on weekends and vacations.

was more calm. Krista's headaches disappeared.

And then one day, Cumbee was channel surfing when she came across a report

about how nine babies died in Cleveland - and how doctors think common

household mold was the killer.

Mold? One thing she knew, St. s was full of mold. You can see and

smell it everywhere. Crawling on walls, next to blackboards, in closets, on

books.

Cumbee now believes her children have become allergic to their school.

St. s Elementary isn't the only school with questionable indoor air.

According to a 1996 congressional report, one in five schools in South

Carolina has unsatisfactory air quality.

Bad indoor air is nothing to sneeze at. Indoor air is often five to 100

times more polluted than outdoor air. Air contaminated with mold, dust mites

and chemical fumes can trigger allergic reactions, asthma and respiratory

infections. The Environmental Protection Agency ranks indoor air pollution

among the top five environmental threats to public health.

With their young lungs and immune systems, children are especially at risk -

six times more vulnerable to indoor air pollutants than adults, according to

researchers at the University of California at Irvine.

A growing number of doctors and educators say that bad indoor air is partly

responsible for the mysterious rise in attention deficit disorder and

asthma. They fear that sick schools are robbing children of their health and

destroying teachers' careers.

The situation at St. s Elementary is a particularly glaring example of

a sick school. From the outside, nothing seems amiss. Shaded by pine trees,

the school's brick and concrete-block building sits on a gentle curve in the

road near Byrnes Downs.

But inside, the air is stagnant and hot. The rooms smell as if someone left

a pile of dirty wet socks around for a few days. The roof leaks. During

storms, water and raw sewage back up in the bathrooms. An open sewer pipe in

a janitor's closet leaks noxious fumes into a hallway.few steps away, the

computer room has no ventilation of its own - just an open door to the

smelly hall.

The teachers are sick. One teacher says the building triggers headaches and

makes her vomit. The students are sick.second-grader has developed chronic

lung problems - problems that disappear when he's on vacation. Even visitors

get sick. Teachers still talk about the writing judge from Columbia. Hoping

to impress her, they cleaned up a room and left her a basket of fruit. But

within minutes, her eyes were red and her nose was running. ``It's the

school,'' she told everyone between sneezes.

And the ton County School District has done virtually nothing to

solve the problem.

``We've done tests and found the air to be within acceptable limits,'' board

Chairman New says.

In fact, no air tests have been done, and the indoor air issue is so new, no

government agency has established any definitive air quality limits or

standards, according to several sources familiar with maintenance in the

county schools.

The district's attitude toward St. s is typical. Many have been slow

to acknowledge that poor indoor air is a significant issue, said Irene

Wilkenfeld, founder of Safe Schools, a group that compiles information on

school air quality. The group's database contains 2,500 case histories of

students and teachers suffering because of sick schools.

``We are in the midst of an unrecognized emergency,'' she said.

What has happened to these machines? Breck furrows his brow. He and his

partner, Tim , are on the roof of St. s Elementary, peering

into the school's air conditioners.

``Disgusting,'' Breck groans. ``As bad as it gets.''

Inside, the machine's metal parts are covered with mold. The filters are

clogged.

takes a look. ``Totally disgusting,'' he says.

The two are with InSight Environmental, a 's Island company that does

air quality investigations. With the school's permission, The Post and

Courier hired the company to analyze the school's problems.

``People don't realize that the air conditioning system is the build-ing's

lungs, and like our lungs, they're supposed to be clean,'' Breck says,

pointing a flashlight toward a dirty coil. ``This is especially bad for

kids. Someone who is highly sensitive to mold and dust shouldn't have to

deal with this.''

Mold is a serious problem in South Carolina's sweatbox climate. Mold and

mildew are interchangeable names for many species of fungi. Their spores are

tiny - millions would fit on the head of a pin - and they release volatile

organic compounds such as ketones, aldehydes and alcohols, creating a musty

odor.

The EPA says mold, dust mites and other biological air pollutants can cause

infections and harm people's immune systems, making them more susceptible to

diseases and chemicals.

Many people's reactions to mold mimic cold and flu symptoms. Three years ago

in Lexington County, school administrators were baffled when a large number

of teachers and students suddenly came down with sore throats and sinus

problems just before Christmas.

``Our initial reaction was `It's that time of year and something must be

going around,' '' Lexington district spokesman Greg Plagens said. But area

doctors said the flu hadn't hit. The district brought in an air quality

consultant who found the ventilation system full of mold. The district

thought it had been cleaning the vents and air conditioners, ``but we

realized nobody was doing it.'' District officials closed the school for two

days while crews cleaned it up.

Up on the roof at St. s, Breck says the school's air conditioners

probably haven't been cleaned for years. Masses of gunk and mold as thick a

carpet blanketed most of the machines' innards.

``I'm not surprised so many people here are having problems.''

As part of its investigation, InSight surveyed teachers, students and others

at the school. Nearly 60 percent said they experience symptoms they believe

are related to the school's air quality.

Earlier this year, the company also studied Jennie Elementary in Mount

Pleasant and found mold and dirty ducts. ``But on the whole,'' Breck said,

St. s ``is really terrible. They rate an F.''

`An epidemic'

What are we doing to our children? The problems at St. s Elementary

don't surprise Allan Lieberman, a North ton physician who specializes

in treating illnesses related to the environment.

``Are we talking about a rare phenomenon? Heck no,'' he said. ``Most people

expect children to be sick. But they don't realize that many of these kids

and teachers are being made sick.''

And he believes the bad air is causing more than just a few sniffles. One of

the more troubling mysteries in education circles is the dramatic increase

in children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

and asthma.

Two decades ago, few children took Ritalin, the most popular drug used to

treat ADHD. In 1993, 2 million children were on it. By 1996, the number had

doubled to 4 million.

And children seem to be breathing less easy. The American Lung Association

estimates that 3.7 million children have asthma - a 200-percent increase

over the past 20 years. In a nationwide survey of teachers by the American

Academy of Pediatrics, 71 percent said their students have more health

problems than ever before.

Lieberman suspects bad indoor air is partly to blame. ``There's a

correlation, no question in my mind. There's an epidemic and there must be a

cause.''

Doris Rapp, a pediatric allergist in New York and best-selling author, says

that up to two-thirds of children with ADHD also have un-diagnosed allergic

reactions.

In her new book about sick schools, ``Is This Your Child's World?'' she

cites numerous cases of how children become more nervous, fatigued,

distracted and hostile after being exposed to chemicals or mold. These

symptoms are easily confused with those of ADHD, she writes.

Said Lieberman: ``This young teacher came into my office the other day, and

she's really beat up and crying and upset, and she's saying she's going to

have to quit her job.'' The teacher explained that the children suddenly had

become cruel, that they were aggressive and hostile. They were even throwing

chairs at each other.

``I asked her, `Do you have any any idea what caused the change?' and she

says she knows exactly what happened - diesel fuel. She says the maintenance

people in school started mopping the floors with diesel fuel. They found out

they can shine the floors better. This was just one of many examples where

behavior in schools may be directly attributable to an environmental

trigger.''

Lieberman said he sees a familiar pattern. First, a child is exposed to

toxic chemicals, possibly from paints, pesticides - or sometimes new

carpeting or furniture that give off chemical gases. ``This induces a

spreading phenomenon, like throwing a pebble in a brook.'' Soon, a child is

more sensitive to pollen, dust, mold - even certain types of food. These

sensitivities trigger sinusitis, bronchitis and other respiratory

infections.

Parents then take their children to doctors, who prescribe antibiotics.

``They medicate to treat the symptoms, not the cause.''

But antibiotics sometimes cause their own problems, killing protective

bacteria and opening the door to yeast infections. Lieberman said new

research shows that yeast infections create waste products that in turn

trigger changes in brain chemistry and behavior.

This pattern isn't news to Cumbee and her son. For his constant

respiratory problems, doctors prescribed a host of antibiotics, inhalants,

nasal sprays and nausea pills. Then came the yeast infections.

``He's different now. To me he seems very hyper, and he wasn't before he

started school at St. s. And when he's home for a while, he seems more

normal. It's just terribly disturbing.''

Legacy of neglect

What has happened to our schools? St. s Elementary has been sick for

some time now. And perhaps that's what frustrates the principal, teachers

and parents most. Four years ago, teachers determined that 68 students - 12

percent of the school - had serious ongoing respiratory problems such as

asthma or chronic sinusitis.

They took their cause to the school board. But the district's response so

far has been as effective as a Band-Aid on a tumor. Last summer, the

district brought in ozone machines that zap mold. But considering the

building's many leaks and moisture problems, the machines did nothing,

teachers say.

Worse, at least one of the machines was left on after school started in the

fall. Ozone is poisonous, and after spending a day in the room, one teacher

found herself in the hospital and may have permanent health problems. She

declined to discuss the incident on the advice of her attorney.

No air tests have been done there, said Bob Thames, director of the

district's buildings and grounds department. Past superintendents said it

wasn't worth the money. He said the department doesn't routinely test air

quality but has installed carbon dioxide monitors in about 10 schools in

recent years. That should help his staff track ventilation problems in those

buildings.

How much will it cost to cure our sick schools? No one knows for sure.

``That's a tough question,'' Thames said. It's tough because some are more

sensitive than others to chemicals and mold. ``You could spend millions of

dollars checking and fixing our schools and not solve the problem for

everyone.''

What is known is that Americans have neglected their public school system.

The overall price tag to repair and upgrade our 80,000 public schools is

$112 billion, a General Accounting Office study said.

Thames agrees that the headaches, sneezes and runny noses at St. s are

symptomatic of this legacy of neglect. Every year the district's buildings

and grounds staff asks for $25 million for immediate maintenance needs, he

said. Every year the school board axes the money - and the schools continue

to deteriorate.

``I get kind of angry at budget time,'' Thames said.

Cumbee also is angry. So far this year, her son, , has missed 52

days at St. s because of health problems she believes were caused by

the school's foul air.

She said the school has wonderful, dedicated teachers of whom the community

should be proud. But she wonders why the district is willing to spend money

on magnet and new schools when the older ones need so much help now. ``It's

too bad,'' she said.

With its tranquil setting and moderate size, ``St. s could be a

showpiece.''

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