Pierson High School - Sag Harbor, NY

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http://www.peconic.net/independent/01229703.htm

Sick Building? One Woman's Story

By Debbie Tuma

This is Part II in a series on concerns about the indoor environmental

quality of local schools.

Schirmacher began working as a teaching assistant in the computer

lab at Pierson High School in Sag Harbor in September of 1988. By late fall

of that year, the Springs resident and several other teachers and students

had complained of respiratory problems in the building.

" It often began with mild, flu-like symptons such as headaches, fatigue,

dizziness, nausea, and sore throats, " Schirmacher said. " The sinus headaches

became severe enough that I had to spend days in home in bed. Each school

year they became more frequent and severe, usually leading to my seeing a

doctor and being prescribed an antibiotic for respiratory or sinus

infection. "

She noticed, however, that her illness always diminished or disappeared

during vacations, when school was closed. She said that other members of the

staff complained of continual respiratory problems, as did some students.

" At one time we joked that maybe the school was pumping something through

the vents, " Schirmacher recalled.

Dry and Burn

She described one occasion upon entering the school building, where she

unlocked a classroom door and was hit with fumes that caused her eyes to

tear and her throat to feel dry and burn. She soon discovered that the

maintenance staff was using a heavily perfumed carpet deoderizer on the hall

and classroom carpets.

" This was a product I would never even use in my home, " Schirmacher said. " I

suggested they simply use use baking soda. "

She said that after she complained to Dr. Tom Roy, the District

Superintendent at the time, the janitors were told to stop using that

particular product. But on numerous occasions, Schirmacher said that she and

her students smelled paint fumes and saw painting being done inside the

building during classtime.

According to school law, there should always be a flow of fresh air in the

building, but Schirmacher claims that wasn't always so.

" One day, we heard a big 'whoosh,' and they must have turned on the air

system all of a sudden, " she recalled. " It blew dead bugs all over the

computers, and the kids were hysterical. There were times when the system

was turned off because one teacher in particular complained about the

noise. "

Battery of Tests

In 1993, Schirmacher was transferred to the Sag Harbor Elementary School,

due to personnel changes, and soon afterward she noticed that her health was

gradually deteriorating.

" By the end of September, I was already experiencing worse respiratory

problems, " she said. " In November, I was so dehydrated that I passed out at

home and was admitted to Southampton Hospital for seven days with

pneumonia. "

She reported that Dr. Medler ordered a battery of tests, including

one for " Legionella. " Her family had to cancel their Thanksgiving dinner

because of her inability to cook. Schirmacher said several other staff

members also came down with pneumonia that winter, and that at least one was

hospitalized, as were two students. She alleged that many children were

suffering with continual respiratory problems.

" Within a week of returning to school, in January, I developed another sinus

infection, " she said. " I felt as though I lived on antibiotics -- and other

staff members were on the same medication. We could have shared 'Biaxin' for

lunch! "

But she said that the worst part was that, not being able to breathe, she

had no energy. " It affected every area of my life -- I was really dragging,

and everything was an effort, " Schirmacher said.

She said that during this 1993-94 school year, there was a mold and mildew

problem in the Sag Harbor Elementary School that was " so severe, that it

necessitated the closing of a second-floor classroom and bathroom. " And

there were also heating problems to the extent that " at one time, one

classroom was so cold that the teacher and students wore coats. Meanwhile,

the classroom next door was stifling hot. "

Sinus Surgery

Although she had experienced the inhalation of cleaning products and paint

fumes in the High School, Schirmacher claimed that it was even worse in the

Elementary School. " Sometimes when I walked inside the building, fumes from

the cleaning products almost knocked me over, " she said. " Several students

also commented about the odors. It smelled like Chlorox or ammonia. "

Thinking her problem was due to mold, she went to see an allergist, Dr.

Caruso, of Southampton. He sent her for a CAT scan and suggested

sinus surgery. Schirmacher opted instead for allergy testing and shots. The

results showed that her allergies to mold were not severe enough to warrant

the reaction she was having.

" So we started looking for other causes, " said Schirmacher. " I took the

allergy shots and Seldane, " a medication, but the symptoms still persisted.

" Jim Danhaher, an allergist technician in Caruso's office, thought it might

be related to chemicals, and he asked me to get a list of all cleaning

products used in the school. "

Schirmacher said that although she requested this information from the

maintenance department several times, and that the law states this

information must be provided within 72 hours of a request, it took several

weeks to get this document. " I finally had to write them a letter quoting

the 'Right to Know Law' before the 'Material Safety Data Sheets' were

released, " she said.

In her search for better health, Schirmacher's union representative, Rich

Esposito, referred her to the Center for Occupational and Environmental

Medicine at SUNY at Stony Brook. In July 1994, she was seen by Dr. Sara

Mendelsohn, a doctor and Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine, for a

diagnosis. Dr. Mendelsohn concluded that Schirmacher's symptoms were

consistent with someone suffering from " Sick Building Syndrome " -- a

complaint that has become a lot more common in the past five years.

" There are a lot of people who come into my office with symptoms caused by

the air quality in their workplace, " Dr. Mendelsohn told The Independent.

" It's becoming fairly common. Although the symptoms can be vague and hard to

diagnose, we notice that these symptoms go away when the patient leaves the

building for periods of time, and return when they come back. We recommend

that these buildings be surveyed for other people with similar symptoms.

This way, you don't base the findings on one individual, but on a majority

of individuals with consistent symptoms. "

Environmental Illness?

In a letter to the Sag Harbor School District, Dr. Mendelsohn suggested that

a " symptom survey " be conducted and an on-site evaluation by a certified

industrial hygienist may be warranted. " To the best of my knowledge, this

has never been done, " Schirmacher said.

In September 1994, at Dr. Mendelsohn's suggestion that she not return to the

Elementary School, Schirmacher was re-assigned to Pierson High School. She

filed for Worker's Compensation to be reimbursed for lost pay. She was

eventually seen by Dr. Carl Friedman of the Worker's Compensation Board, who

also concluded that she suffered from " environmental illness. "

" Although my illness was not as severe, I still continued to have

respiratory and sinus infections, " said Schirmacher. " There were often paint

fumes in the air, and dust around the vents in the building. When I

complained to the new principal, Bob Schneider, he immediately had the vents

vacuumed. "

Schirmacher was not re-hired for the 1995-96 school year " due to excessive

absences. " But she said that she had had even more absences the year before,

when she had pneumonia, and yet that year she was re-hired.

But what she found most disconcerting was that " every time I requested

information from the district, I felt I was either stonewalled or ignored --

first with getting the material safety sheets and then twice I filed

'Freedom of Information' requests which were first ignored and then were not

granted on time. Only a letter from a lawyer got me what I needed. "

Since she has left the school, Schirmacher said that her health has

improved, and that she hasn't needed any antibiotics or medication. " I

haven't had any further sinus infections or respiratory problems, " she said.

" I can finally breathe again. "

Abigail Wolcott, an alternative health practitioner in East Hampton, said

that she recommends people buy high-potency air-filtration systems, or

purifyers, for their offices and homes. " There are so many pollutants in the

air of certain buildings, that the combination can lead to a feeling of

low-grade malaise, depression, and a general weakening of the immune

system, " Wolcott said. " I see many clients who claim to be suffering from

'Sick Building Syndrome,' and although it is no exact discernible illness,

it usually has the same symptoms. "

Dr. , Superintendent of Sag Harbor Schools, said although he

thinks Schirmacher could have had some problem related to the school, that

it was a more " individualized " matter. " I have 130 employees, and I don't

have a lot of problems with people complaining about our air here, " he told

The Independent. " Our absence rate is minimal -- our attendence rate is

about 90 percent in both buildings. "

Dr. said that before he arrived at the School District in 1993,

" there may have been problems I didn't know about. I know the air vents

hadn't been functioning, but they were fixed. "

He said it would also be hard to point out exactly what in the building was

aggravating Schirmacher's system, because " teachers in general are exposed

to many germs from daily contact with students. In any public building,

you're exposed to all kinds of things -- through people and the

environment. "

Dr. said that if there had been times in the past where deoderized

carpets were used, or where painters were working during classes, " we're

very aware of this now. We go out of our way not to let it happen, except

for isolated cleaning problems, like a student getting sick in the hall. " He

added that so far the School District has not established any " pattern of

environmental problems.

" If there were others complaining of coughs, sore throats, dizzyness or

nausea, our school nurse would be aware of it, " he said.

Bent Over Backward

Dr. said that the district has not done any " symptoms survey, " as

recommended by Dr. Mendelsohn, for this reason. " We checked in the schools

to see if others had problems, and they didn't, " he said. " An individual

having a reaction doesn't mean we have to bring out the National Guard. "

As far as Schirmacher's accusation that the school took so long to get the

documents she asked for, Dr. agreed that " sometimes it was slower

than it should have been. I don't know why she didn't get the list of

cleaners she requested. "

But he said Schirmacher had also requested " incredible amounts of

information, like about 2000 pages of certain documents, which would be very

expensive to copy, so we offered to have her come in and see what she

needed. I don't think she was stonewalled -- her requests were sometimes too

broad for us to give her everything she needed. "

Dr. said that the School District " did everything we could to

accommodate her, by moving her from one school to another. " He said that

Schirmacher's " excessive absences " last year could be attributed to problems

in addition to health concerns. " I feel badly, because I bent over backward

to help her, " he said.

Part III will offer the stories of others who believe that they have been

affected by " sick " school buildings.