Air Quality

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air quality under investigationBy ERIC WALTERKane County Chronicleeditorial@...VALLEY VIEW — Concerns about air-quality at Elementary School in Valley View are prompting an investigation. St. School District officials have directed Chicago-based Carnow, Conibear and Associates, the firm that is overseeing the mold clean-up at East High School, to look into concerns raised by staff members, said district spokesman Tom . Some staff members have voiced concerns about possible health problems, including respiratory ailments and cancer, after a teacher was diagnosed with cancer, said. There have been 12 cases of cancer diagnosed among staff members during the past 27 years and another seven people who have reported respiratory problems, said. While air-quality issues at St. East primary were linked to the Dunham Wing, “there doesn’t appear to be a pattern†to the concerns at , building Principal Jeff Hildreth said. School staff also is concerned over one room in the building’s “300 wing†which tends to become humid during warm weather, said. Hildreth said the “300 wing†was built in the open-classroom design of the 1970s and walls were added later, similar to the original design of St. East’s Dunham wing. The Dunham wing, formerly Dunham Junior High School, was built in 1972; the main building was constructed in 1975-76. Local and county education officials closed the east-side high school in April 2001, after the discovery of potentially dangerous mold. CCA officials plan to inspect and meet with staff members later this week to determine the nature of the concerns, said. The interviews are expected to take place on Friday, CCA Executive Vice President Wayne Taubken said. District Supt. Fran Kostel said Wednesday the air-quality issues first came to Hildreth’s attention in December. To handle issues such as health and safety, the district is testing a protocol designed to facilitate reporting concerns, like the air-quality questions at , said. Under the system, the building principal or a designated administrator will receive the complaint and determine whether the issue is an emergency, according to a statement from . The next step in the process brings the issue to a committee, including school district, CCA and ServiceMaster officials, who will review the situation and authorize action to be taken. The person who files the complaint and the building’s principal will receive information explaining what was found, what actions will be taken to correct the situation and when and why the actions will be taken, said. District officials will work on the protocol through the end of the school year “so, come September, this will be fine-tuned,†said, adding that the situation will be dealt with in accordance with this protocol. The district plans to pay CCA $5,000 to inspect and gather information about potential problems at the school from staff members, said. The work will not be done on contract, because the district has retained CCA for other work and the total cost of the project is less than $10,000, he said. http://www.kcchronicle.com/