Danger Feared in Classroom Walls at Lindero Canyon Middle School in Agoura Hills

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February 24, 2002 Talk about it E-mail story Print

THE VALLEY

Danger Feared in Classroom Walls

Safety: Teachers at an Agoura Hills school blame health problems on toxic

mold that officials say was mostly eradicated in 1999.

By DAVID PIERSON, TIMES STAFF WRITER

Kim pointed to a dried-up yellow water stain in her notebook that

formed when rain dripped from her classroom ceiling. Amused, she drew a

circle around the stain with blue ink and a line connecting it to a

description that read: " a splotch from the ceiling in social studies. "

Although the eighth-grader was able to laugh about the leaky roof, teachers

at Lindero Canyon Middle School in Agoura Hills say they are sick of the

problem.

They fear that toxic mold, removed from the school two years ago, still

lurks behind classroom walls and above ceilings and may be causing various

ailments, from migraines and burning eyes to respiratory problems. Teachers

are demanding that the classrooms be retested for mold, the product of years

of accumulated moisture. School district officials say the rooms were

cleaned of any serious threats of mold in 1999, and that additional testing

is unnecessary and unreasonable.

The dispute is emblematic of a growing, complex issue that has plagued the

nation's schools:

* Medical experts have little understanding of how mold hinders health.

* There are no federal, state or local laws regulating mold levels.

* School districts often don't know how to identify a mold problem, and when

they do, increasingly tighter school budgets make it difficult to eradicate.

* Even a costly cleanup doesn't guarantee that symptoms will vanish or mold

won't recur.

" It can become a nightmare, " said Gordon, executive director of the

California Assn. of School Business Officials. " How much money do you spend

on a problem, and when do you stop? These cleanup efforts can become a black

hole. "

Since 1992, teachers and students have complained to the district of health

problems at Lindero Canyon, which is built on a high water table, said

Zimring, deputy superintendent of the Las Virgenes Unified School

District.

After the complaints increased through the years, Las Virgenes district

officials hired a Long Beach firm in 1999 to find the source of the problem.

Gray Environmental Inc. found molds, including aspergillus, penicillium and

stachybotrys, in 12 classrooms and a faculty room.

The district then hired Pacific Health & Safety Consulting Inc. of Irvine

and spent $80,000 to clean up 20 rooms, replacing walls and carpets and

removing mold.

" In light of the resources we have available, our district has gone above

and beyond, " Zimring said. " We're proud of what we've done and will continue

to be. "

But teachers aren't as confident. Stachybotrys was found again in one

classroom by Pacific Health in December. Zimring, who ordered its removal,

said the sample was too small to pose health risks. Still, teachers called

for aggressive testing.

" I just don't get why they're not [testing], " said Barbara Brammer, who has

taught at the school since 1967 and sees an allergist for symptoms she has

had since the early 1990s. " We want to be assured that we're working in a

healthy place. "

Principal Kaiser said he is not sure whether his staff's health

problems are related to the school's indoor air.

" The district has really tried to do its absolute best, " he said. " We don't

want teachers and students in environments that are unhealthy. In years of

budget crunch, you can't keep pouring money to test and test if there's no

evidence. "

But there are signs of discomfort at Lindero Canyon. Carol Pessara, a

teacher with chronic allergy problems, has a photograph on her classroom

door that reads: " Mold Loft. " She has had sinus headaches for three years,

and has been on a prescribed antihistamine for two years.

" My concern is there are mold spores, " she said.

Special education teachers Sharon Lee and Simmer, who share a room,

have air filters running all day, but they say they continue to experience

burning eyes and migraines.

" I feel like I want to scratch my eyes out, " Lee said. " It burns all the

time in here. "

Mold can be hard to find, but is sometimes detected by its mildew-like odor.

Testing can be as simple as taking air samples in the classroom and

comparing them with the air outside. It can also be as drastic as tearing

away walls or ceilings to look for mold. An extensive examination can cost

as much as $3,000 a room, Zimring said.

Teachers at Lindero Canyon said in 1999 that the mold was found clinging to

walls behind cabinets and hidden from view by drop ceilings. They also said

carpets in many classrooms were soaked with water because of leaky roofs,

creating a welcome environment for mold.

Despite the health complaints, medical experts still cannot explain why some

people exposed to mold become ill. A sick person may be diagnosed with

allergies or migraines, but tests do not reveal that mold is the cause.

Also, individuals may react differently to mold exposure, making it

difficult for officials to determine how much mold may be unsafe.

" It's such an exceedingly complex problem because there are hundreds of

thousands of varieties of mold, " said Sandy McNeel, an environmental

epidemiologist for the state Department of Health Services. " We're still at

the bottom of the learning curve when finding out what makes people ill. "

Angelo Bellomo, director of environmental health and safety for the Los

Angeles Unified School District, said he believes more medical research will

reveal that mold can adversely affect health.

" Just because a school district throws money at a problem, it doesn't mean

they've dealt with it effectively, " Bellomo said. " The evaluation process

has to be done with good scientific principles. Some [districts] are

responding to fear and anxiety. "

One only has to look to Helmers Elementary School in the Saugus

Union School District, where fear of toxic mold in portable classrooms

resulted in a $500,000 cleanup in 1999. Later, the state Department of

Health Services determined that poor ventilation, not toxic mold, caused the

headaches and nausea among students and teachers there.

" It was a painful experience, " said Mark Fulmer, a former Saugus

administrator who is an assistant superintendent in the Visalia Unified

District. " People think you're hurting their kids. "

Some public agencies have developed recommendations for schools to monitor

the environmental quality in classrooms and other public buildings.

Lindero Canyon is one of about 10,000 schools nationwide that have adopted

the Environmental Protection Agency's Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools

in some form. The program recommends educating faculty and staff to monitor

ventilation, air conditioning and humidity. Schools can apply the

suggestions as they see fit.

Principal Kaiser said his staff members are watching for problems so mold

damage can be prevented. The district will soon repair the leaky roof, for

example.

More teachers than students have complained of symptoms, some believe

because teachers spend more time in one room than students, who move from

class to class. But others say the reason may be that many students are just

unaware of possible hazards.

" We could be oblivious, " said eighth-grader Felber.