Damp air at Newport High leads to complaint

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Damp air at Newport High leads to complaint

A leaking roof at Newport High School's west campus resulted in damage to

ceiling tiles in several classrooms. In this room, which sustained the worst

damage, all of the ceiling tiles have been removed and will have to be

replaced. Complaints about the air quality as a result of the wet conditions

inside the school have been filed with the Oregon Occupational Safety and

Health Administration. (Photo by Steve Card)

By Steve Card,

Moyer-Wade

and O'Donnell

Concerns about air quality in the building at Newport High School's west

campus have prompted district officials to authorize an environmental

consultant to conduct air testing at the school.

The problem began in late November when high winds tore off a section of the

building's roof. Since then, the roof has leaked whenever a significant

rainfall occurs, and as a result, the ceiling tiles in several classrooms

got wet.

One of the rooms was so wet that the teacher and students had to be

relocated to another part of the building. And some staff and students have

complained about the musty smell.

One parent, who asked to remain anonymous, told the News-Times this week

that her child, along with other students, has become ill because of the

situation at the school. She added that a problem with mold has arisen, and

both school district and county health officials were aware of the problem.

Recently, complaints were filed with the Oregon Occupational Safety and

Health Administration (OR-OSHA).

OR-OSHA representative Steve Corson said his office received two complaints

from teachers at Newport High School that the water exposure was causing air

quality problems.

" We respond to complaints in one of two ways, " said Corson. " If there's an

immediate situation, we may initiate an immediate response. With something

like this, with an ongoing issue, we will respond by letter and give the

employer an opportunity to tell us what they're doing about the situation. "

OSHA requested information from the Lincoln County School District on Jan.

29 and heard back from the district Feb. 9. The response, said Corson, " was

appropriate to the situation and outlined what the district was doing. "

OSHA sent a response back to the district and the complainants, stating that

no action would be taken by the state agency at this time.

Rich Belloni, LCSD director of facilities and maintenance, acknowledged the

contact with OR-OSHA. " They felt that we were doing everything that we were

supposed to, " he said.

On Feb. 15, all of the wet ceiling tiles from the affected classrooms were

removed, Belloni said. And on Saturday, a consultant from Soul

Environmen-tal in Portland will be at the school to conduct air quality

tests.

" They're going to follow the guidelines for EPA (Environ-mental Protection

Agency) testing for mold and mildew, " Belloni said. Although he said he has

not personally seen any evidence of the mold that people are concerned

about, " what we're going to do is take air quality tests around the whole

school, and then (the consultant) will do a test to see if he can make mold

grow. "

Belloni said he does not think the classrooms pose any type of health hazard

to teachers or students, and said his daughter is in class each day in one

of the affected classrooms.

Belloni also pointed out that the building is heated with a boiler system.

" We don't have a system where we recycle the air, " he said. Thus, even if a

problem with mold exists in one room of the school, he said, " There's no way

for it to be moved around with air ducts. "

The school district has advertised for bids for re-roofing the damaged

section of the building, and bids will be opened March 12.

" We're hoping that we can do it (re-roofing) over Spring Break, " Belloni

said. " The problem is if you go up there with hot tar while school's going

on, walking around on the roof, you're going to disrupt them (teachers and

students). Then they're going to smell the fumes that will get in the school

and they'll complain about that. So, it's a no-win situation. "

If it works out to re-roof the building during Spring Break, Belloni said he

also hopes to replace the ceiling tiles inside the classrooms so that all of

the work will be done by the time school resumes.

Newport High School Principal J.D. McMahan did not comment on the condition

of the classrooms.

Gail Stater, environmental health program manager for Lincoln County Health

and Human Services, said his agency was not involved in regulatory control

of the conditions at the school, but noted that he had been told about the

conditions in the classrooms in question.

" I am aware of the OSHA complaint and am aware that in the last two weeks, a

lot of the wet insulation and ceiling tiles have been removed, " Stater said

Tuesday. " That finally helps with the humidity problem. It has taken too

long, with too much moisture in the building. "

The district had operated humidifiers to remove moisture and the musty smell

from the affected areas, and barrels and buckets were used to collect water,

with plastic sheets on the floor to absorb moisture.

831 NE Avery

PO Box 965

Newport, Oregon 97365

| tel (541) 265-8571 | fax (541) 265-3862 |