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To find a
Certified
Mould Inspector
or Remediator
in your area,
or to be trained and certified as a mould inspection, testing,
remediation, and prevention expert,
please visit:
Mould
Professional.
For a report on
current mould science by the U.S. Center
for Disease Control, please click:
Mould
Scientist.
Mould In School:
Questions & Answers
[Aug. 25, 2003]
Q.
I am currently
working in a school building that houses a gym, 3 classrooms, and the fine
arts program -- upon entry on this past Monday -- all desk, chair and book
surfaces were covered in various colors and types of mould. Our principal
wanted us to wash down the areas with bleach water and wipe the books down
-- or because some were too mould covered -- we could throw them away -- I am
allergic to mould (as are some of the other teachers) so she said she would
have our cleaning ladies do it -- it has not been done yet. The teachers
are very concerned about the mould problem (black mould) and about the
students who are about to enter the classrooms. It is also difficult for us
to set up our classrooms -- I have trouble staying in the room for any
length of time. Do we have any recourse -- to have her get the mould
checked? The ceiling tiles that show visible mould will be replaced -- but
our concern is how much mould is there -- in the overhead light fixtures, in
the elevator, on musical instruments -- we can see it -- but is it safe to
just live with it?
A.
Neither school employees or students should be present in that
building until it has been professional mould inspected, mould
tested, and mould remediated. It is a violation of the U.S.
Occupational Health and Safety Administration laws and
regulations to have employees working in a mould-infested
workplace. You should send a certified letter to your principal,
school superintendent, and every school board member demanding
that the school be inspected, tested, and remediated to a
mould-safe condition before any employees and students are
required to be in that mouldy building. If the school
administration refuses, you can do your own mould testing using
do-it-yourself mold test kit
as well as bring the problem to
the attention of your local health department and building
inspector. Asking untrained employees to remove mould
contamination without proper safety precautions like containment
walls and high volume hepa industrial filters to remove airborne
mould spores was a bad school decision. To know what is required
for safe & effective mould remediation, visit
Mould
Removal. Bleach is not
an effective mould killer. Discover why.
[Jan. 16, 2003]
Q. We teach in a Kindergarden-8 school building
constructed in 2000.
Two summers ago, when the carpet was cleaned, a few mould spots
occurred as the carpet dried.
Those areas were re-cleaned and we did not see mould again until
they cleaned the carpets again this past summer.
Even when weather is hot, humid, or damp, we do not see a
re-occurrence of the mould spots (our wing of our bldg. is not air
conditioned).
The spots were small in size...in one room perhaps 1 spot approx.
5 inches across and in the other room 2 spots approx. 2 feet wide.
The school board is concerned that mould spores continue to reside
in these small spots.
One of us currently has a child with mould allergies in the
classroom, and that child has not had any problems with this allergy.
The school board has decided that carpet should be removed and
replaced with tile.
We do not want tile in our kindergarten classrooms for
educational purposes.
What is your opinion on this matter? Do you feel that these mould
spores are still in the carpet? No testing has been completed.
Do you feel that a "Mould
Testing Kit"
that we could purchase would give us reliable results?
Of course, we are dealing with a school district that does not
want to spend money on
mould
testing.
They feel the money would be wasted if they find mould and have to rip
the carpet out anyway.
A. Your school board is correct for
at least three important reasons: (1) a tile floor cannot conceal mould
growth, whereas carpeting and padding are tremendous mould hideouts; (2)
a tile floor provides no organic food for mould to eat, whereas
carpeting, padding, and organic dirt trapped in both provide organic
food for the mould to eat, digest, and grow with; and (3) tile is easy to
clean of both mould spores and organic dirt for mould spores to eat. Why
spend money mould testing the carpeting when tile is a much better way to
remove any present mould contamination as well as to prevent any future
mould infestations? Compared to some
areas else where in the world [especially many Asian households], US
residents make two big mistakes: (1) wearing shoes into and inside their
homes, thereby transporting mould spores, germs, viruses, and dirt into their
homes; and (2) utilizing wall-to-wall carpeting and padding that provides
great food for mould to eat and a great place for mould growth colonies to
hide.
[Jan. 15, 2003]
Q.
I am a student at a school district in which 3
teachers have recently died because of cancer, and one other who was
just diagnosed. One of my teachers is now going in for a test on whether
or not she has cancer, but I have reason to believe that my school has
black toxic mould growing in it. In the classroom of the teacher who is
being tested, there are visible wet marks in the corners and a musty
smell all the time. She experiences every symptom that would point to
Black Toxic mould, and our school also has all the symptoms that would
point there: musty smell, mould spots, bad plumbing, bad circulation,
leaks. I am extremely worried about the health and safety of the
students and teachers. Do you know who I should go to in order to have
it checked out and removed? Please help. I am desperate.
A.
You ought to provide the details about the visible wet marks, the
constant musty smell, the bad plumbing and water leaks, the cancer
deaths and illnesses, as well as suggest the need for professional mould
and environmental inspection and testing to all of the following
parties: (1) certified letter to all officers of your school's parent
teacher association or organization; (2) certified mail to each and
every school board member; (3) certified mail to both the principal and
school superintendent; (4) copies of said letters to all of your local
newspapers, radio stations, and TV stations; (5) copies of the letters
to your city, county, and state health department; and (6) copies to the
closest office of the U.S. Occupational and Safety Administration [OSHA]
because workplace mould is a serious employer offense for which your
school district can be investigated and heavily fined. Although the
commonly-found mould aspergillus can cause cancer, you also need
environmental inspection and testing as well as for mould because the
environmental cancer threat could be a non-mould problem such as cancer
causing radon.
Certified
Mould Inspectors can provide both mould testing and
environmental testing.
[July 16, 2002]
Q.
I
am a Texas teacher and I have just learned that my school has black
mould. We have not been told any
details on what kind it is. There is a team of people currently cleaning
the exterior walls to the building. We have been told that they will be
finished in time for school to start. I am pregnant and in my first
trimester, so my question is am I
safe and is my baby safe to be in the building? What kind of questions
do I need to be asking my administrators?
A.
Insist that you
NOW be given a copy of all mould inspection and mould testing results so
far, and of the remediation protocol plan. You will also need to see the
clearance tests of YOUR particular classroom at the conclusion of the
mould remediation job and before you resume working in the school. Ask a
qualified mould professional such as your local Certified Mould Inspector
[visit website:
Certified
Mould Inspectors]
to review the inspection and testing report, the remediation protocol
plan, and the clearance testing prior to your return to work. Make sure
that the remediation protocol plan and the clearance testing deal
adequately with both the mould infestation in the building materials as
well as HVAC [heating, ventilating, and air conditioning] equipment and
duct work. As you know, serious mould contamination can cause birth
defects and miscarriages. You should also consider hiring your own
separate mould inspection and mould testing of your classroom before
resuming work. Have you tested your home for mould infestation? Over half
of U.S. homes have a serious mould problem unknown to the homeowners.
Q.
I am an educator for first and second grade children in a public school.
A year ago we had a water break in the school and I had water about
2inches deep on my classroom floor. For the past eight years I
have had a window leak. This window is double pane and stationary
(no opening possible) I have called the school district many times
and they would come and caulk the window (????) and then the next rain
here would be the leak again. I was finally able to get the
duct work cleaned as I had six asthmatic children last year and I am
asthmatic also and diagnosed with a disease called Sarcoidsis of
the lungs. The duct cleaners found the duct work had collapsed in
several places and so our air was totally stagnant! The mould count
was high when the air quality people came out to test the air before
they came to clean the duct work. They came again after the duct
work was cleaned and said it was in range. Even though
I have a new group of children, I continued to have students with strep
throat and constant colds this winter and spring. I've been on
prednisone so I have kept the asthma under control fairly well. To
complicate this whole thing, I stored my second grade textbooks in a
storage room at the opposite end of the building, this year as I was
teaching first grade. When I went into the storage room to get the
second grade books the room smelled of mould big time. I questioned
the principal and she said that they had a roof leak and that they'd
aired out the room and don't worry. I questioned moving those
books as I certainly didn't want a flare up with my asthma at the end of
school. I was told you're over-reacting!!!! My
question to you....Although I couldn't see mould, I smell it in the
books. They are now back in my classroom and I am concerned that I
have contaminated my room and am worried for the children next fall.
Thank you for your help. Any input you can give me would be
appreciated. This is such a touchy subject with school
districts!!!
A.
Your first step should be to mould test on your own [or hire one of our
Certified
Mould Inspectors] the air inside your classroom, in the hallway,
inside the HVAC duct to your classroom, the books [direct sample
testing], and an outdoor control test 5 ft. away from any roofline
outside your classroom as a point of comparison to help evaluate indoor
mould test laboratory results. You can afford to pay for your own
testing. If the test results happen to show a serious mould infestation
problem, you can send the mould test results by certified mail to your
school principal, school superintendent, each member of the school
board, the attorney for the school board or school system, your local
health department, and all local newspapers, TV stations, and radio
stations. When you come up with scientific verification of the mould
contamination you are being forced to work in, you will get the
attention of the local news media who will of course get the attention
of the people living in your community when your neighbors and community
residents read about the do-nothing attitude of your school system to a
serious health threat to you as an employee and to your young students
[who are more easily harmed by mould than are health adults]. |
