Mold in school cleaned up, but something still stinks

February 24, 2006

By BEN FINLEY

Bucks County Courier Times

Pa.

What is that smell?

Bristol Township school officials are still searching for the cause

of a lingering mildew-like odor in a small section of Buchanan

Elementary School.

That smell and a small bit of mold found in the Haines Road school

led to canceled classes for a few days earlier this month, and the

smell continues to keep four classrooms shuttered.

The mold is gone, and air quality tests reveal nothing wrong with

the school's air. Problem is, those four classrooms still smell,

driving school officials to practically tear apart those classrooms,

Principal Ellen Budman said.

Desks, chairs, chalkboards, heaters and insulation have been ripped

from the rooms to no avail. Now officials are focusing on the 50-

year-old building's roof, which is to be replaced this summer.

The ceilings in those rooms bare several yellowish water stains. A

recent report by the school district's engineering firm, Intech

Environmental Consulting, pointed to the roof as the probable cause

of significant water damage to those classrooms.

The report said that it appeared that water seeped into the

classrooms through the roof, soaking into the floor tiles and

saturating the fiberglass insulation and fan coil units.

Budman said that as long as the odor remains, the classrooms would

be closed off to all students. Officials in the 450-student school

have been able to spread students around to other classrooms to make

up for the lost space, Budman said.

Ben Finley can be reached at 215-949-4048 or bfinley@....

February 24, 2006 5:25 AM

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