Mold, odor sicken some at school

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Mold, odor sicken some at school

Parents, principal say West Frederick MIddle is `desperate' for

renovations

Thursday, March 9, 2006

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by L.

Staff Writer

http://www.gazette.net/stories/030906/frednew183432_31941.shtml

Gaithersburg,MD

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Tom Fedor & #8260;The Gazette

Dehumidifiers were installed at West Frederick Middle School in

response to concerns about air quality and mold.

Parents are voicing concerns about air quality and the presence of

mold at West Frederick Middle School, saying the nearly 50-year-old

school is no longer conducive to learning.

Billie Stokes said her daughter, now in seventh grade, has developed

a sinus infection and other asthmatic symptoms since entering the

building last year.

So far this academic year, her daughter has taken antibiotics for

more than 100 days and is now on four daily medications. Stokes said

she only recently let school officials know about her daughter's

symptoms as they continued to persist while she attended the school.

``I was at the school [Monday] for a parent-teacher conference and

after an hour and 20 minutes, I had a headache and the smell was

bad, " Stokes said.

Parent M.C. Keegan-Ayer said absences at the school are on the rise

and she is working on a survey for parents to identify days their

child has missed this year and how sick they have been while at the

school.

``This is a health issue, " she said. ``You have people falling ill,

having watery eyes, itching, throat discomfort and splitting

headaches. You can relocate students, but due to the age of the

building, where do you put them? The school doesn't have extra

space. "

Built in 1958, West Frederick Middle is one of the only schools in

Frederick County to not have undergone a major renovation since its

construction. A modernization of the school is tentatively scheduled

for completion by 2010.

Strange odors at the school have caused some staff members to move

into alternate teaching spaces due to health concerns and the

building's principal has even relocated due to various odors in her

office.

West Frederick Middle Principal ette Shockey could not quantify

the number of her staff affected by air quality at the school except

to say ``some " employees have reported having allergy and

respiratory conditions they didn't have previously.

Shockey said these employees, many with classrooms on the main floor

of the building, have been moved to other teaching spaces or

switched rooms with teachers ``less sensitive " to the environment.

As for her own office, Shockey said in December she reported an odor

in her office. Maintenance staff linked the odor to emissions from a

heating system being pulled into the vent in her office. That

problem was corrected. A month later, Shockey reported discomfort

from being in her office and has since been relocated to another

office, while an investigation continues into a new odor.

``It affected me physically, " she said. ``I kept thinking things

would get better and the facilities department had constantly been

working on it, but finally I had to remove myself from [the office].

No one is in there now. "

Unable to define the smell, Shockey said it comes and goes, as does

one in the hallways of the school that she could only describe

as ``distinct. "

Bob Wilkinson, director of maintenance and operations for county

schools, said that an industrial hygienist who has evaluated the

building in the past will look at Shockey's office to pinpoint the

odor there and elsewhere in the school.

Concerning the mysterious odor in the hallways, Wilkinson said the

cause may be connected to retrofitting the school's ventilation

system to deal with mold.

After finding mold in portions of the building in August, the school

system spent $34,300 for a professional cleaning of the building,

more than $10,000 on classroom dehumidifiers and additional capital

funds on commercial dehumidifiers for the school's hallways.

Wilkinson said he did not know the total cost of mold mitigation nor

the final tally for all the services related to air quality at the

school, but that ``cost is not an issue " when health concerns are

involved.

Wilkinson attributes the presence of mold to high humidity during

the summer. The odor, he said, came from condensation built up in

drainage for the dehumidifiers, causing a ``musty " smell that

permeated into some classrooms.

Shockey said since the dehumidifiers were installed this summer,

there have been no ``significant mold issues " and when it does

exist, custodial staff eliminate it immediately.

Keegan-Ayer said the main issue regarding West Frederick Middle is

neither mold nor air quality, but the age of the school.

In the county's recently released capital improvement program, a

modernization of the school wouldn't be complete until 2010, a year

later than school officials requested.

Stokes said she is ``appalled " that students are being kept in an

aged building with numerous problems and the time has come for major

work at the school.

``West Frederick has been overlooked for a long time, " she said.

While confidant her staff is doing the best with the building they

have, Shockey said that the school ``desperately " needs renovations

as one of the oldest education buildings in the county.

``Our students don't have the same learning resources as those in

newer buildings and we hold them accountable for the same measures, "

she said. Shockey said learning will be compromised at the school if

renovations are pushed back.

``Students are very aware of other school buildings ... and know our

school [building] is known as the `poor school' ... as they can see

the differences in new facilities, " she said.

Health risks

The presence of environmental mold can have various impacts on a

person's health.

Molds can trigger asthma episodes.

Individuals sensitive to molds may experience symptoms such as nasal

stuffiness, eye irritation, wheezing or skin irritation.

Some people with serious allergies to molds may have reactions that

could include fever and shortness of breath.

Individuals with chronic lung illnesses could develop mold

infections in their lungs.

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency