Buildings Hazardous To Occupy

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Published Thursday, March 30, 2006

POLK JUVENILE CORRECTIONAL FACILITY

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?

AID=/20060330/NEWS/603300384/1004

Buildings Hazardous To Occupy

Two studies dispute whether the air quality problem is beyond repair.

By Crouse

The Ledger

Lakeland,FL

POLK CITY -- The air at Polk Juvenile Correctional Facility is so

moldy that three of its five buildings are practically

uninhabitable, according to an air quality report prepared for the

Polk County School District.

The buildings -- the school, a dormitory, the cafeteria and clinic --

are so rife with mold, microbes and fungi that McDonough, the

environmental scientist who prepared the report, recommended that

the School District stay out until they are fully renovated.

To get rid of the mold, McDonough said much of the buildings must be

replaced.

" It's beyond cleaning at this point, " she said.

However, the Department of Juvenile Justice, which runs the youth

facility, said Wednesday evening it commissioned an air quality

study of its own that " contradicts " the McDonough report in some

respects, a spokeswoman said.

A preliminary report from Air Quality Consulting of Polk City

received Wednesday found " that there are certainly some mold issues

we need to address, " said DJJ spokeswoman Lorenzo.

But it " does not indicate that any buildings are `uninhabitable' or

must be `demolished,' " she said in an e-mail.

A final version of the DJJ report will be ready Friday. DJJ

officials will review both reports and then decide what steps to

take, Lorenzo said.

The DJJ has committed to a $5 million overhaul of the school,

pending funding from the Florida Legislature.

In early March, the School District pulled all of its staff out of

the PCJF school, Sabal Palm, citing an unsafe environment because of

mold in the air.

In February, about 19 of the 33 staffers filed workers' compensation

claims, most because of respiratory problems related to air quality.

The district commissioned S.E. McDonough & Associates to assess the

air quality at PJCF.

The McDonough report indicates that air quality wasn't as bad as

feared, but it was still pretty bad, said Dennis Higgins, the

district's senior director of alternative education.

The report recommends that the buildings be repaired according to

the stiff requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency.

If the School District follows McDonough's recommendations, it will

mean classes at Sabal Palm, the alternative school at PCJF, may be

delayed because the district will wait until the portables are set

up, Higgins said.

The contaminated buildings house the facility's school, cafeteria,

medical clinic and a dormitory.

Inmates are still living in the contaminated dormitory and using the

cafeteria, Higgins said.

Higgins had planned to reopen school later this week outdoors and in

two of the contaminated buildings. But now, he said, school will

wait until six portable classrooms are installed on the campus,

which should take about three weeks.

Working on a split schedule, the six portables should provide enough

space for a full curriculum for students, he said.

The correctional facility is a juvenile detention center with a

mental health component. It houses about 200 young men, ages 14

through 21, most of whom are repeat felony offenders from throughout

the state.

The Polk County School Board provides 33 teachers, staff and

administrators for Sabal Palm.

In the McDonough draft report, released Tuesday, the environmental

assessment firm found that the mold count was abnormally high in

three of the five buildings at PJCF.

Mold was present throughout the facility.

Additionally, there were instances of toxic molds, said

McDonough, an environmental scientist who specializes in finding

particles in the air, such as mold and fungi.

The toxic molds release chemicals into the air that have been known

to cause allergic reactions.

The PCJF mold was growing primarily in the walls, the attic and the

ceiling.

Before the McDonough report was released late Tuesday, DJJ officials

said they were not planning to evacuate the dormitories or to

relocate any of the nonschool operations during the renovations.

Higgins is asking the DJJ to have an outside medical team evaluate

the inmates for moldrelated health problems.

Mold in the air and buildings can create different reactions in

people, depending on their sensitivity, said Wesley Nall,

environmental supervisor with the Polk County Health Department.

Some people are sensitive and develop runny noses and itchy eyes

upon entering moldy buildings. Others develop allergies after long-

term exposure, he said.

Another symptom is headaches produced by the damp smell released by

mold colonies, he said.

In extreme cases, some types of mold have been linked to cancer and

severe respiratory problems, he said.

In at least one classroom, McDonough found higher-thannormal levels

of carbon dioxide. That indicates that the room didn't circulate

enough outdoor air.

High levels of carbon dioxide may lead to sleepy students, she said.

Crouse can be reached at julia.crouse@... or 863-802-

7536.