EXPERT PROBES MOLD DANGER IN CITY SCHOOLS

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EXPERT PROBES MOLD DANGER IN CITY SCHOOLS

OCSD gets report tonight on conditions in Fitzhugh and Kingsford

schools

By ADELE DELSAVIO, Staff Writer

Oswego, NY

The Palladium-Times

http://www.pall-times.com/articles/2006/07/11/news/news2.txt

BOCES safety consultant Deb Eichholtz will update the Oswego city

school board tonight on what might be a mold situation in Fitzhugh

Park and Kingsford Park elementary schools.

According to board member Dan Hoefer, Eichholtz was called in to

check for mold at both schools after parents complained to the

district. He said the parents were noticing respiratory problems in

their children who had classes in the basement levels of the

buildings.

Hoefer said his daughter was often absent during her early years at

Fitzhugh Park, when her classrooms were on the lower level.

" She was constantly sick. We thought it was asthma, we thought it

was this and that. When she moved upstairs, she was hardly ever

absent, " he said.

Kingsford Park and Fitzhugh Park are the oldest school buildings in

the district and the only ones with classrooms in the basement,

Hoefer said.

Fitzhugh Park principal Doty said no health problems related

to mold have been reported to the school's nurse, Ann Murray.

Murray is on summer vacation and unavailable for comment.

" The complaints were typical of those in any building - colds,

allergies, " Doty said.

She said a window replacement project at the school last year might

have set up conditions for mold growth when the windows were

removed, the openings covered with plastic, and the air conditioning

turned off.

Mold was found on ceiling tiles during the project and the tiles

were removed and discarded, she said.

Kingsford Park principal Volkomer said parents have expressed

concern about their children having classes in the basement,

although no one specifically said their child had become sick from

mold.

" But I've only been here a year. I would be interested in the

results of an air quality study, " she said.

Hoefer said he has dealt with mold problems before, during his three

years as co-chair of the health and safety committee at SUNY Oswego.

Eichholtz said mold spreads via small, lightweight spores that

travel easily through the air. They can survive for years in a dry

environment then blossom when it gets moist. " Mold is ubiquitous in

nature. It grows almost everywhere, indoors and outdoors, " she said.

She said building materials, paper and wood are " mold food. "

At the June 20 school board meeting, Eichholtz said she has visited

the schools and didn't find any visible mold. She said she was going

to return with instruments that measure moisture and detect mold

behind walls.

BOCES policy prevents Eichholtz from discussing her findings with

the press before she makes her presentation at the board meeting, a

BOCES spokesperson said Monday.

" Mold is becoming what asbestos was years ago, " Eichholtz told the

school board on June 20. " There's controversy and fear, yet we're

still learning about it. "

Hoefer gave a reporter the name of one parent who has concerns about

the air at Fitzhugh Park. The parent could not be located for

comment.

Hoefer said no one has called him with complaints about the

district's other schools.