Mold more extensive than reported

[Guest guest]

The Daily World Thu, 28 Sep 2006

http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2006/09/28/local_news/04news.tx

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Lougheed, a steelworker who graduated from Aberdeen High

School in 1987, says he has been proud to work on the new school. He

keeps thinking about the thousands of kids — including his own and

his neighbors' — who will attend AHS in the years to come.

About two weeks ago, when Lougheed saw, and smelled, evidence of

mold on some of the filters for the heating, air conditioning and

ventilation units he was supposed to install, he knew he had to

intervene. He didn't want anyone's kids getting sick.

" I told my boss, and he told us to hang them, " Lougheed said. " I

knew they weren't going to get cleaned up. "

Lougheed isn't just aware of the hazards of mold because he's been

in construction, where mold has been a major issue for more than a

decade. He's studying to become a nurse, the reason, he said, he

quit his construction job.

" I wasn't fired … I wasn't a `disgruntled worker,' " Lougheed said.

Lougheed compared the conditions in the heating-ventilation-air

conditioning units and ducts set for installation in the new school —

sitting since June in the heat, exposed to the elements through the

unfinished walls — to very large petri dishes, not unlike the ones

he used in his microbiology class.

" They were incubators, " Lougheed said.

When the units, which Lougheed said had been loosely wrapped in

plastic, were tipped, " about two gallons " of water sloshed out.

His concerns rebuffed by his supervisor, Lougheed used his cellphone

camera to take pictures of the mold and walked a block to the School

District building to show Superintendent Marty Kay what was

happening.

Since Kay was out of the building, Lougheed ended up talking with

the School District's finance director, Tom Laufmann, who took the

problem to the district's construction supervisor, Steve .

Lougheed said that if he had known the district had an on-site

representative, he would have approached him.

" I don't want anything to happen to the kids, " Lougheed said.

Lougheed's pictures show that more than one filter was moldy. They

also show that the mold was not limited to the filters. It also

grows in blackish dots on sticker labels on the side of the

machines. Next to the units, puddles of water are visible.

One of the mechanical rooms storing several large units had pools of

water on the floor on a tour a week ago. said at the time

the water would not affect the machines that circulated the air. The

machines, pointed out, were on concrete pads and dry. As

for the source of the water, speculated it had blown in

during recent rainy weather.

Lougheed also called School Board members Jack Micheau and Doug

to discuss the mold when he said it became apparent to him

that the extent of the problem was not being acknowledged by the

district, which reported last week that only a single filter was

affected.

" This was not just one filter, " Lougheed emphasized.

The district now acknowledges that is so. In fact, Kay said, four of

the 12 filters removed on the district's orders — all of which are

now in the possession of the district — have apparent mold.

" I am very concerned, " Micheau said. " I think we need to have an

independent investigation to ensure there is no mold problem. "

Micheau said the district would likely front the cost of any such

investigation and seek reimbursement later from contractors.

" We just need to be safe, " Micheau said. " We need to be sure this is

taken care of. "

Kay says he absolutely agrees, adding that the district has hired an

independent firm to study the moldy units and the 12 filters and

take any steps necessary to ensure there are no air quality problems

in the new school.

" We are being proactive, " Kay said.

The contractor, Olympia-based Sunset Air, has agreed to " thoroughly

clean " the units, Kay said, emphasizing that the units have not

been " started up " to move air through the building.

" There's so much misinformation and rumor, " Sunset Air senior

project manager Pat Cole said this morning.

He said the company is responding to the School District and will

deliver a written report to the district by Friday.

Cole would not say whether the foreman Lougheed referred to was a

Sunset employee.

Kay added that the district has contracted with a Seattle firm, PBS

Engineering & Environmental, to conduct an independent investigation

of the units and will have an engineer conduct a survey to determine

to what extent the mold may have affected the equipment. The

district will also monitor air quality in the building.

Laufmann said Rognlin's Inc., the general contractor, has hired its

own consultant to take samples and do mold studies.

Kay said the district wants to determine when the units developed

mold. Was it at the factory or on site? The answer will affect the

district's response.

Whatever the root of the problem, the superintendent said, the first

priority is making sure the school opens with clean air.

The district's plan to deal with the mold will be presented to the

School Board on Tuesday at its regular 7 p.m. meeting.