Yuma High School

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September 18, 2000

Yuma High closed for mold removal

Related Story: Parents angered by how mold crisis was handled

By MICHELE COHEN

The discovery of a possibly harmful mold has closed Yuma High School through

at least Wednesday while environmental technicians assess its extent and

clean up the contamination.

Students were sent home at 12:45 p.m. Thursday because school officials

received a report earlier in the day that found Stachybotrys chartarum in a

mechanical room wall in the gymnasium building. Staff and teachers also are

banned from the school campus.

" We don't want to compromise the safety of students, " said Brown, Yuma

High School District superintendent, in a prepared statement.

Stachybotrys is a greenish black fungus that is sticky when it is alive. It

thrives on wall and ceiling materials that are water damaged due to

excessive humidity, water leaks, condensation or flooding, according to

information provided by the Environmental Health Investigations Branch of

the California Department of Health Services. In this case, it was traced to

a leaky pipe, said Bill Embree, Gowan Environmental Services manager.

The fungus was identified because Gowan Environmental Services has been

evaluating a mold problem in the gym that prompted its closure last week. On

Aug. 28, Yuma High received its first report identifying two more common

mold strains in the gym's locker and equipment rooms. Four days later,

officials started moving activities out of the gym and treating mold-tainted

equipment.

" You don't want molds of any kind in living space or breathing space, "

Embree said during a news conference on Thursday. " Our position is molds

don't belong in school. "

This is the third recent case of mold in a Yuma County school.

Complaints by three teachers who said their rooms were making them sick

prompted the closure of the band and special education rooms at San

Middle School in January. Cleanup and repair began this week at the school

and should take about a week, said Chuck Juenger, Gadsden School District

assistant superintendent.

The district waited nine months for work to begin because of liability

concerns, he said. Juenger did not know the cost of repairs, which will be

covered by insurance because the rooms were flooded during a break-in.

Also, a year ago, the opening of Tierra del Sol Elementary School in

Somerton was delayed six months due to the discovery of mold in the walls.

Concerns about mold at Yuma High surfaced last school year in the wrestling

room mats, said Yuma High Principal Dave . That led to an evaluation of

the locker room.

The molds found in the north half of the five-year-old athletic center were

caused by the evaporative cooling system putting too much moisture into the

building, Embree said. The evaporative units have been isolated and drier

outside air is being pumped into the building.

The gym at Cibola High School was built with air conditioning and Kofa

High's gym was converted to air conditioning a year ago, Brown said.

Stachybotrys can be a problem for people who are allergic to molds, said

a Schaller, an Arizona Department of Health Services epidemiologist.

Common health concerns from molds include hay-fever like allergic symptoms,

according to the National Center for Environmental Health in the Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention. Individuals with a chronic respiratory

disease, including asthma, may experience difficulty breathing.

However, there has been much misinformation on the organism and its health

effects, Schaller said. For example, 1994 and 1997 CDC case study reports

that linked Stachybotrys to the deaths of nine infants in Cleveland were

recently independently analyzed. Scientists announced in March that the case

studies did not prove an association between the deaths and the fungus.

When asked if whether closing the school was overreacting to the mold,

Schaller described it as a " pro-active approach " because it needs to be

removed.

A team of 15 technicians and experts were to begin searching for additional

problem areas after classes were dismissed, Embree said. They will rely on

reports of dampness and odd odors provided by teachers and take samples of

potential trouble spots.

Air and wall sampling will start Monday and 22 people are on stand-by for

clean-up, Embree said. Technicians wearing respirators and special suits

worn during asbestos removal will hand-demolish ceilings, floors, walls and

carpet containing mold.

Before the Stachybotrys was found, it was believed that much of the athletic

equipment could be disinfected. However, all porous equipment, such as

uniforms, padding and " anything with cracks " will be removed and replaced,

said.

He estimated the cost to replace equipment at $100,000 to $150,000, but

added that it could go higher.

Cleanup costs are " $40,000 and climbing, " Embree said.

Ultimately, the evaporative coolers will probably be replaced by air

conditioning, also estimated at $100,000.

While Yuma High is closed, administration will work at the district office.

Parents who have general questions can call the district at 726-1731.

Medical questions should be referred to a health professional.

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Parents angered by how mold crisis was handled

By NORA FASCENELLI

Angry parents, upset by their inability to get information about the mold

crisis at Yuma High School, will hold an open forum meeting at 4 p.m.

Saturday at Post School Auditorium.

" We've been hearing from so many parents who are upset about the school

closure, " said Janis Edgar, who has two children attending Yuma High. " We

feel that we haven't been given straight answers. "

Parents, teachers, staff, students, and anyone interested is invited to

attend the meeting, which begins at 4 p.m. at Post School Auditorium, 400 W.

5th St.

" We would also welcome all members of the administration and the school

board, " Mrs. Edgar said. " And we hope they can give us some answers. "

Yuma High was evacuated just before 1 p.m. Thursday, after mold samples

collected from throughout the campus were identified as potential health

hazards. The school is expected to remain closed through Wednesday, said

district superintendent Brown.

The state department of education may require students to make-up the school

days lost to the campus closure during Christmas break or summer vacation,

Brown said.

Parents say they are interested in getting reliable information and

establishing a timely method of communication with the school

administration.

" We're not interested in who's to blame, " Mrs. Edgar said. " We want to know

more about what's going on. "

" We were in the locker rooms three weeks ago, and saw this stuff growing on

the walls, " said Mrs. Edgar's husband, . " And the place stunk to high

heaven. "

Laboratory analysis revealed the presence of at least three fungi that are

suspected of causing medical problems: Stachybotrys, Alternaria and

Antherium.

" Over the last few years, we've been hearing lots of different stories from

random, independent sources, about entire sports teams at the school coming

down with illnesses, " Edgar said. " They would all have the same symptoms at

the same time. Parents have been complaining to the administration for ages,

but we've been getting nowhere. We're so frustrated! "

Charlene Fernandez, whose daughter is a senior this year, said she took the

problem to the administration four years ago, urging them to replace the

evaporative cooling system with air-conditioning.

Both Kofa and Cibola high schools are completely air conditioned, said

Brown, district superintendent.

" Air conditioning was installed when Cibola was originally built, " Brown

said, adding that the evaporative cooling system in Kofa's athletic

facilities were replaced with air conditioning last year.

" We were told, flat out, that nothing would be done, " Fernandez said. " I

feel bad that we didn't push harder to protect our kids and make sure their

environment was safe. "

Edgar said for years, faculty members and coaches have been discussing the

issue of high humidity and the overwhelming odor of mold in the locker

rooms, and the slippery hallways where moisture condenses.

" But they're afraid of reprisals - that they're going to lose their jobs or

have their kids become bench-warmers, " Edgar said.

Rather than standing around looking for someone to blame, prompt, decisive

action needs to be taken, he said.

" We should use a three-pronged approach, " Edgar said. " First, let's fix the

problem now, and get the school fixed up the way it should be. Second, we

need to address the health problems of staff and students. And then, we can

do the finger-pointing. But the first order of business is to keep our

children safe while they get their educations. "

Mrs. Edgar said she was particularly upset because she felt parents were

being unfairly excluded from news conferences and denied access to

information that might help them understand the problem.

" Parents are angry that they were not allowed to attend the meetings, and

that they would not tell us where or when the meetings were being held, " she

said. " Maybe they've forgotten that they work for us. "

Principal Dave said that communication with parents of 2,500 students

is difficult.

" What most parents don't realize is that it takes three to four days to get

a mailing out, " said. " We have to stuff 2,500 envelopes by hand, run

and attach labels, and get them through the postal service. On top of that,

we were receiving new information every time we turned around, so the

message home kept changing. "

Yuma Union High School District Superintendent Brown said that the

Thursday news conference had been called because it is so difficult to

communicate quickly with so many parents.

" That's why we asked the media here-to help us notify parents and get this

information out promptly and accurately, " said.

Many parents and students are worried about the possible effects of being

exposed to molds that may be toxic.

" For people with asthma or allergies, exposure to these molds can aggravate

their conditions, " said Dr. Cannell, a Yuma pediatrician. " And if a

child has a persistent cough or a fever, it's a good idea to check with a

physician. "

Cannell said that these symptoms usually subside as soon as exposure to the

mold stops.

" But if someone is diagnosed with pneumonia, it's important to tell the

doctor that they've been exposed to these molds at the school, " Cannell

said, adding that the problem is very treatable.

" We must be careful to not overreact, " Cannell said. " There are molds all

over the place that we breathe in every day without any problems

whatsoever. "

Sherry Cornell, a pharmacist for Sav-On, said she thinks the administration

should get as much information to parents as quickly as possible.

" I hope the administration will give complete information to the parents as

soon as it's available, because I believe the public has an absolute right

to know what's going on in a situation like this, " Cornell said.

(from MSNBC)

Yuma High mold

By Rayhan Daudani

Mold lurking around Yuma High School is forcing the school to close. School

officials first found the problem on the other side of the school by the

athletic facility.

But now they say the mold is also infesting other areas of the school. A

press conference was held at the school yesterday...discussing the problem.

A more toxic variety of mold is growing in the walls... Not just household

mold, the kind you find in your kitchens and bathrooms.

And now the problem has grown to other areas of the school....

Officials says the locations are far from students... But students were

let out early and won't be back until the clean up is complete.

Which will take a week at the least...

The source of the problem may be an evaporative cooling system, similar

to a swamp cooler.

It'll cost about 100-150 thousand dollars to replace the equipment 100

thousand to install air conditioning

And the clean up has already reached 40-thousand dollars and climbing.

school officials say they will make an announcement on Wednesday saying

when school will be back in session.