New Bridgewater-Raynham High School mold free, on schedule

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New Bridgewater-Raynham High School mold free, on schedule

Brockton Enterprise - Brockton,MA

By Starcevic, Enterprise staff writer

RAYNHAM — A water leak at the Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High

School building under construction in Bridgewater will not delay its

scheduled opening in September, officials said.

Bridgewater-Raynham school board members and Gordon

Luciano assured Raynham selectmen Tuesday that the school is still

expected to open in September despite water damage that could have

caused mold in the new building.

" No mold has been found since the water leak in January, " Luciano

told selectmen.

The leak occurred on Jan. 18 on a cold night, said, when an

employee of the HVAC contractor working on the project failed to

open a valve that would allow an anti-freeze agent to flow through

the pipes.

The leak affected heating ducts on three floors in the central area

of the building, but did not affect the wings of the building,

including the cafeteria, auditorium or gymnasium, said.

To make sure the water damage did not lead to mold in the building,

the building was treated with large blowers and water-removal

equipment, he said.

The School Building Committee hired an independent industrial

hygienist at the expense of the contractor to determine the risk of

mold and assess the damage, said.

The analyst determined that " we went above and beyond what we needed

to do, " said.

Area schools plagued with costly mold problems in the past few years

include Kingston, Pembroke, Plymouth, Plympton and Hingham.

Selectmen Chairman McKinnon said he was relieved the project

was on schedule.

" We have worked long hours on many nights to make sure this gets

done right, " he said.