Toxic mold: Dunn Elementary school battles mold

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Toxic mold: Elementary school battles mold

By X. Mullen Jr.

Reno Gazette-Journal

Sunday January 14th, 2001

Over the summer and during Christmas break, workers removed toxic mold and

tested for further contamination in offices and classrooms at Dunn

Elementary School in Sparks.

" We've taken every reasonable measure to locate and remediate the mold, "

said Tom Marshall, risk management officer for the Washoe County School

District.

" We've done everything reasonable we can and brought in experts to help. All

indications are that the school is in a safe situation other than the rooms

we've identified.

" We're taking this very seriously. "

Last year, stachybotrys - a toxic black mold known to cause illnesses - was

found in the principal's office. The principal had been sick and the

district officials realized the mold was a health problem.

Last summer, workers in protective clothing used techniques similar to

asbestos removal to clean out the quarter-sized spots of black mold found

around the baseboards in the office. A wall was removed and the cavity was

cleaned.

The workers shielded the contaminated area and used " negative air " systems

to make sure the mold spores did not spread, Marshall said.

But when school resumed, additional testing revealed mold in a library room

and in a storage room that had been used as a classroom in the 1999-2000

school year.

There was no obvious water damage in the classroom/storage room, but a

teacher who taught in that room complained of chronic illnesses.

Steve Mulvenon, Washoe County School District spokesman, said absenteeism at

Dunn is in line with all the other elementary schools in the district.

" It all looks pretty typical, " he said. " There's no spike in sick days. "

Over Christmas break, those rooms were cleaned out.

Additional testing has been done but results aren't back yet, Marshall said

last week.

" We have water stains throughout the building and those are the areas we are

checking. "

Faculty, staff and parents were notified of the mold problems at the

beginning of the school year.

" Everything we've done is reasonable and we feel we've taken the correct

action, " Marshall said. " It seems like we're on task and on target. "

But Marshall said air tests aren't totally reliable in ruling out mold

contamination. A negative test doesn't guarantee there's no mold present.

" We'll continue to keep a close eye on it, " he said. " We're trying to

eliminate all the places where the mold could be. If we found a significant

source, that would determine what kind of further remedial action is

necessary. "

Jayme Lealtad, president of Dunn's Parent-Faculty Organization,

said the school told parents about the mold in the principal's office and

that there would be further work done over Christmas break.

" It is something we're concerned about, " she said. " We're staying on top of

it. "

The district called in a mold mitigation expert who worked with fungus

problems in California schools and officials from the Washoe District Health

Department for help.

" There have been a few mold abatement projects of public buildings in the

area, " said Charlene Albee, who works in the air quality division of the

health department.

" Besides Dunn, there were some mold and mildew problems at a

school in Incline Village a few years ago and the Riverside Hotel had to

have a huge mold abatement project before they put the lofts in there. "

She said her office receives a lot of calls from residents worried about

mold.

" A lot of times it's people who have been ill and their doctors aren't sure

what's causing the illnesses, " Albee said.

In those cases health officials ask about symptoms, water leaks and visible

signs of mold. They give people a brochure that lists facts about mold, Web

sites and phone numbers. They suggest the worried residents get professional

tests done.

" We don't have any regulatory authority over indoor mold contamination, "

Albee said. " We just try to provide information. "

Kathy Lyons, who with her husband and three daughters was driven from her

home in Sparks by toxic mold, advised district officials and parents to be

ruthless in seeking out all the mold contamination at Dunn.

" Take it from me, it's no picnic, " she said. " We thought we were beating the

problem and then we found out it was everywhere.

" Once this stuff gets started, it spreads and spreads. "