St. School District - Expert chooses panel for mold situation

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5/25/01 10:31:00 AM

Expert chooses panel for mold situation

By ERIC WALTER

Kane County Chronicle

editorial@...

ST. CHARLES - A panel of professional experts put together by HP-Woods

Research Institute founding director Woods includes a couple of

individuals who previously have been involved in work in the St.

School District.

Woods announced Wednesday the panel that will work on plans to reopen St.

East High School includes Ken ez, a certified industrial

hygienist who has worked for the National Institute for Occupational Health

(NIOSH) for 20 years, and Dan Doyle, president of the ton office of

Grumman/Butkus Association

The school district hired NIOSH in 1998 to conduct an investigation into the

air-quality issue.

Later that year, school officials chose Grumman/Butkus to evaluate the

heating, ventilation and air conditioning system at St. East in

1998.

NIOSH's investigation turned up stachybotrys, aspergillus, penicillium and

cladosporium then.

According to reports, the school district directed a maintenance crew to

clean up the mold.

School officials closed St. East March 30 after AAA Environmental

Inc. announced that stachybotrys and aspergillus/penicillium were discovered

in the Dunham Wing of the school.

The building has remained closed since then, although school officials hope

to reopen Sept. 4.

Rounding out the panel are Phil Morey, vice president of microbiology and

indoor-air quality for Atlanta-based Air Quality Sciences Inc.; Otto " Chuck "

Guedelhoefer, a structural engineer with the Willowbrook, Ill.-based

structural and architectural consulting firm Raths, Raths & ; and Dr.

Eileen Cahill, medical director for microbiology, cytology and

immunology/serology at Delnor-Community Hospital in Geneva.

Also, Dr. Annick Marguerite Gaye, director of Loyola School of Medicine's

Division of Allergy, Immunology and Pulmonology; and Dr. A.

Bernstein, an associate professor of clinical medicine at the University of

Cincinnati College of Medicine.

The professionals selected for the panel were chosen through a process that

included reviewing candidates' professional certification, national

reputation and publications, Woods said.

" Each of the people brings a certain expertise, " he said of the panel.

Woods added that the professionals' certification shows they are accountable

to professional boards.

The school district hired Morey in April to act as an independent,

third-party expert who would review the work of Woods' panel.

Woods said Morey's participation on the panel would not be a conflict of

interest, as he would retain his position as the person overseeing quality

assurance in the reopening process.

" He is not employed by us (HP-Woods), " Woods said. " Some (of the panelists)

are contracted by the school district. He's independent. "

Morey is a renowned microbiologist who has worked extensively on development

and implementation of assessment strategies and the design and evaluation of

remediation procedures.

Morey and Woods worked on opposing sides in the lawsuit surrounding

air-quality issues at the DuPage County Courthouse in Wheaton, Woods said.

The situation that resulted in a lawsuit started shortly after the

courthouse was opened in the early 1990s.

While the two worked on opposite sides during the courthouse lawsuit, " as

professionals, we certainly talk together, " Woods said.

Grumman/Butkus was hired to design a heating/ventilation/air conditioning

system retrofitted to the DuPage County Courthouse following the lawsuit.

ez, also a certified industrial hygienist, was chosen partially

because of his knowledge and background in the St. East situation,

Woods said.

" That gives us a historic continuity, " Woods said. " He's familiar with the

case. "

The work done by ez during his tenure focused on biohazards in an

occupational environment.

He has a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and a master's degree in

environmental engineering.

Doyle will avoid any potential conflicts of interest by excluding himself

from any aspects of the reopening plan that he may have been involved in

previously, Woods said.

Guedelhoefer has extensive experience in condition assessment and repair of

distressed buildings, according to a press release from the St.

School District.

He has bachelor's and master's degrees in civil engineering and has been

employed by Raths, Raths & since 1978.

The inclusion of Cahill, Gaye and Bernstein bring medical doctors to the

panel's list of expertise, Woods said.

Three of the seven experts selected for the panel - Morey, Doyle and

Guedelhoefer - are under contract with the school district, Woods said.

Villwock, one of the organizers of Karing Individuals Dedicated to

Safe Schools (KIDDS), said she was unsettled by the makeup of the panel.

KIDDS was formed to monitor the health of students and teachers.

" The panel seems to be very stacked, with Woods being a part of the legal

team, " she said.

" How unsettling that no teachers or community members are involved. "

Villwock said the connections between Morey and Woods, as well as the

presence of NIOSH and Grumman/Butkus on the board meant " such a conflict of

interest these people have. "