Article from IEQ Review

I am a teacher in a large, urban, western USA school district. I had good health until I went to work at Sherman Elementary School, in a high poverty, central, downtown area, where up to 1,000 students attended.

At Sherman, the air conditioner/heating system had many complaints -- it was very dirty, animals (rats) died in it, the air coming out in some rooms smelled like mold or dead animals, at times, and the air was stagnant in some rooms. This school was enclosed, with no windows, I might add. The temperature varied, from too hot to too cold (my room was 48 degrees for three months and I had to purchase ski type clothing to keep warm). Above the ceiling tiles, which were part of a drop ceiling, there was a black layer of particles that was 1/2 inch deep, and these particles would actually drift in the air, in some rooms. Some work was done on the HVAC system and ceilings, while the students and staff were in the building, which undoubtedly gave us further exposure.

Since 1998, the staff had complained, as a survey showed that over 40 were ill with respiratory and sinus conditions that they had not had till coming to work at Sherman. The principal was eventually diagnosed with emphysema, though he never had smoked, and his office air conditioning unit was found to have a soup of bacteria near the air intake, which was cleaned. One day, when I had been at the school for just a few months, the principal tried to tell me how ill he was and couldn't speak from coughing and breathlessness. I noticed that the vents for the air conditioning and heating system had thick, globular looking strings of dirt hanging from them, in the teachers' lounge, right above the refrigerator and microwave, where food was prepared. I noticed other vents were filthy. No one would clean the one in the lounge, till I complained for many months. No one told me about the staff complaints about the building HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and AC System) till long after I became ill, a year after arriving at Sherman, with severe respiratory problems that have never entirely cleared up. I also developed problems with multiple chemical sensitivities, though I didn't recognize it as such, and memory problems. The very first year, I experienced irritable bowel -- a very painful and new experience for me, that, looking back on all this, was probably also related to the ongoing toxic exposure that was happening at the school.

In the third year that I was at the school, I found out about the survey and the ill staff. I filed a Worker's Comp claim due to my respiratory problems that needed medical attention, and the absences it caused -- but the district has denied it. The district hired an environmental company who did a limited inspection and pronounced the air quality "healthy". I tried wearing a face mask, which did improve my symptoms, somewhat, and I moved into an exterior room, but still had meetings and daily activities to conduct in the main building. I left the school four months after I found out that the building was the probable culprit for my mysterious upper and lower respiratory symptoms.

For one year, I felt I was slowly improving. After being in a different school, this fall, in the same district, where mold was found by professional testing in a room that I felt was making me feel like I had at Sherman, I have become very ill again (second exposure to a sensitized person is worse, I have now learned). I have been unable to work since early November of this year. I feel like these exposures have stolen my good health and I won't be able to work as a teacher in the poorly maintained buildings of my very defensive and non-supportive school district.

I worry about the children, very much, in these schools. I have no vehicle to inform parents. If I call them directly, or write them, I could be fired, as another teacher was, for misuse of student records. The media supports our district so much that it is hopeless to try to get them to cover something this controversial. I have been just trying to regain as much of my health (respiratory, sinus, and brain function) as I can, have sought medical help and have a firm diagnosis of the variety of conditions above as a result of exposure to molds and mycotoxins. This constellation of symptoms does not occur except for toxic exposures -- and the fact that so many coworkers were ill, combined with one positive mold report -- are the smoking gun that the doctor used.

What is needed are studies of people exposed to these conditions -- particularly in schools. The number of children with medical conditions in schools that are inspected acccording to EPA standards and found to have mold and bacteria in the ventilation systems would be documentable, compared to similar, control schools. I ask that someone out there conduct some studies -- our children should not have to suffer debilitating illness (and neither should teachers). At my district alone, the teachers' association has had reports from 10 percent of the schools that teachers/staff feel mold is causing them illness. We need studies and help in the area of prevention, diagnosing, and treatment.

Prevention could occur right now -- if parents took the time to inspect, observe, and ensure that their children's school was safe and healthy. At the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Web site, there are materials to view if you search on school mold that could assist.

Thank you for your time in reading this. To contact me, please write me at nomoreschoolmold@aol.com.

For more information, contact:
Alan L. Wozniak, CIAQP
800-422-7873 ext. 802
info@pureaircontrols.com