A state health investigator found “significant mold growth” in two samples taken from a bookcase Nov. 9 in a first-grade classroom at Zeb Vance Elementary School.The bio-hazard tests were performed in the wake of a few incidences of bites and rashes exhibited Nov. 7 among students in the classroom of Allison Brower.

School Nurse Ann Cannon requested the visit by Romie L. Herring of the Industrial Hygiene Consultation Unit with the Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

Students in the classroom had also reportedly developed skin conditions while they were near the bookcases, according to Henning.

He said the Nov. 7 skin issues included the shoulder area as well as the feet.

On Sept. 26 and Oct. 10, there were flea issues in the classroom when one child reportedly brought fleas to school on him, Henning noted. Only the legs were involved on those dates, he added.
Henning said the classroom was treated for fleas after the second incident.

In a report issued Tuesday, Herring said a sample collected under a table had more mold growth than the samples from the bookcase.

Samples from the underside of a desktop and a window seal did not indicate mold growth, according to Henning. The sample from the window seal was reported to have insect parts on it.

It is not unusual to find small numbers of mold spores on surfaces, Henning wrote.

The samples were collected by applying clear tape to the material under investigation. The tape was then applied to a slide for microscopic examination. The method was used to determine the presence of mold spores and hyphae (thread-like filaments).

“The goal of this investigation was to determine if indoor environmental triggers for the reported symptoms can be documented in the school,” Henning said.

“The symptoms reported can be triggered by a wide range of agents found in our normal indoor and outdoor environments,” he added.

“It is often difficult to determine the specific cause of symptoms which can be caused by wide ranges of chemical, physical and biological agents alone or in combination, that are found in normal indoor and outdoor environments.”
Here are Henning's conclusions:

“The classroom appeared to be reasonably clean and nothing unusual was noted other than some mold growth in some locations. This mold growth was not likely something that had just appeared.

“Mold growth in such locations on furnishings is usually associated with excess humidity. Excessive humidity would be likely to occur during the cooling season or when carpet is cleaned and thorough drying does not occur.
“Moldy materials need to be cleaned regardless of the association or lack of association with the concerns expressed in this classroom.

“The school system cleaned this room over the past weekend. Suspect surfaces were wet wiped with a mixture of chlorine bleach and then dried.

“The carpet was cleaned using the hot water extraction method. The heat was left on in the room to promote drying. This is a reasonable approach with respect to the conditions observed.”

As a follow-up to track conditions favorable to mold growth, Henning suggested humidity levels be periodically monitored to assure they remain below 50 percent for extended periods of time.

While it may be appropriate to do some monitoring during the heating season, the focus of monitoring should be during the cooling season, Henning said.

Present in the classroom during Henning's visit on Nov. 9 were: Principal Anne Garrison; Cannon; Claiborne Woods, director of maintenance for Vance County Schools; and Jim Kelly, environmental health specialist with the Granville-Vance District Health Department.

Terry Hedrick, public information officer for the school system, said the students were not in Brower's classroom for part of Nov. 8. They were absent all of the next day when the tests were performed, she added.

“We have identified nothing that would support any reason for parents to be worried about the environment (at Zeb-Vance),” said Dr. Roddy Drake, director of the Granville-Vance District Health Department.

“I wouldn't have any reservations about sending my child there.”

http://www.hendersondispatch.com/articles/2006/11/15/news/news02.txt

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