news-journalonline.com

DAYTONA BEACH -- More air samples were taken Tuesday from four mold-contaminated rooms at Longstreet Elementary School, and another consultant is being called in to review the cleanup.

"I don't think we're satisfied we've gotten every odor," said Pat Drago, facilities director for Volusia County schools. "We're continuing to check it."

Drago said Rene Salazar, a Tampa indoor air quality consultant, will visit Longstreet on Friday to evaluate the situation.

"I want to make sure we're not missing anything," Drago said. "And I want to make sure the teachers and the parents know we're going to the nth degree to get good advice and good direction and we're not just listening to ourselves."

Two teachers first reported odor problems when they started to move into newly renovated classrooms Jan. 11 and later reported respiratory system irritations they believe were related to the rooms.

Classes have been reassigned to a computer lab and portable classrooms while the rooms are tested and repaired.

Tests by school district personnel showed mold and mildew in the carpet. Air samples taken Jan. 24 confirmed the presence of mold spores in all four rooms where windows, exterior walls and ceiling tiles had been replaced.

The carpet has since been replaced, and the air handlers and ducts have been cleaned.

The final report from an Orlando consultant who performed the earlier air tests, released Tuesday, also recommended the air handling systems for the classrooms be checked for proper operation and humidity control and cleaning procedures be improved.

Drago said that will be done, and classes will not return to the affected rooms until "we're clear."

Meanwhile, some Longstreet teachers and parents have been seeking advice from other sources -- including a federally certified Illinois workplace safety expert and the Volusia teachers union.

Linda May, whose Illinois consulting firm specializes in toxic mold identification, said some of the mold found in the four Longstreet classrooms -- aspergillus, penicillium and cladosporium -- emit a toxic gas that can make people sick.

Three Longstreet teachers have sought medical treatment for symptoms they believe are related to classroom mold.

Volusia Teachers Organization President Andrew Spar said the union has filed a grievance over teachers' complaints that school district officials denied their request to see a workers' compensation doctor. The union also is looking into how the district clears rooms for teachers and students to return after construction projects.

http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Headlines/frtHEAD03020608.htm
 

####

Pure Air Control Services
800-422-7873