School officials say the Rossview Elementary School passed indoor air quality testing that was ordered after black mold was discovered inside while the building was under construction in late June.

Tommy Butler, the school system’s risk management and safety coordinator, sent a letter with the results to Director of Schools Mike Harris and other administrators last week.

According to the letter, the new school “received a good report following extensive and thorough indoor air quality testing.”

On June 25, The Leaf-Chronicle reported that several walls in the building's unfinished "A" wing had developed black mold and published one of 32 photographs provided by someone close to the construction, but wished to remain anonymous.

The mold was discovered on June 22 after a severe storm on June 18 blew rain into the wing and high humidity in the days that followed caused the mold to form.

The general contractor, Biscan, quickly responded, using “standard construction practices" to clean some walls in the affected areas and to replace any drywall that was suspected of having mold behind it.

On June 26, Jim Sumrell, the school system’s chief operations officer, said Biscan had replaced all of the drywall in rooms affected by mold in response to reaction from the story.

The school system and the contractor ordered the air quality tests after construction was completed to assure parents and staff that the new school is safe.

Butler’s letter indicates that Resolution Incorporated of Nashville performed the testing on July 28, July 31 and Aug. 4.

“Final air sample results indicated indoor mold spores similar in type and below outside mold spore concentrations; therefore, all the test areas passed the final mold inspection,” he wrote in the letter.

Butler noted that “mold is naturally occurring and present in the environment and that typically, indoor counts should be less than outdoor counts and consisting of the same type of mold spores.”

Jim Coleman, vice president of Biscan, said the school’s air quality “passed with flying colors” when their independent firm conducted tests.

“We always knew it would not be a problem, but we wanted to be sure,” he said.

For more on this story, see Wednesday’s edition of The Leaf-Chronicle.

http://www.theleafchronicle.com/article/20090811/NEWS01/90811010/Tests+show+no+mold+problem+at+Rossview+Elementary

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