Mold, Sick Building and Construction Defects Alert
For many schools, the price of a hot summer has been bills for mold inspection and remediation. Here are reports on mold and other problems from Lousiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Hawaii, North Carolina, Illionois, South Carolina, California, Washington and Florida.
General Interest:
Energy costs, open-concept offices and new variable standards are affecting air quality and results in billions on extra costs reports The Globe and Mail.
Louisiana:
A state district judge granted class-action status to a lawsuit filed by three parents of students who attended the now-closed Chalmette Christian Academy reports The Times-Picayune.
Michigan:
Dearborn middle school has mold in the building, but officials emphasized that children were not at risk because of the low levels, Local 4 reported.
Wyoming:
Black mold in Eastern Wyoming College’s apartment building reslted in the building's evacuation and forced the college’s board of trustees to call a special meeting Thursday night to discuss its options on dealing with the problem reports The Torrington Telegram Online
Pennsylvania:
The Attorney General has filed suit against a Monroe County home builder, alleging he performed shoddy work and used customers' deposits on luxury homes costing more than a half million dollars each to complete other houses reports the Morning Call.
Improper insulation has caused a mold problem at Trinity West elementary school reports the Washington Observer-Reporter. The air cooling units are located above the ceilings of the classrooms, rather than on the outside walls. The original insulation installed when the building was constructed was not the correct size, allowing condensation to seep through and saturate the fiberglass insulation, and trigger mold growth.
Florida:
Students at Tarpon Springs Elementary School ate brown bag lunches in courtyards and classrooms.The seating area in the cafeteria building is closed, because there is mold on the ceiling tiles and particularly around an air handler unit reports Tampa Bay's 10 News.
Washington:
Arbor Heights Elementary students will be able to return to their classrooms though some mold and standing water still remain underneath one wing of the building because workers have installed large air vents in each classroom and exhaust fans below, which the schol's expert says prevents air from the crawl space from getting into the classrooms, reports the Seattle Post.
California:
Water from underground springs in the hills behind Tamalpais High School most likely spawned the mold concentrations that have led to postponement of the start of school, officials said. Also, Keyser Hall, composed of 18 rooms, 12 of which serve as classrooms for some 400 students was shut indefinitely because a musty odor that had persisted for the last several years intensified this month prompting the district to order a round of tests for mold. The results showed several types of mold in the building and that indoor mold concentrations greatly exceeded those taken from outside the building under evaluation reports the Marin Independent Journal.
South Carolina:
An unsealed roof-top heat pump unit allowing humid unconditioned air to be pulled into the air stream supply is thought to be the cause of the moisture and mold at Greenwood Elementary School reports the Morning News Online.
Ohio:
Kings High School has had a history of mold problems dating back to 2001. In an attempt to permanently eliminate the mold problems, the district recently hired a consultant to evaluate the heating, ventilating, and air conditioning system, said the Superintendent, reports the Deerfield Community Press.
Illinois:
Students, and teachers were supposed to be in the classrooms at Trico Elementary on Wednesday, but workers are still cleaning up toxic mold delaying the start of the school year back another week reports KFVS.
North Carolina:
Principals in at least six schools this summer: drifts of mold scattered across carpets, on furniture or on walls in classrooms reports the Winston-Salem Journal.
Virginia:
Amy Johnson is on a crusade against mold, and she is determined to keep pressing Stafford County officials about the organisms she believes have sickened her 7-year-old and other children and employees at Grafton Village Elementary School. County officials began conducting tests at Grafton Village in 2003 after teachers refused to work in the building because of mold growing on corkboards, a concrete ceiling and textbooks.Officials hired professional testing and special cleaning services, but June test results showed that mold levels are still slightly elevated reports the Washington Post.
Hawaii:
Mold has invaded the Kennedy Theatre on the Manoa campus of the University of Hawaii, forcing the cancellation of the first play of the season. The white fuzzy stuff coats the wooden railings, armrests, seats and walls; there's even some on the carpet, according to KHON2 News.