In the past, viruses and bacteria were entirely unknown, yet had massive effects on health. In a similar way, today many illnesses are due to exposure to biotoxins, especially those made by molds growing inside our buildings, yet many aren’t yet aware of it ... They soon will be, though: biotoxin-induced illness will become one of the most important medical topics in the 21st Century. (Mold Warriors, Shoemaker, 2005)
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Wrightsboro, NC: Elementary school closed because of mold
Read three articles and view videos of interviews about this NC school with ongoing mold complaints for the past three years. At least one parent doesn't trust this school district - her child became ill while in a moldy Wrightsboro, NC school. The move improved her son's health, but she says, "The damage is done". See article two, below, for more in-depth information about the history of mold and illness in Wrightsboro, NC schools. See TV news interviews, mold testing information, and more about the decade-long saga of problems and complaints. Unfortunately, it is not unusual for American school districts to ignore water-damage and mold as a minor annoyance, which can lead to debilitating illness in students and staff. (SMH)
Click here to view interview with teacher Nancy Cox, who developed chronic asthma as a result of her exposures at this school. 6:44 minutes(WECT TV 6)
NC elementary school closed because of mold; students moved to another facility
WRIGHTSBORO, N.C. (AP) — An elementary school in coastal North Carolina has been closed because of mold, and students are being moved to another school for the rest of the year.
The StarNews of Wilmington reported more than 400 students in the first through fifth grades will leave Wrightsboro Elementary School on Friday. Beginning April 5, they'll attend Holly Shelter Middle School.
Assistant school superintendent Bill Hance says mold spores were found in air samples above the ceilings in several of Wrightsboro's newer buildings, built in 2000.
It's the second time this year students have been moved from Wrightsboro Elementary. In February, mold spores were found in other buildings, and kindergartners were moved Castle Hayne Elementary School.
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Information from: The StarNews, http://starnewsonline.com
Comments:
NoMoreSchoolMold
We commend this school district for moving their students when mold is found. We hope that they will follow the strictest guidelines in remediating this mold, found in Recognition, Evaluation, and Control of Indoor Mold, published by AIHA (American Industrial Hygiene Association). The mistakes that well-intended school districts make, such as poor maintenance that leads to mold in the first place, and poor forms of so-called remediation that actually make mold problems worse, may be avoided with the use of this information. Parents who wish to check their children's symptoms for signs of mold or dampness-related illness may go to www.schoolmoldhelp.org and visit the Free Resources - "SMH Parent Checklist for School Health" page. Once again, this district is to be commended for its prompt removal of students.
The Daily Comet Published: Friday, March 19, 2010 at 9:04 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, March 19, 2010 at 9:04 a.m.
It was called the "Wrightsboro cough," named after the New Hanover County elementary school where teachers and students reported having respiratory problems while classes were in session.
Now, Wrightsboro Elementary School is closing for the rest of the year because of mold. The StarNews of Wilmington reported Friday that more than 400 first- through fifth-graders will attend Holly Shelter Middle School beginning April 5.
"When I started coughing there, some of the other teachers there joked, 'Oh, that's what we call the Wrightsboro cough,'" said former Wrightsboro teacher Nancy Cox. "But that Wrightsboro cough goes away during the summer."
Cox said her coughing has stopped since she went on medical leave in 2008.
Mold spores were found in air samples above the ceilings in several of Wrightsboro's newer buildings, built in 2000, said Bill Hance, assistant superintendent for planning, technology and operations.
The type of mold found was penicillium/aspergillus, fungi the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classify as common indoor molds. The Institute of Medicine has found evidence linking indoor exposure to mold with upper respiratory tract symptoms, coughs and wheezing in otherwise healthy people.
The first mold spores were reported in two school buildings housing kindergarten students in February, when they were moved to Castle Hayne Elementary School.
The closing of the school didn't surprise Erin Glew, whose 5-year-old son attended Wrightsboro before being moved to Castle Hayne.
Her son, Elijah Lopes Da Silva, started having a consistent cough and respiratory problems soon after the start of the year, she said. Eventually, she had to give him daily nebulizer treatments to ease his cough. Since moving to Castle Hayne, the boy no longer coughs daily, she said.
"I have no trust with (the school) now. They can fix the problem, but the damage is already done," Glew said. "These kids have already been sick."
Her son, Elijah Lopes Da Silva, started having a consistent cough and respiratory problems soon after the start of the year, she said. Eventually, she had to give him daily nebulizer treatments to ease his cough. Since moving to Castle Hayne, the boy no longer coughs daily, she said.
"I have no trust with (the school) now. They can fix the problem, but the damage is already done," Glew said. "These kids have already been sick."
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Information from: The StarNews, http://starnewsonline.com
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Comment:
NoMoreSchoolMold
In a more revealing article about this school (Daily Comet) "Mold forces officials to close NC grade school", we learn that children and teachers have been ill in this school. That changes the picture. We encourage all parents of children in this school to read The Center for School Mold Help(SMH)'s Parent Checklist for School Health, located at www.schoolmoldhelp.org , along with 2,000 articles to help parents and school staff understand school mold, its health effects, and what to do about it. The Center for School Mold Help is a national, educational, 501c3 nonprofit. The coughs and respiratory illnesses described by parents and staff are in alignment with illnesses the CDC and WHO say damp buildings are associated with. Take great care not to let your children re-enter a water-damaged building.
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Former Wrightsboro teacher talks about mold issue
Click hereto view interview with school official Dr. Rick Holliday, as he defends school district actions. 12 minutes (WECT TV 6)
Click here to view interview with teacher Nancy Cox, who developed chronic asthma as a result of her exposures at this school. 6:44 minutes(WECT TV 6)
Mold from at-home detection kit (Source: Nancy Cox)
Mold from at-home detection kit (Source: Nancy Cox)
Reported by Kristy Ondo – bio |
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NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WECT) – Tables and chairs are being removed from several buildings at Wrightsboro Elementary, as teachers pack their things to move to Holly Shelter Middle School for the remainder of the school year.
In February, school officials closed down two buildings on campus because of mold, sending kindergartners to Castle Hayne Elementary. ___________________________________________
Additional testing showed mold spores had spread throughout the campus, so New Hanover County school officials have shut down the entire school for the remainder of the academic school year.
"We're doing this because we feel like the community has concerns and we want to listen to those concerns," explained Dr. Rick Holliday.
While teachers prepare their new classrooms, students will be out of school with an extended spring break -- March 19 to April 2. School officials are trying to determine if the extra week of school missed will have to be made up. Kindergarten students, however, would be exempt from make-up days because they won't be missing additional class time since they were already relocated.
Parents are unhappy it has taken the school system so long to act on the mold findings; a problem they say has been present at the school all year.
"I'm not happy and I'm kind of worried, you know, about maybe health problems down the road now," said Veronica Woods. "I'm thinking about taking my kids to the doctor during spring break."
Woods said she is most upset that the school system tested additional classrooms for mold, but never notified parents the fungus could have spread.
Nancy Cox, a former Wrightsboro teacher, believes the mold problems date back at least a decade. Cox says she developed a cough within days of moving to the school, and teachers there called it the "Wrightsboro Cough." Her cough turned into asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia.
In October 2007, Cox and other teachers took their concerns to the school's principal, and even handed over a petri dish full of mold they had collected in a classroom with an at-home detection kit.
Three years later the school system is finally doing something to fix the problem, but Holliday says there are no plans to test any other schools in the district for similar issues.
Mold from at-home detection kit (Source: Nancy Cox)
Mold from at-home detection kit (Source: Nancy Cox)