|
This school in Ontario, Canada, is seen by a student's parent as the cause of illness, and was found to have unacceptable levels and types of mould. The Center for School Mold Help's resources helped educate the local teachers' union and armed with these resources, helped make a difference in this school district, by late August, 2007, according to news reports.
Mould worries parent of Tecumseh school student; school mould Blamed
for son's rash
Chatham Daily News - Chatham,Ontario,Canada
ELLWOOD SHREVE / The Daily News
http://www.chathamdailynews.ca/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?
contentid=506320&catname=Local+News&classif=
Tony Hendriks sees a disturbing trend when his seven-year-old son
Dwayne Somerville goes to school - he becomes ill.
The Grade 2 Tecumseh Public School student stayed home this past
week recovering from a rash his parents believe is being caused by a
mould situation at the Chatham school.
"Every time (Dwayne) goes (to school) he gets a rash, a headache or
a sore throat," Hendriks said.
The last time the seven-year-old attended class was April 19 and 20.
Two days later he ended up in the emergency room, because he had a
sore throat and a rash on his face, Hendriks said.
Since being off school, Dwayne's rash has almost cleared up and he's
feeling better, his dad said.
However he's not sure about sending his son back to school.
"Our main concern is with his health," Hendriks said. "He's not
going to get his education if he's not healthy."
He wants his son to return to class, but wants to make sure Dwayne's
going to stay healthy.
Dwayne's class has been removed from Room 124 at the school after
mould was discovered in the room before March Break.
There continues to be a mould situation at Tecumseh school, despite
extensive remediation work on the ventilation system and other
cleanup measures, confirmed LKDSB director of education Gayle
Stucke.
But a baffling situation has arisen with the all-purpose room the
Grade 2 class from Room 124 used after the mould situation arose.
Stucke said some students and the teacher continue to have a
reaction in the form of rash, despite the fact the all purpose room
has tested clear of any mould.
"I don't think that room is near as clear as they say it is,"
Hendriks said.
The class has since been moved from the all-purpose room, Stucke
said.
She said parents would be advised to see their family physician to
see if their children are allergic to something because testing
shows "it's not a mould problem in that room."
If a specific allergy can be pinpointed, she said testing for that
can be done.
As well, the board has contacted a London doctor who specializes in
environmental issues, Stucke said. Arrangements are being made to
have the doctor consult with board officials and interested staff,
she added.
The Ministry of Labour is aware of what the board is doing along
with the Chatham-Kent Health Unit, she said.
Although he hasn't seen any of the affected people at Tecumseh or
consulted with their physicians, Chatham-Kent's Medical Officer of
Health, Dr. David Colby said, "I would be highly skeptical that this
has anything to do with the mould that's growing there."
Mould is everywhere and humans deal with just fine with our immune
systems, he said.
"In any group of people, you have some unexplained symptomotology
for various things going on their life (such as) viral infections,
skin irritations or allergies," Colby said. "I think it's highly
presumptuous, at the very least, to blame all this on the fact
there's some mould growing in a couple of classrooms."
Meanwhile, the battle with mould continues at the school.
Consultants recently conducted clearance testing, which showed all
affected rooms at Tecumseh to be at acceptable levels, except Room
124, which had an elevated level of the mould type cladosporius,
Stucke said.
"There's no explanation as to why it would show up in that room
(now) when it hadn't shown previously," she said.
Stucke said another firm has been called in to work with the
original consultant to try to get to the bottom of this situation.
Evasive testing, which included taking out a panel at the top of the
wall, showed the presence of mould, she said. The mould was
contained to the panel, but wasn't the same type of mould found in
the air, she added.
"It really is a quite a mystery," she said, noting the school is
clean, bright and well maintained.
Panels in Room 124 are being replaced and the two consultants will
work together to do more testing, "and hopefully that will be it,"
she said.
"We're determined we're going to find a solution," Stucke said. "I
think we've demonstrated we're willing to do any remediation that's
required."
A followup Letter to the Editor by The Center for School Mold Help helped clarify some of the above, and with our resources, utilized by the teachers at this district, who educated their union on the problem, led to a willingness on the part of the district to have all their schools tested and remediated, reported in the news, Aug. 30, 2007.
There is no mystery regarding the reasons for the ill health of the children and staff at Tecumseh School, Mrs. Stucke. There is extensive scientific literature, with consensus from Health Canada, regarding building moulds, showing them to be quite dangerous to health, in direct contrast to those quoted in this article. In fact, mould in school buildings often produces chronic illness in many school teachers and students. The Center for School Mold Help, located online at www.schoolmoldhelp.org, has a wealth of information about this topic.
As recently as March, 2007, the Canadian Director General, Safe Environments Programme, and the Minister of Health have issued statements that moulds contain elements with inflammatory properties, allergens and toxic chemicals. According to Health Canada, the health effects of mould exposure include asthma-like symptoms and severe biochemical changes, supported by more recent studies, even when subjected to low-dose toxins. Health Canada considers that "mould growth in residential buildings may pose a health hazard" and that safe limits are not possible to determine. Therefore, in the absence of safe limits, diligent cleaning and elimination of water intrusion, water damage and visible or concealed moulds are considered essential, regardless of the type of mould...and lastly, but most importantly, "in the absence of exposure limits, results from tests for the presence of fungi in air cannot be used to assess risks to the health of building occupants". (http://www.ec.gc.ca/CEPARegistry/notices/NoticeText.cfm?intNotice=400&intDocument=2692)
These guidelines for residences can be applied to schools, where healthy buildings are essential for learning and safety. Finding individuals who deny the dangers of building moulds will not satisfy parents of sick children, nor will this help sick teachers return to their classrooms and it is certainly not the position of Health Canada.
Susan Brinchman
Founder and Executive Director,
The Center for School Mold Help
P.O. Box 3422
La Mesa, CA 91944-3422
www.schoolmoldhelp.org
See http://new.schoolmoldhelp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=484&Itemid=33 for the outcome of this effort. |
