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Thursday, March 9, 2006
Health, safety plan for schools is 'unacceptable'
Teachers, parents say mold, lead aren't addressed
By JULIE DAVIDOW
P-I REPORTER
OLYMPIA -- Teachers and parents on Wednesday criticized a draft plan to improve school health and safety rules,
calling it a "toothless feel-good policy" that does little to address concerns about mold on the walls, lead in the water
and other environmental toxins that have left children and teachers sick across the state.
About a dozen teachers and parents told members of the state Board of Health that the draft -- the first attempt to
revise school health and safety rules in 30 years -- is unacceptable.
"What is needed is a state-level policy with some teeth," said Robert Femiano, a first-grade teacher at Arbor Heights
Elementary School in Seattle who alerted school officials about mold in his classroom months before any action was
taken.
The draft, which was presented at the board meeting, contains provisions requiring schools to test for lead and
develop plans for responding to mold -- both policies would be firsts.
Maryanne Guichard, director of the state's Office of Environmental Health & Safety, said similar requirements to test
drinking water for copper and cadmium were left out of the draft because lead seems to be "more of a widespread
problem."
Mark Cooper, a parent and longtime advocate for lead testing in schools, said the omission was an example of the
department's disregard for the recommendations submitted by an advisory committee that met for months to develop
plans for the draft.
Cooper was the parent representative on the School Rule Development Committee.
The draft represents a "betrayal of public trust," Cooper told board members.
Guichard said every effort was made to incorporate the committee's input. Limited budgets and a shortage of trained
local public health staff make enforcing health and safety rules in schools a challenge, she said.
"We want to be protective for children but we also want to be realistic about the resources available to schools" and
public health departments, Guichard said.
But by leaving the testing and cleanup to school officials, the department is advocating the status quo -- a system that
lacks accountability and oversight, said Gary Arthur, a fifth grade teacher in the Issaquah School District.
"Guidelines simply aren't enough to keep us safe," said Arthur, who said that his wife, also a teacher, developed a
serious fungal infection after exposure to mold at a school in the Highline School District where she taught for 13
years.
Several speakers, including Cooper, called for an ombudsman position to be created in the Attorney General's office
that would allow parents and teachers to take their complaints and concerns to an outside party.
"You can't ask a risk management (official) from a school district to respond in an appropriate manner," said Jennifer
Aspelund, who said her son's exposure to mold at Nathan Hale High School left him with a compromised immune
system.
Board member Karen VanDusen asked staff to research whether the ombudsman proposal is possible.
Parents and teachers also said their concerns have been repeatedly downplayed by school officials who attribute
their complaints to hysteria or other mental health problems.
"There is no evidence of that," said Harriet Ammann, a toxicologist with the Air Quality Program at the state
Department of Ecology. "It is essential to listen to the occupants of the building."
The draft also requires school officials to keep records of testing results and make them available to the public.
A dozen workshops to solicit public comment on the draft proposal have been scheduled this month around the state.
The first two are being held today in Wenatchee and Spokane. The Seattle meeting will be 7 to 9 p.m. March 16 at
Mercer Middle School, 1600 S. Columbian Way.
A final draft is expected by July, Guichard said.
In addition to indoor air quality and drinking water, the draft calls for inspections of playground equipment and soil
testing.
For Sara Cramer, the attention to school health hazards is long overdue. In 1993, her 9-year-old son Daniel Brainerd
became ill after his school on Bainbridge Island used a toxic solvent to remove floor tiles that contained asbestos.
Within days of exposure to the solvent, the bubbly fourth-grader developed severe stomach cramps that left him
curled up in pain on the couch. He slept up to 18 hours a day and lost seven pounds in five months.
In November, after years of suffering from the depression and alienation caused by his diagnosis of multiple
chemical sensitivity disorder, Brainerd committed suicide at the age of 22.
"They just said 'Oh, it's safe. It's safe' A year and a half later, a bunch of students and teachers were sick," said
Cramer.
"I would like some other agency to be in charge of deciding when a school is unsafe."
This report includes material from P-I archives. P-I reporter Julie Davidow can be reached at 206-448-8180 or
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