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Sept. 17, 2007, 8:45AM
No answers yet to illness mystery at Key Middle School
HISD, union still at odds even as inspections find nothing significant
By ERICKA MELLON
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
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Three weeks have passed since employees at Key Middle School, some of whom were taken to hospitals, began
complaining of mysterious ailments.
Despite repeated inspections, Houston school officials continue to clash with the teachers' union over whether the
building is making people sick. There may never be a definitive answer.
"One of the things I've learned over the years is that indoor air-quality issues can become emotional," said Travis
West, an industry consultant for nearly two decades. "But there are times, honestly, when you cannot put a finger on
a specific source."
Teachers, janitors got sick
The Houston Independent School District has spent an estimated $50,000 testing Key for mold and other possible
contaminants since at least nine of the school's 50 or so teachers went to emergency rooms. Most reported difficulty
breathing and watery eyes.
Seven janitors also went to hospitals after suffering similar complaints.
So, is something at the 50-year-old northeast Houston campus causing illness?
"We can only tell you there's no evidence that is the case," said HISD spokesman Terry Abbott.
Robert Gilmore, the private contractor overseeing the tests, added, "I would not have had any problem having my
three kids at Key Middle School."
But Ronald Jacobs, the first teacher who went to the hospital, countered, "They're playing with kids' lives."
While none of Key's 600 students has departed in an ambulance, some parents have said they suspect something
there is causing their children's headaches, asthma and other ailments.
Carol Mims Galloway, the school's community liaison, who is also running for the school board, said she has heard
from about 10 parents with sick kids. And a nonprofit group that advocates for poor families, the Association of
Community Organizations for Reform Now, has started a petition urging the district to inspect Key more thoroughly.
Seven-hour inspection
Federal statistics show about 20 percent of schools in the nation report air-quality problems. And mold, while
common, can be dangerous.
West, the Houston director of the Indoor Air Quality Association, said that in most cases experts can find problems in
buildings and alleviate people's symptoms. But every so often he runs into what he calls psycho-social ailments:
"when the boss is a jerk or you're unhappy at work."
During a seven-hour inspection of nearly every room at Key on Friday, private consultants did see some mold but
nothing troubling, said Gilmore, senior project manager with ICU Environmental, Health & Safety.
A follow-up test for "volatile organic compounds" also turned up no significant problems, which Gilmore said
confirmed his earlier assessments that the school is "absolutely" safe.
Gayle Fallon, president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, who has asked the district to relocate Key's students
and staff, said, "The fact they can't find it doesn't mean there's nothing there."
District officials have conceded only that some parts of the school are uncomfortably humid. Over the summer,
equipment from three chiller units was stolen, which meant the school was hotter than usual, Abbott said.
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NoMoreSchoolMold wrote:
At The Center for School Mold Help, we often hear of the results of school district inspections "finding nothing" and
trying to pin health ailments from real problems in the building, such as the mold that was found in the inspection, as
hysteria or deliberate. It is cheaper for many districts to hire a company to find nothing than to defend in lawsuits. It
is unimaginable that this district has spent $50,000 and found nothing, except when you realize that if there is a
lawsuit, they will use these reports to defend themselves. They found mold - and it wasn't of concern? What type,
how much? Why? Where is the source of moisture? What dangerous type of cleaning of the previous mold was
conducted that may have made the situation far worse? People don't get sick like this for no reason, especially when
mold is repeatedly found and high levels of humidity are described. This is a moldy, damp, unsafe building. Shut it
down!
9/17/2007 1:05:08 PM |
