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1. You can communicate to those who are concerned that the matter will be given full, immediate consideration and investigation. Keep these people posted - and you may wish to address the whole staff and parents as soon as you are able to - because they need the reassurance that this situation will be handled in a speedy, comprehensive, caring, and safe manner. Then arrange for testing and building investigations on the fast track, it is an urgent matter when people are becoming ill - or hopefully, catching the problem before this occurs.
Note: For prevention, all water leaks and floods should be treated as high level emergencies and addressed (moisture source immediately stopped and wetted materials (all of them) removed or thoroughly dried within a few hours. Mold can take over within 24 hours.
2. You can learn as much as possible about school mold and IAQ, then plan your approach, with district administration, teachers and representatives, and IAQ professionals advising - this is an area that most of us have never received any training on and have very few resources regarding - on the fast track - you can go to our FAQ , Mold Research, and Internet Links pages. Find and browse the sections that address questions you have. Review all the material on this site and linked sites, as well as others you are referred to or find. Get a feel for the problem of school mold and some of the aspects of the controversies surrounding it. One of the noted aspects of sick buildings is the number of ill people in them - it is beyond the norm, and the illnesses themselves are not the normal ones you would see - there is a particular constellation of symptoms to look for. See our Internet Links regarding Sick School/ Building Syndrome. Visit the external link to the virtual school in Your School by Aerias, an IAQ company, and learn where the problems might stem from.
3. We recommend that you obtain and use the EPA kit, Tools For Schools, to improve Indoor Air Quality - which addresses mold. While it isn't perfected, is outdated (three years old) and needs some improvement, this is a program that is written for you - it is a very thorough starting point. You can read about it and obtain it by going to this link: http://www.epa.gov/iaq/schools/actionkit.html
This is a partial peek at what you will find there:
"The Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Tools for Schools Kit (Kit) (see below for HTML and PDF versions of the kit contents) shows schools how to carry out a practical plan of action to improve indoor air problems at little or no cost using straightforward activities and in-house staff. The voluntary guidance in Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools can save schools time and money so that attention can be directed to educating children. Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools is co-sponsored by the National PTA, National Education Association, Council for American Private Education, Association of School Business Officials, American Federation of Teachers, and the American Lung Association.
EPA's IAQ Tools for Schools kit includes checklists for all school employees, a flexible step-by-step guide for coordinating the checklists, an Indoor Air Quality Problem Solving Wheel, a fact-sheet on indoor air pollution issues, and sample policies and memos. "Teachers, education support and other school support staff have a lot to think about," says Keith Geiger, President of the National Education Association. "That is why this kit is so fantastic, it does so much of the thinking for you." In addition to the kit, the EPA, in conjunction with the cast and crew of the popular television series This Old House, has produced a short video about how to properly operate and maintain ventilation systems in schools
How to Order the Action Kit
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/schools/actionkit.html#Order
The IAQ Tools for Schools Action Kit and its components are available free of charge and can be obtained from EPA's National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP):
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
National Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP)
P.O. Box 42419
Cincinnati, OH 42419
www.epa.gov/ncepihom
A Toll-free phone service with live customer service representative assistance at NSCEP and is available Monday through Friday from 9:00am-5:30pm eastern time. Voice Mail is available after operating hours. Call 1-800-490-9198. You can fax your requests to (301) 604-3408. E-mail is also available:
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Ask for EPA document number 402-K-05-001 (hard copy) or 402-C-05-001 (CD-ROM).
How Do I Order Other EPA Publications? Click http://www.epa.gov/epahome/publications.htm
4. All administration members who must deal with this issue should learn more about school mold. One of the biggest problems I have seen is that people do not understand school mold and what it can do - they may not believe it is a real problem and may hold the opinion that it is imaginaryor exaggerated. The insidious nature of mold as it sickens those exposed should be read about. Our website provides much of the best there is on this topic, by the experts in the field of mold research.
5. Realize that to be in the building(s) at all, even for a few minutes, may be dangerous to the health of the ill people. Please understand when a staff person or child may not be able to attend the school. Be supportive. It will make a world of difference. Understand that these people do want to be at the school - they usually feel very upset not to be able to attend. The best thing is to address the illness early, rather than late, according to the literature. The chance of recovery is much greater. Perhaps accommodations can be made for the ill people that allow them to keep working, but not be in the building that bothers them. Often, your hardest workers - those who are there the longest - may be the sickest ones. They have had more hours of exposure. Realize that these people are valuable to the life of the school and have given so much of themselves over the years. Your support and understanding will mean a lot.
6. Try to work WITH the concerned people - be supportive. This will build trust in your administration.
7. Try to do everything as quickly as possible - time is important. Even an extra few hours in a mold-exposed situation can significantly sicken a susceptible individual. Treat it as if it was a serious health threat and remove the individuals from the area until work is complete and the area is thoroughly cleaned and remediated.
8. Find out why the mold is occurring - where it is. See if the custodian knows of any water intrusion or high humidity - water on the walls, signs of it. Leaky ceilings, etc. Investigate the building (carefully - it is dangerous for you, too). Using the Texas Tech U. testing resources, initially, will save the district money - it is far less expensive to do that than to hire a private contractor. You may find what you are dealing with and then may have further testing, if indicated.
9. Try to get the moisture/water source stopped, as the first order of business. Mold needs moisture to grow. It is vital to stop the leaks - rather than just change the ceiling tiles, etc. The water runs in places you can't see. Look at the EPA website for advice on how to inspect a building for mold. Go to epa.gov and do a search on "Mold"- many documents will appear to guide you. One is: http://www.epa.gov/iaq/largebldgs/graphics/appenc.pdf
10. Check on how long ago the HVAC system was serviced, fully, by a trained person. Schedule a complete investigation of the HVAC system, if indicated.
11. When any work is done, follow EPA suggestions. Don't do any work to clean up mold or clean the HVAC system when people are in the building. It is dangerous to do so, because the mold spores get stirred up and this can sicken them more. Your state dept. of education may have issued a set of directions like this one in CA, to guide you: Indoor Air Quality, A Guide for Educators http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/fa/sf/iaq.asp. Do not encapsulate or use chemicals in your HVAC ducts or system, these are dangerous to human health also and are classified as pesticides.
12. If further testing is done by the Health Dept. or an outside contracted company, realize that testing for mold is not an exact science - and is not perfected. Mold emits spores during certain parts of its life cycle, based on environmental conditions, in part. Spore trap testing may not trap any mold - in the main rooms. Sometimes, destructive testing - that done when walls are broken down or cut - must be done. Read about mold testing on our Mold Testing page. There can still be significant amounts of mold present even when the testing comes back negative. It depends on the types of testing, the methods, and the status of the molds in the building.
You may also wish to test for the presence of mycotoxins (fungal poisons that can be aerosolized, independently of the spores or colony), by having your mold inspector send in dust samples or bulk samples to a lab that does this type of testing.
13. If mold is found or strongly suspected, hire the help of trained, licensed mold professionals who can remediate safely. Monitor their plans - be sure that building occupants are not present during remediation of the mold. Have the remediation done as quickly as possible. Every day counts.
14. Keep communication lines open with staff , their unions/associations, the students, and parents. Be open and honest about what is happening and what is being done to address it. Protect them from exposure during this time by completely removing them from any contaminated areas and containing the areas being worked on, completely, according to EPA standards, or higher.
This will build more trust. This is all about the safety of the community - it is a serious health threat that everyone should be concerned about and work together on.
15. Keep in mind that health and learning are intertwined, particularly in the case of mold, which has been proven to impact the brain and nervous system - interfering with memory, concentration, and thought processes. (Kilburn, 2004) Ridding the school of mold, or in the worst case scenario, rebuilding a school that cannot be remediated fully, is going to improve student and teacher health, as well as significantly improving learning in this school community.
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