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Monday, October 22, 2007
Mold is found in trailer housing kindergarten
The Jersey Journal - NJ.com - Jersey City,NJ*
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/index.ssf?/base/news-5/1193033719249010.xml&coll=3
Two trailers full of kindergarten students in Jersey City had to be
emptied last week after school officials confirmed the presence of
mold.
The mold was discovered in a corner of one of the 40-year-old
trailers, said School 16 Principal Joseph Marsella. But as a
precautionary measure, the class in the adjacent trailer was
relocated inside the Washington Street schoolhouse as well, Marsella
said.
Even though the tests - originally conducted Sept. 27, but not
returned to the district until Thursday morning - confirmed the
presence of mold, the concentration of mold spores isn't considered
harmful to people, according to environmental consultants hired by
the district, Marsella said.
In fact, the consultant - PMK Group of Cranford - found the
concentration of mold spores to be higher outside the trailer than
it was inside, Marsella said.
"We were told it's safe," Marsella said Thursday. "We met with
parents this morning. We are sending letters home to all the parents
tonight."
The roughly 42 students were relocated to the school's art and music
rooms, and could expect to return to their classrooms in about a
week, he said.
The area where mold was found will be replaced and washed with
bleach, he said.
The test was conducted in response to a complaint from a
teacher "who was having trouble with her throat," Marsella said.
Told about the mold discovery, Cristina Weiner, who has a first-
grader and a sixth-grader at the elementary school, said, "I think
he (Marsella) will definitely handle it. We have high standards
here."
Students at School 15 on Stegman Street were recently displaced for
more than a week when mold was discovered beneath a soaked gym
floor.
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