Thursday, August 27, 2009 8:44 PM CDT
Charleston elementary school leaders work on air quality
By DAVE FOPAY, Staff Writer
dfopay@jg-tc.com
CHARLESTON — It’s been a month since the air quality was tested at Carl Sandburg Elementary School and problems with humidity and some mold were found.
Now it’s wait-and-see if the work done on the school helps with the situation, which caused some school staff members to complain about how it was affecting them.
A Collinsville firm, Environmental Consultants, conducted tests at the school on July 28. Jeffry Faust, the company’s inspector, found moisture stains from roof leaks and mold in some locations, mostly the school’s main office, according to his report.
Since then, the school district has repaired roof drains and done more to stop the leaks, said Bill Richardson, the district’s building and grounds director.
How to otherwise address the humidity levels, which can promote mold growth if they’re too high, is still being determined, he said. He noted that the humidity was partly because air conditioning wasn’t used in most of the building during summer to save on energy costs.
School secretary Judy Walters is one of the staff members who mentioned feeling ill at the school. The answer to the question of whether she thinks things are better now is “yes and no,” she said.
Walters said she didn’t need to take her allergy medication while she was at the school most of the time over the summer. But when workers turned on exhaust fans to try to reduce the humidity, she again felt the need for them.
“If I’m gone from school a week or two and I don’t take them, I’m fine,” she said. Outside of school, her allergy to cats is the only one that bothers her, she said, but at school before the work was done, there were times when headaches and breathing trouble led her to see a doctor.
“I am better but I’m still taking my medications,” Walters said. “They are working to improve it.”
Carl Sandburg Principal Chad Burgett said the inspector’s report was issued around the time the school year began. Now, with students back in class, the air conditioning is on and that, combined with the work that was done, should help, he said.
“The humidity levels are definitely going down,” Burgett said. “Hopefully, all these things are going to make a difference.”
Richardson said a contractor fixed “multiple leaks” on the Carl Sandburg roof. Also, drains that weren’t installed properly in the first place were changed, as grates that covered openings were replaced with ones that don’t clog as readily, he explained.
The air conditioning was on the day before and day of the testing and the results were that humidity was still “fairly high,” Richardson said. The inspector suggested dehumidifiers but those might not be feasible in large classrooms and because they would have to be emptied frequently, he said.
The decision was to not follow one of the inspector’s recommendations, which was to consider removing plants from outside air conditioning units, Richardson also said. Students go outside now and aren’t bothered by the plants, so they’ll be removed only if a student or a staff member has an allergy to them, he said.
“I don’t know if we’ve ever had a problem with a kid with an allergy for that,” Richardson said.
Faust tested several classrooms and the school office for mold. His report said the only location where mold levels were significant was in the office, but those were lower than outdoor levels.
“The office is open all summer,” said Richardson, explaining that the mold or its cause could have been tracked in from outside, which the inspector’s report also said.
Walters said she first noticed the problem about five or six years ago. Richardson said the district had the air tested there in the past and mold levels have “always been higher outside than inside.”
Still, Walters also said “many teachers” have also complained about the conditions. She said one told her that she was fine over the summer but has started coughing she since she returned to school.
“We’re all hoping for some improvements,” she said.
Faust is scheduled to be at the school today to talk to staff about the report, and Burgett said he’s encouraging staff to ask questions then. Burgett also said staff members should follow the report’s advice of giving a copy of it to their doctors to see if it helps with allergy treatments, and Walters said she did that.
Contact Dave Fopay at dfopay@jg-tc.com or 238-6858.
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kamfong wrote on Aug 28, 2009 8:12 AM: