Does McLeod West have a mold problem? The answer depends on who you ask.

Linda K. May, an Illinois-based nurse and health and safety consultant, believes the students and staff at McLeod West School in Brownton are in possible mortal danger.

Doug Schultz, a spokesman for the state Department of Health, said, “It’s generally not our practice to offer opinions on environmental assessments without doing our own on-site inspection.”

But after Schultz and health department staff saw results of a January indoor air quality investigation at McLeod West, he concluded, “Is the school in imminent danger? No.”

The investigation found some species of potentially harmful mold present in the air in several rooms. Could the mold harm kids and adults at McLeod West? Schultz said, “It’s tricky because every person has different sensitivities, even within normal ranges. Some people respond differently to indoor air contaminants.”

May’s assessment of the same results was decidedly more grim. “This is not something you ignore. This is something you address immediately.”

Test results showed no sign of Stachybotrys chartarum — the notorious “black mold” which produces a neurotoxin — but May believes McLeod West should proceed with caution.

“It’s a deadly, dangerous game you play,” she added. “If you ignore it even at the levels you have, your kids will die. Or at least become seriously ill.”

How bad is it?
These radically different opinions characterize an ongoing debate over the health risks of mold in buildings.

“All buildings will have mold at some level,” said Ron Anderson, a health inspector with the Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration. “The scientific community hasn’t been able to confirm what a harmful level of mold is. And part of that is because it’s different for every person that’s out there.”

Prior to the January investigation, some staff at McLeod West reported allergic symptoms and respiratory concerns, according to Superintendent Tom Hiebert. “Their doctors advised them to check out their working conditions,” he said.

The district brought Musser Environmental Services in to see what was in the air at McLeod West. On Jan. 7, the company measured carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, temperature and humidity levels. An ultra-fine particle counter and microbial impactor were also used to identify particulate matter and airborne microorganisms.

The results, according to a Feb. 12 letter to the editor by Heibert [1], were within “normal ranges for airborne mold and particles for schools.” May said someone e-mailed her the letter, which caught her attention.

May, who last year worked with schools in Louisiana, Tennessee, Connecticut and New Jersey on mold issues, espouses “zero tolerance” for airborne mold. She believes the McLeod West School building should close, the students and staff should move to another facility, the district should gut the rooms where mold was detected, and the school should replace its entire heating, ventilation and air conditioning system.

Musser Environmental recommended less stringent measures. To improve indoor air quality, the company suggested stabilizing temperatures throughout the building and bringing additional fresh air ventilation into the building.

In practice, McLeod West will find itself hard-pressed to do even that. Carbon dioxide levels in five testing locations exceed state guidelines for indoor air quality. “We’re aware that it’s not good in this old part (of the building),” Hiebert said, “but we do what we can with what we have.”

“What we did do is, in a couple rooms, we put in air purifiers,” he added. “With the age of this building, we don’t have the ventilation systems needed. We can’t put air exchangers in this building. Could it be done? Yes. Is it economically feasible? No. That’s why we went for that bond issue.”

The district has struggled to maintain its aging facilities following a defeated December 2006 ballot initiative to build a new school. Rising costs of maintaining the district’s aging buildings led the district to close its Stewart campus and move all grades to its Brownton building at the start of this school year.

As McLeod West struggles to keep out of statutory operating debt, the district has little money to overhaul its building.

Mold and the law
In July 2007, the district hired a contractor to remediate black mold found in a classroom and storage room at the Brownton campus. According to a report from Trinity Environmental Specialists, “A roof leak had impacted the ceiling and floor in approximately one-half of room 200 (about 336 square feet). Some visible fungal growth was apparent.”

The company’s remediation efforts included removing affected tile, plaster, insulation and wood flooring. Trinity cleaned and treated exposed surfaces with an ammonia solution and applied a mold-resistant acrylic coating to them. The school then replaced the flooring, tiles, Sheetrock and insulation.

May believes the remediation efforts were inadequate. “They went at it with good intentions but they did not use the right tools for the job,” she said. “You’ve got to go in and literally gut those rooms. It’s not a pretty sight. It might be cheaper to build a new school. You have to remove it all and have zero air counts.”

But, Minnesota OSHA takes a softer stance. “You’ll never get it to where there’s nothing there,” Anderson said.

“OSHA doesn’t have any specific rules regarding indoor air quality,” the health inspector added. “We do have a general sanitation standard. It’s very hard to interpret and enforce. What we would typically recommend is cleaning up any visible mold.”

“It’s really a difficult subject,“ Anderson said. ”I know it’s really an emotional subject. Even if us — as a regulatory agency — can’t do anything, most school districts try to do what they can to address the concerns.”

For more specific results of McLeod West’s recent air quality investigation, see the Leader’s March 11 print edition.

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com [3])