Parents push for more mold tests in S-F school

The Mercury, 

March 13, 2004

ROYERSFORD — Some parents in the Spring-Ford Area School District are still not satisfied with the district’s air-quality testing.

Karl and Associates, a private environmental firm in Mohnton, Berks County, conducted air-quality testing of all district schools in early 2002. According to the firm’s findings, the schools tested have not been found to have hazardous levels of microbes, including mold.

But a few parents want more testing done, especially in middle school.

Spring-Ford Superintendent Genevieve Coale said the district had followed Karl and Associates’ recommendations, including improving filter efficiency in heating and air-conditioning units and limiting the use of house plants.

“We’ve tested and retested and retested,” Coale said. “They haven’t, in any instance, said to me, ‘There is mold here, and we want you to clean it up.'”

But parent Polly Moore Keyser isn’t satisfied.

Keyser’s daughter, Sarah Moore, suffered six sinus infections, three strep throat cases, a three-month bout with bronchitis, and a serious case of pneumonia over eight months during the 2002-03 school year.

“Sarah has been treated regularly for perennial allergies and asthma, complicated by a history of recurrent sinusitis and asthmatic bronchitis,” said Wendy Fuhr, Sarah’s pediatrician. “These episodes have grown increasingly frequent and severe over the last year since Sarah has been attending the middle school.”

According to Fuhr, Sarah’s condition has been exacerbated by the presence of mold in her school.

“There has been a concern or an unsafe level of fungi. There has to be a statistically higher concentration indoors,” said Lisa Krug, a senior industrial hygienist and safety specialist for Karl and Associates. “Samples we took from several random areas of the schools do not show a statistically higher concentration.”

The testing involved taking samples of indoor areas and comparing the concentrations of airborne microbes with outdoor samples.

“We found in later testing that the Cladosporium had grown,” Keyser said. “I talked to the school board to report the problem, and they just looked at me like I was from outer space.”

Keyser urged the school district to take action.

“The bad mold found in the middle school should be enough of a catalyst to close and completely clean the school,” Keyser said. “The cover-up and dishonesty should not be allowed to continue.”

Coale said the district routinely checks the schools as a preventive measure.

Coale said that on the recommendations of Karl and Associates, the district had investigated options to improve humidity qualities in the schools.

Several parents have requested that the district perform wall-boring testing, which would involve drilling holes into the walls and taking samples for testing.

“It’s a 10-second procedure,” said Barbara Hagan, who believes her son suffers from asthma as a result of black mold in Spring-Ford Intermediate School. “I even offered to pay for it myself ..(including) the wall repairs after the wall boring.”

Coale said the district is not willing to conduct wall-boring testing.

Spring-Ford plans to close the middle school in June. Beginning this fall, middle school students will attend the new flex school on Lewis Road, and the current middle school will be renovated.