Mold in Schools: A Growing Risk for Your Child
When you send your kid to school, the things you should be worried about are their education, packing a nutritious lunch, and so on. You should not have to worry about whether or not they’ll be exposed to mold.
Unfortunately, mold in schools is a serious problem that’s coming up in the news more often. Here’s an incident from this summer, for example.
A school in Baltimore has been under investigation since teachers and students have come forward with health problems they believe to be caused by mold in the building.
Glenwood Middle School knew about the danger of mold in schools, but decided to keep the investigation hidden from the public for years.
For two years the school district in Baltimore’s Howard County investigated the mold in schools problem without so much as alerting the community, or readily providing information when questioned about it.
Glenwood tried to keep its mold in schools problem under wraps, but eventually details about the investigation were released through a Public Information Act request.
By that time the issue about mold in schools was fairly well known throughout the community, which was certainly helped by the fact that parents took to social media to get word out about it.
Parents created a Facebook page, called “Mold at Glenwood Middle School,” to discuss the issues surrounding mold in schools, and called for better air quality testing at the school.
Mold in schools can lead to more than just some sneezing, or inconvenient cold symptoms. Teachers at Glenwood reported heart palpitations and having to be sent to the ER for breathing problems. Students at Glenwood were afflicted with nosebleeds, sinus infections, and bronchitis.
Superintendent Renee Foose finally spoke up about it this past June, acknowledging to the school board that mold was a problem “we’ve been working on for multiple years now”. She added that “at no time” was the safety of students and teachers at risk.
A new HVAC system is being installed to lower humidity and create a less hospitable environment for which mold to grow. Mold spore counts will also be monitored.
Mold in Schools More Prevalent in Older Buildings
One important thing to note about Glenwood Middle School is that it was built in 1967. Mold is most commonly found in buildings built over 50 years ago. If your child attends a relatively new school, there’s little inherent risk of mold exposure.
If your child attends an older school the risk is greater. If one school attempted to cover up their mold problem, you have to wonder how many other schools out there are doing the same thing.
If your child begins exhibiting any of the symptoms of mold exposure, don’t hesitate to inquire about the level of mold spores in the school.
In addition, if you live in an older home it’s important to make sure your indoor air quality is safe for your child to breathe — especially if they are exhibiting symptoms. To ensure the air you’re breathing every day contains any toxic organic chemicals, order one of our home air quality testing kits today.