State tests confirm mold in Illinois school

MOUNDS, Ill. -- Brent Boren isn't sure exactly how it will happen, but Meridian Elementary students will start classes on time and in a safe place this fall after officials from the Illinois Department of Labor on Tuesday confirmed the presence of a potentially dangerous strain of mold in the school.

Boren, principal of Meridian Elementary School, said officials will meet today to look at the district's options.

School personnel were getting ready for spring cleaning in May when Boren discovered discolored paint chips. He immediately suspected mold and sent the chips for testing, he said.

A central Illinois-based representative of Purearth Lab, an environmental testing company based in New Jersey, confirmed Boren's suspicions.

"We closed the building down at that point," Boren said.

The Illinois Department of Labor did a second test last week. The results, which came in Tuesday, showed what Boren referred to as "toxic mold" contamination.

If the mold can't be removed before the fall semester begins, the district could bring in portable classrooms or move students to Meridian High School, where elementary and secondary classes could be held in shifts, Boren said.

While neither of those alternatives is an ideal solution, sending students to school in a potentially dangerous setting is not an option, he said.

"Bottom line: We're not going to put a kid back in the building until it's safe," Boren said.

Amy Morris, an environmental health specialist for the Cape Girardeau County Health Department, said stachybotrys -- commonly referred to as "toxic mold" -- is not technically poisonous, but it is toxigenic, meaning it can produce toxins.

According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, cdc.gov, isolated reports suggest toxigenic molds have caused serious health problems. But the reports are rare, and there is no proof the molds caused the illnesses.

Any mold can cause respiratory issues, especially in sensitive individuals or those with asthma, allergies, compromised immune systems or pre-existing lung disease, the CDC reports on its website.

"All molds kind of behave in the same way, in that if you've got a mold problem in your house, you've got a health risk," Morris said.

Boren said there is a "very real possibility" the contamination could be so severe that the building has to be demolished.

The district is meeting with the Illinois State Board of Education to determine what emergency funds might be available to help cover the cost of remediating or replacing the building, Boren said.

He said he would prefer not to use portable classrooms, which are "not overly safe."

"We get a good high wind around here, I don't want it rolling across the field," Boren said.

One way or another, school classes will start on schedule, he said; officials just haven't worked out the details of where or how that will happen.

"That's still very fluid," Boren said. "I really can't give you a solid answer, because I just don't know."

Given the potential danger for health problems, especially in individuals with allergies or other underlying conditions, Meridian's caution is warranted, Morris said.

"They're not going to risk that, and I don't blame them," she said.

Morris said homeowners probably don't need to spend money testing mold found in a residence, because the treatment is the same whether the mold is toxigenic or not: Clean it up with bleach.

"Anytime you have moisture, you're going to have mold," she said. "We have a lot of mold in this area because we live on the river."

epriddy@semissourian.com

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