Union: 'Mold Infestation' Found At School
POSTED: Tuesday, October 16, 2007
UPDATED: 4:44 pm CDT October 16,
2007
HOUSTON -- A teacher's union called the mold problem at a northeast Houston middle school an infestation that has created a toxic situation, KPRC Local 2, Your Education Station, reported Tuesday.More than dozen samples collected at Francis Scott Key Middle School, 4000 Kelley, tested positive for dangerous strains of mold, according to Gayle Fallon, union president of the Houston Federation of Teachers.After some Key Middle School staff members, teachers and students reported getting sick, the teacher's union decided to have its own study of mold conducted on the school.Samples were taken from classrooms, hallways and the air conditioning unit.The results, according to the union and the company that tested the samples, were not good."If my home had this, I would be moving out and having it torn down," Fallon said.Union member Corina Ortiz said she gathered samples after consulting with the company, and sent them in for testing by Mouldworks.The report indicated that 13 of the 15 samples showed stachybotrys, penicillium and levels of other mold spores that can cause respiratory and other health concerns."This is not a question of who's right and wrong. It's a matter of what's morally correct," Ortiz said."We're committed to finding out what's making them ill," said Brad Bailey of HISD risk management.HISD and a mold expert hired by the district said it is not disputing the presence of mold at Key Middle School.But, Bob Gilmore of ICU Environmental Health and Safety said he does question the amount and health impact allegedly uncovered by the union's study."They only looked literally under a microscope at a very small amount of information on a piece of scotch tape that was affixed to a microscope slide and did not have the opportunity to look at the entire school," Gilmore said.The union wants long-term health monitoring and care for HISD employees and students.HISD has stressed that its independent experts did not find unusual levels of mold at Key.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also conducted its own tests. That report has not yet been finished.
Previous Stories:
- October 12, 2007: Protest Dwindles Outside Key Middle School
- October 10, 2007: Walkout Canceled At Middle School
- October 10, 2007: Community Leaders Plan Protest At Key Middle School
- September 28, 2007: CDC Finds Issues At Key Middle School
- September 26, 2007: Middle Schools Merge While Campus Tested
- September 21, 2007: Key Students, Staff Relocated To Fleming
- September 21, 2007: Key MS Has History Of Humidity Problems
- September 20, 2007: Key Middle School To Temporarily Close
- September 19, 2007: Congresswoman Wants Everyone Out Of Key MS
- September 15, 2007: Students: Mold At School Made Us Sick
- September 12, 2007: More Teachers Sickened At Key Middle School
- September 10, 2007: 2 Teachers Sickened At Key Middle School
- September 4, 2007: Students Return To School Where Janitors Sickened
- September 2, 2007: 7 Custodians Sickened While Cleaning School
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