Mar 11, 2008 5:14 pm US/Central
Moldy Building Causing Illnesses In Indiana School
MERRILLVILLE, Ind. (CBS) ―
Teachers and students at a Gary, Ind., high school are blaming their moldy building for chronic illnesses.
Teachers say they can see the mold on the walls inside Emerson School for the Visual and Performing Arts on 7th Avenue.
CBS 2 Northwest Indiana Bureau Chief Pamela Jones reports the school principal sent a note home to parents, dated March 6, that acknowledges mold found in air samples, and says the district has stated it will consult the school board, but for the upcoming school year students may be attending classes in another building.
Leonardo Diaz is going home sick Monday from Emerson with symptoms like those he's been suffering with for months.
"Throat infections and I get like headaches," Diaz said. "And every once in awhile my nose does bleed. But it's never really bad."
The families of other students are worried, too.
"This is the second day I've picked him up from school with stomach aches and headaches," said the grandmother of a sick student. "So I'm going to take him to the doctor today to see what's going on."
Teachers say the school is plagued with mold caused by extreme heat, moisture and a boiler heating system that's just too old.
A Munster-based laboratory visited the building February 21 and took air samples. Their report shows two common types of mold found in high levels. Alternaria measured at high levels in four out of the five rooms tested, and cladosporium high in two out of five.
And although the principal here assures parents they've already had a professional company perform the recommended cleaning, that's done little to ease their concerns.
Susana Diaz is following the lead of other parents taking her son to the doctor Tuesday.
"They say it's a visual and performing arts, you expect the kids to perform," she said. "But if they're constantly getting sick, how do you expect them to perform?"
A district official told CBS 2 news partner the Post Tribune that the cleaning company treats the mold regularly with bleach.
Teachers expect the topic to come up at Tuesday's regularly scheduled school board meeting at 6 p.m.
(CBS 2 and the Post-Tribune are news partners covering stories in the communities of northwest Indiana. Send story tips to tips@cbs2chicago.com. (© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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