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"Slow torture": Finland’s mould-ridden schools causing breathing difficulties for kids

An Yle investigation suggests that widespread ventilation problems are leading to respiratory illnesses, closed-down classrooms and abandoned studies. The teachers’ union claims 250,000 schoolchildren and staff are affected.

Vehmaisten koululaiset lähtivät home-evakkoon.
Image: Yle Silminnäkijä

Finland is touted as having the best school system in the world, but pupils are being forced to abandon subjects or even move schools to avoid the chronic ill-health caused by widespread damp and mould problems. These are the findings of an investigation by Yle’s Eyewitness programme (Silminnäkijä), broadcast on Thursday evening on Yle TV2.

The Trade Union of Education (OAJ) estimates that every day a quarter of a million children and adults attend schools with internal air problems. The union claims the bill for repairing the mould and damp problems is likely to run to a billion euros.

An Yle survey garnered over 700 responses from members of the public, of which over half were school pupils or parents of nursery-going children.  Many described how problems with indoor air have had serious and repeated health impacts. These include headaches, asthma, nosebleeds, breathing difficulties and ongoing cold symptoms.

Poor building practices

One alleged that poor building practices were directly responsible for problems: “In our area, a wonderful new school and nursery was opened in 2011. But the floor was laid on wet concrete and quickly began to reek. Shortly afterwards, the staff and the kids started getting ill. The nursery was closed down in May this year, and the school followed in August. Now all the kids are being taught in Portacabins.”

Some respondees claimed that the air problems are so widespread that even the new premises to which pupils had been evacuated were infested with the damp and mould, forcing them to be relocated a second time.

Almost half of everyone who responded to the survey said they felt they had no choice but to change class, school or nursery as a result of symptoms brought about by mould, damp or otherwise bad air inside the buildings. A number said they had been told not to speak publicly about the issue.

One said: "I work in building maintenance and I’ve been warned by my employer as well as the building manager not to mention the problems with indoor air."

Children getting ill

One parent said: "The staff and children are getting ill. After less than an hour in my son’s nursery I could feel my throat swelling. I refuse to take him there anymore.” Another described the mould problem as “slow torture”, and another claimed that their two-year-old child had been given 17 courses of antibiotics in a year to treat a recurring ear infection, allegedly as a result of mould in the nursery.

Many survey answers described how the children’s education had been interrupted or even stopped altogether because of absences caused by respiratory illnesses in staff and children. One claimed: “The illnesses and symptoms made me isolated from my friends, and now I can’t go to school anymore.”

Another parent said: “In the space of a few weeks our lively child became withdrawn, and complained of constant headaches and joint pains.” “I don’t know how I’m going to finish my studies,” another said. “I’ve tried to transfer to a different school but couldn’t.”

Teachers quitting

Numerous respondents said they were teachers who had quit their jobs as a result of the ventilation problems. “I can no longer work as a special needs teacher because of the school’s bad condition,” said one. “I’ve given up being an IT-teacher partly because all the schools had mould and I couldn’t stand it any longer,” said another.

One comment, apparently from a pupil, complained that: “Our teacher left because the bad air was making her ill. Now we’ve got a string of supply teachers, changing all the time.”

This summer the Finance Ministry put aside 50 million euros to help municipalities combat mildew in public buildings. However many head teachers and local authorities have said that this level of funding is not enough to make a serious dent in the problem nationally.

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