MATTAWAN, MI — Complaints of "musty" smells lead to the discovery of mold in a portion of Mattawan High School at the beginning of the school year.
The problem has since been addressed by a professional remediation company, and teachers who were affected by the mold moved back into their rooms today.
Superintendent Patrick Bird said that at the beginning of the school year, several teachers expressed concern about a musty odor in their rooms. The district initially responded with a thorough cleaning by staff and the installation of air purifiers and dehumidifiers. But after continued complaints from staff, the district had the air professionally tested by Summit Laboratories on Sept. 9.
Testing in two to three rooms showed elevated mold levels compared to outdoor readings, but there was no indication of "black mold," the toxic mold known to cause respiratory problems for those who inhale it, Bird said. The company said that there is mold everywhere in the environment and there are no strict standards for measuring mold, but the readings in the school were "somewhat elevated," Bird said.
Belfor, a professional cleaning and remediation company, was hired to clean the northwest section of the school, which houses much of the foreign language program. They cleaned the two to three rooms initially believed affected and another three or four that were close to the original cluster, he said.
"We had the company come in and basically go through and give a thorough cleaning to the rooms where we had the concerns and some of the surrounding rooms in case it had gone a little farther," Bird said.
"We took extra precautions to move classrooms until could make sure we could clean everything and everything was cleaned appropriately," he said. "Summit, Belfor and our own staff did an excellent job."
Cleaning included wiping down surfaces, discarding items that might have been contaminated and checking ceiling tiles and carpet, he said. While the rooms were being cleaned, those classes were moved to the auditorium or other classrooms, he said.
Lou Price, co-president of the Mattawan Education Association, said the union was informed about the issue at the end of summer and was told it was caused by pipes that ruptured last year.
"We were aware the issue and were kept abreast of the situation," Price said. The situation seems to have been adequately resolved, he said.
Bird and Price said no staff has reported any health complaints in relation to the situation.
Recent testing indicates that mold levels are back to normal and classes have resumed use of the affected rooms, Bird said. The district will continue to monitor the situation.
Linda S. Mah is a reporter for the Kalamazoo Gazette. Reach her at 269-303-6567 or her at lmah@mlive.com. You can follow her on Twitter.