At Reed Intermediate School––

Experts Try To Track Down Source Of Student Ailments

By Tanjua Damon

An industrial hygienist has recommended that the fan room and air handling system that were affected by an early March water leak be investigated to see if they are the primary source in making Reed Intermediate School students ill and keeping them out of the new classrooms there.

About 40 parents and school administrators discussed the issue Monday night at the school. The parents wanted to know what occurred at the school and what is being done to figure out the cause of the mysterious aliment that is affecting some students at the new school, which opened in January.

The school district has enlisted the expertise of Gil Cormier of Occupational Risk Control, a firm that evaluates situations like the one at the Reed School to see what environmental problems there may be. Mr Cormier explained to the audience that in addressing their questions, he will try to come up with a hypothosis to guide him through a process to figure out what is the problem.

Mr Cormier said that he came to the school four days after the early March incident when a coil on an air handling system froze and caused gallons of water to be released into the school, resulting in water damage to ceiling tiles and wallboard. He said that he did moisture readings and found that much of the water had been cleaned up, but there still were some areas that were moist. He was called back to the school when students began complaining of rashes and itching March 26.

There was also work done on March 25 when contractors were at the school in the evening, although the district is not exactly sure what was done. It is believed that some fiberglass material may have been disturbed, which could have caused the itching to occur with some students.

Reed School Principal Donna Denniston reviewed at the beginning of the meeting the sequence of events and reported that 119 girls and 22 boys reported over a period of a few days to the nurse about rashes or itching beginning March 26. There are still no adults that have complained of any symptoms, according to the district.

Mr Cormier said now the insulation in the walls of the fan room and the air handling system need to be investigated to see if any microbial growth is visible and could be contributing to the complaints of some students.

“We don’t always find what the problem is. We try to use science and go in a logical order,” Mr Cormier said. “Focus your money on doing corrective measures. We have to be realistic with our approach. Use good science when we can and use common sense when we can’t.”

After the meeting, Mr Cormier, as well as representatives from Haynes Construction, and an environmental consultant hired by parents, Charles Schwartz from Environmental Assessments & Solutions, Inc, looked at classrooms on the first and second floors as well as the fan room where the leak occurred to see what action would need to be taken.

In a letter to the parents, Mr Schwartz reported that he did not see an water damage or mold observed in classrooms 249 A and B and the adjoining hallway. He did say that he observed water damage to classrooms 134 A and B, and 129, as well as the adjoining hallway. He also wrote that he observed mold in the MER 303, which is the air handling ventilation system. Mr Schwartz also included recommendations for the district to be sure that the remediation process is done properly and does not contaminate other areas of the school.

Mr Cormier explained by telephone on Tuesday that there was obvious moisture, but he could not confirm that there was mold in the room or in the stainless steel air handling system. He said the system needed to be opened up so that the insulation inside could be sampled for possible mold.

“Water that may have been in the air handling system could have filled up the bottom and may be supporting microbial growth,” Mr Cormier said during Monday night’s meeting. “We have to open the system up to take samples of the insulting materials to try to prove or disprove a hypotheses.”

Mr Cormier suggested that components found to be moist or damaged should simply be replaced instead of wasting resources on testing. He said that ceiling tiles and some wallboard has already been replaced. Mr Cormier also explained that 80 percent of the time a false negative can be returned from a tested sample.

Haynes Construction plans to acquire the services of an outside firm to deal with the remediation process. Mr Cormier is unable to attend this process over the weekend and the concerned parents whose children are still experiencing symptoms have asked the district to delay the process until he is available in just over a week. Superintendent of Schools Evan Pitkoff said that Mr Cormier was going to make a recommendation for someone to oversee the company Haynes employs over the weekend.

Four things need to occur to have microbial environmental contamination — a contaminant, a mechanism to become airborne, a pathway, and sensitive individuals, Mr Cormier said. In order for mold to occur, there needs to be spores, carbon based nutrients, and water.

“If it is a microbial problem it doesn’t get better,” he said. “It gets worse. We’re sure there is some growth. It may not be to the extent that it will be visible.”

Mr Cormier encouraged open communication because the more information professionals have to deal with the situation, the easier it is sometimes to come up with a solution.

“There is no need to try to withhold information. Often times parents are a good source of information. The clearer the picture, the most likely we are to solve it. Hopefully we can make it so all students can come up with a solution and not have an issue,” he said.

No testing has been done since the water leak occurred. Some repairs have been done, but not all possible irritants have been removed. Mr Cormier also pointed out that if tests were done outside to see what was in the air, the same things should be found inside.

“It’s not a real major sick school,” Mr Cormier said. “There are some issues that need to be addressed.”

Newtown Health Director Donna McCarthy and medical liaison Thomas Draper were also in attendance at the meeting. Ms McCarthy explained that the Health District has received approximately 25 calls from 12 different families since the mystery reaction began. She explained that the Health District will continue to investigate the situation on an environmental and medical stance.

Dr Draper as well as Mr Cormier encouraged the parents of the children still having symptoms to see the same allergist if possible, but if not, to have their allergist share what information they can about the student they are seeing so that as much information can be collected to try to find the source of their ailments.

Dr Pitkoff assured the parents that the district is doing its best to remedy the problem. “Rest assured we want this resolved,” he said.