mold-symptom.com

HIGHTSTOWN — Hightstown High School students will have to find another place to work on those research papers, as the school's library has been closed since the beginning of the semester due to an infestation of mold.

According to district Business Administrator David Shafter, the mold, discovered Sept. 2, was "all over" the library.

"Almost every book with a cloth cover had white mold on the edge facing out of the shelf," he said.

He added that books were similarly affected in the adjacent Plato lab, Mercer Net room, audiovisual room, and librarian office.

This event marks the third time this year an East Windsor Regional School District school was found to contain mold and the second time for the high school. HHS had a problem with mold in the carpets of its modular classrooms in January, and a similar problem was found in the Walter C. Black School last month.

The mold in the high school's library is confined to the books and was not found in the carpet, Mr. Shafter said.

"The library was very stuffy. You could smell the mustiness," Mr. Shafter said.
He said that the humidity in the library was a result of fresh-air requirements in the school.
Mr. Shafter explained that once the outside temperature dips below 70 degrees, the school's air conditioner goes into "econo-mode" and begins mixing in outside air. When the air conditioner turns on again, the cooling of the air increases the relative humidity causing condensation around the building.

As an immediate remedy, Mr. Shafter said the air conditioner would be on "24-7" to prevent it from cycling off and allowing in outside air. Air conditioners at the Black School also are constantly on to prevent a reoccurrence.

Although the library has been closed to students, library staff continues to work within its walls.

District Interim Superintendent James Sheerin said, "No employees have reported problems. We told them to leave the area if they have any symptoms."

Mr. Shafter said Wednesday that the district hired Guardian Power Cleaning, from Freehold, at a cost of $65,460, to get the library back to operating conditions by Sept. 26.

Due to the urgency of the situation, the Board of Education authorized Mr. Shafter to award a contract to clean the library without its approval. The board also allowed Mr. Shafter to bypass the typical open-bid period, contact environmental service companies, and award a contract as he sees fit.

"We need to have the carpets vacuumed and disinfected, disinfect each and every book, clean the ceiling tiles, and clean out the duct work," Mr. Shafter said.
He added that none of the library's 32,000 books were seriously damaged and that none would have to be destroyed.

Because the library runs on its own separate HVAC system, and because no mold was found elsewhere in the school, no other sections of the building are being tested for mold as a result of this incident.

Mr. Shafter said the building's modular classrooms are scheduled to be tested later this month as a follow-up to the problems encountered earlier this year.
He added that the district was looking into ways to keep the air within the schools dry, including the possible addition of dehumidifier units.