Mold Assessment - Fall 2018

Mold Assessment - Fall 2018
Posted on 10/09/2018
Dear RAUC Families,

Due to condensation issues with our HVAC units, we have experienced pooling of water in some areas of our school building. In a limited number of areas in the building, this has led to the appearance of mold on some surfaces. While no visible mold was observed in any RAUC classrooms, I am writing to share information about the steps Ms. Ford and I have taken to identify and address any potential safety issues that might impact the children and adults who learn and teach at Rindge Ave.

All of the administrators at RAUC and Peabody take the health and safety of students and staff very seriously. Immediately upon learning about the possible presence of mold, we notified Vedad Konjic, Director of CPSD Facilities, who in turn conducted a walkthrough of the building. He and his team identified ceiling tiles that needed replacing and surfaces that needed cleaning in one RAUC classroom. The school custodial crew cleaned these areas according to their protocols.

To gather additional information about the potential impact of mold in our school, CPSD facilities also reached out to an independent contractor to test the air quality in areas where the presence of mold had been detected. OccuHealth, Inc. (OHI), an environmental consultant conducted testing and delivered a report to our facilities department. The report was for the entire school. It indicated that eleven of the rooms tested for air quality demonstrated above-normal ranges of mold in the air. Out of these, one room, the Peabody Family Room/Mrs. Sullivan’s Office, needed to be closed indefinitely. The rest of the rooms were cleaned and sanitized by building custodians. An outside environmental sanitation company is developing a plan to clean impacted spaces. Part of this work will involve replacing insulation around cold water pipes connected to our HVAC units. This company will also perform a complete visual inspection of our building for any additional signs of mold.

Once cleaning has been completed, a final clearance inspection will be conducted in all areas of the building and an independent laboratory will be contracted for follow up testing. We want to be sure that we are looking beyond obviously impacted areas and examining any other spaces that might have been overlooked during the initial inspection. Both Superintendent Salim and the Public Health Department’s Director of Environment Health, Mr. Sam Lipson will review the mitigation plan to ensure that it includes proper isolation of rooms where removal will take place and properly address any remaining concerns tied to mold and chronic moisture.

For those of you who are interested in viewing the initial report shared by OHI, it is available in my office for review. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Julie Craven, Head of School
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