Mold discovery leads to closure of McNair cafeteria

Students at McNair High School in Stockton are forced to eat under the awning of the snack bar or inside the school's small gymnasium — which has been converted to a cafeteria — on Monday. The main cafeteria at McNair is closed pending the removal of mold, discovered during a routine inspection. (Mitchell W. Podraza/News-Sentinel)

Mold discovery leads to closure of McNair cafeteria

By Kendyce Manguchei
News-Sentinel Staff Writer

Wednesday, August 9, 2006 7:16 AM PDT

Comments (11 comment(s))

An invisible case of mold has forced school officials to close the Ronald E. McNair High School cafeteria for at least two to four weeks.

The cost for this "construction defect issue" is not yet known, said Art Hand, the Lodi Unified School District's assistant superintendent of facilities and planning. The responsibility for removing the mold has not yet been assigned to any specific party but the Lodi Unified School District will not be paying for the work.

If left unattended, the mold could multiply and its toxins can affect people's health; the severity depends on the amount and type of mold and how much time is spent in the area, according to the California Department of Health Services' Environmental Health Investigations Branch.

Students took advantage of the breezy weather Monday and ate their lunches on picnic tables under a canopy or on concrete steps around the courtyard, as they did last year before the school had a cafeteria. This year, their "Eagles' Nest" cafeteria was open for just a week.

"It's kind of like been here, done that," said McNair Principal Jim Davis of students eating outside the cafeteria. "I have good kids. They're very resilient."

School staff set up the campus' small gym in the same fashion it was last year. Students were served their lunches and could eat in the gym or outside. They could also buy from the "Cruising Cafe" snack bar.

"It's a lot smaller in there, so a lot of people weren't eating in there. They were just leaving as soon as they got their food," said eleventh grader Christina Lepe.

Mold was found growing in the "air space" between the concrete exterior wall and interior panels of the multipurpose room's dining and assembly hall, but nowhere it would have been a hazard to people, Hand said.

This summer, the LUSD contracted with Sacramento-based air quality testing company ADR Environmental Group Inc. The company found no evidence of mold in the cafeteria or administration office.

Hand said the district had ADR remove interior wall panels and retest the other areas affected by leaks. Repairs are now being done by ADR.

"Mold needs time to grow, and immediately after the rains came we wouldn't have known the mold was there," Hand said.

Mold risks

Inhaling or ingesting mold spores or fragments may cause people to suffer symptoms similar to colds, flu and hay fever. Health problems vary from person to person, and there are many symptoms caused by mold toxins.
Syptoms include:
• Nasal or sinus congestion
• Sensitivity to light
• Sneezing
• Sore throat
• Cough
• Skin irritation, rash or itching
• Shortness of breath
• Headache
• Watery, reddened or burning eyes
• Fatigue.
Source: California Indoor Air Quality program (http://www.cal-iaq.org), Environmental Protection Agency (http://www.epa.gov/mold).

Principal Jim Davis' office has a connecting wall with the affected section of the cafeteria kitchen, and he will move to a new office on campus for about a week starting Friday.

In the multipurpose room, white plastic sheets were drawn from ceiling to floor and secured with thick white tape.

Several containment boxes were installed in the room to make sure that mold spores don't escape during the mold abatement, Hand said. Repairs could have waited until the first instructional break, Oct. 2-13.

"We decided to do this proactively and get this done as soon as possible," Hand said.

Contact reporter Kendyce Manguchei at kendycem@lodinews,com

First published: Tuesday, August 8, 2006

This story was updated at 7 a.m. Aug. 9, 2006, to delete references to who will do the work and the extent of the damage to the gym floor.

Reader Feedback

pathfinder wrote on Aug 11, 2006 4:51 PM:

" ADR is the environmental consulting company retained by the school district to provide supervision and oversight during the removal of mold-impacted areas. The company performing the actual removal of the mold-impacted materials is Allied Environmental. Please clarify to your readers. "

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observer wrote on Aug 10, 2006 10:59 PM:

" The worst part is that the School District knew about the mold long beofre. It was an ongoing problem on the site but no one took any action. "

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Michael Drake wrote on Aug 10, 2006 4:12 PM:

" ADR does the testing and the remediation!!! Conflict of interest? "

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daidnhajds wrote on Aug 9, 2006 7:41 AM:

" school should be shut downnnnn "

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The Yakuza Slayer wrote on Aug 8, 2006 11:14 PM:

" -Sigh- You would think..the school would be more responsible..and smarT AND TRY TO THINK AHEAD OF TIME . "

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LRR wrote on Aug 8, 2006 2:13 PM:

" The issue of mold is blown way out of proportion. Thank goodness the courts are no longer awarding any money for these frivilous lawsuits. There is mold everywhere. It's part of our natural environment. Be careful about getting rid of it. The "Friends of Mold" will be there watching! "

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17 wrote on Aug 8, 2006 1:39 PM:

" I agree with the student. We are going to school in sub standard conditions. All winter long the rain came into the buildings. Why didn't the district wait until the buildings were finished and safe to occupy. It doesn't seem like the school will ever be completed at this rate. "

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student wrote on Aug 8, 2006 1:00 PM:

" It's very scarey to see that we eat in the multipurpose room for half the school year last year nad didn't know there was mold. It's sad that the district can get a school up and running on time. "

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J Bonk wrote on Aug 8, 2006 12:28 PM:

" At least they are taking care of the problem...I always used to get headaches in one classroom of Lodi High, and I could have sworn it was from lead or asbestos or possibly mold...I wonder if they have inspected that particular classroom? "

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Fischgoth wrote on Aug 8, 2006 10:30 AM:

" Then you have the fools in Sacramento trying to get public funds via a tax hike for an arena! We need to invest in better--and safer-- schools,libraries, law enforcement, etc. The condition of many of our schools statewide is deplorable. "

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12X wrote on Aug 8, 2006 8:05 AM:

" The state-of-the-art auto-dailing phone system is up and running at "Mc Nightmare" high school, but there's construction that can't be completed and work change orders that no one wants to own up to, AND mystery mold! The school bond was too much money for LUSD because they are quite careless with their (our) endless pot of $$$. "

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