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Mold control in
schools should be cheap, easy
By Rod Santa Ana III, r-santaana@tamu.edu
AgNews, News and Public Affairs
December 24, 2002
WESLACO -- Dr. Mani Skaria cringes when he reads newspaper accounts of
school districts involved in mold-related lawsuits. He believes mold and
the litigation that follows can be easily prevented with a little
know-how. He also believes some "professionals" hired to detect mold are
wasting valuable time and money.
"Mold is not that difficult to prevent and eliminate if you know what,
when and where to look for mold before it becomes a major issue," said
Skaria, a plant pathologist and mycologist at the Texas A&M
University-Kingsville Citrus Center at Weslaco. "All it takes is some
practical knowledge, a flashlight and a $20 moisture meter."
Mold has become such a costly and litigious issue in Texas, especially in
the Rio Grande Valley and Corpus Christi areas, that The Texas A&M
University System is working with Skaria to develop a curriculum and
classes to teach mycology, or the study of mold.
"People that charge thousands of dollars to go to a school to look for
mold and only take air samples are wasting time and money. Some important
water damage-related mold spores can't be detected in the air, so the
results that come back from a lab are worthless, they don't tell you
anything," he said.
Skaria said samples of mold can be lifted on pieces of clear tape (lift
tape mold sampling) and identified quickly on-site under a microscope
without sending samples to costly out-of-state labs, thus saving time and
money.
"Properly locating and identifying mold is not a mysterious or high tech
operation," he said. "And it shouldn't be expensive."
Skaria believes every large school district should dedicate one properly
trained employee to do nothing but inspect buildings for mold, with a keen
eye for any water damage where mold can grow. Skaria said inspecting an
entire building takes a lot of time, but the process is easy to do and
does not involve expensive gadgetry or extensive knowledge.
‘With a flashlight and a moisture meter, you look where water accumulates,
either by design or by accident," he said. "Mold requires three things to
grow -- organic matter (building materials such as wood), mold spores and
water. Mold is everywhere, it always has been. It's even mentioned in the
Bible. But if you catch it and properly take care of it early, it won't be
such a major issue. In a new building, mold will start to show up within
months. But if you don't look for it and stop it, it will continue to grow
into a major and very expensive issue."
Skaria said building contractors should also change some of their building
practices to avoid future problems. "Putting a roof on a structure as soon
as possible, for example, would help keep rain and moisture from
encouraging mold growth that may have been in the building materials to
begin with."
Skaria recently made a short presentation on mold control to a group of
local public school superintendents. His knowledge and no-nonsense
approach to mold control so impressed the group that administrators at the
Region One Education Service Center scheduled a mold class for school
district representatives in their area.
Roel Peña, the associate executive director at Region One for
administration and school support, said Skaria's talk was well received
and superintendents wanted to learn more.
"Dr. Skaria had some excellent information on this topic and impressed
upon us how ridiculous this issue can get and the money drain it can be on
schools if they are not careful," Peña said.
Skaria said many schools are expected to participate in the mold classes
and is confident the information will help alleviate the huge, mold
related expenses schools and others have endured. |
