Bad Air in the Gym

At Monday's Westport Board of Education meeting, Gavin Anderson, Chairman of the King's Highway Maintenance Review Committee gave an update on the air quality at the school.

With regard to the Gym, Mr. Anderson confirmed the following:

• There was mold in a number of locations in the Gym
• The amount of mold indicates a presence for some time
  
• Two types of mold have been identified
• Other types are being cultured at a test facility
  
• Mr. Anderson & Mr. Cormier have seen to the mold removal
  

• The MRC has ideas but has yet to pinpoint the source of water running behind the walls
• There is a hot pipe exposed in the Gym that could prove dangerous to children

and perhaps most damaging

• The large air handling vents in the Gym are not operational and do not appear to have been operated for some time

These vents were cited by the Westport News in its report that exposed the 2002 KHS Air Quality study Mr. Landon kept hidden and noted non-operational vents with air flow at 23% of design.

Parents questioned whether the vents had been running at any time since 2002. As the outside doors to the Gym are supposed to remain closed for child safety, this means that there has been no proper ventilation in the Gym for considerable time.

The May 2007 report, that Mr. Landon regularly references on CO2 levels, did not test for the CO2 levels in the Gym.

A parent of a child from room 28 asked Mr. Anderson to disclose the types of mold found in the gym so the parent could discuss them with the child's doctor. Mr. Anderson promised to make the types of mold known.