ACE Mold Study Completed

Health Director Scott Leroy looked over the Nov. 11 indoor air quality study at the Alternative Center for Excellence, and said he checks three things in these reports.

He checks the dates and the dates of previous studies to make sure the tests were done at different times of the year. The city has two tests completed, April 19 and Nov. 11.

"Different seasons, different molds," Leroy said.

Next he turns to the outdoor sample and the highest indoor sample, and he compares those numbers. On Nov. 11, Room 113 showed 5,840 spores in the test. Three types of mold were present. At the same time and day, the outside air showed 7,110 spores present, with the same three types of mold present, plus one more.

In the April 19 test, similar results were revealed. Room G28 showed 3,270 spors present in the sample. The outdoor sample showed 4,680 spores present. Again there was one more species present outside than inside.

"The outside air has more mold in it than the basement air," Leroy said.

Leroy said the third thing he looks at is what steps are being taken to remove the mold. He said the basement has obvious water leaks. He said if he sees a ceiling tile has mold on it, the tile should be washed or replaced. He said at goes for a wall or floor. See it, remove it. Don't let it grow. Take steps inside the building to keep mold growth down.

"You want to remediate it," Leroy said.

The last step, which is the city's responsibility, and it is the most complicated, is stopping the water from entering the building at all, and Public Works Director Antonio Iadarolla said he is working on that plan, so when voters consider a bond package in April 2012, they will also be considering repairs to ACE.

Iadarolla said city workers investigated the school all summer, and found a group of problems leading to water in the basement. First, gutters from the roof carry water to the ground near the building's footing, and that is contributing to water in the basement. The roof gutters are also old, cracked and of an elaborate design. They don't capture all the water.

Second, the bricks on the outside of the walls of the school are porus because they were sandblasted, and they soak up a tremendous amount of water. The bricks and the gutters together lead to water flowing down the walls of the building. Third, the basement floor was leveled during a renovation, and it now is permitting the buildup of water on top of it in the basement.

The ACE school is more than 100 years old, and Iadarolla, other city officials, as well as staff, students and parents of school children want the building saved. For their opinions, see this story.