September 2, 2004Crews Cleaning Up Mold At
Baltimore School
Health Officials To
Retest School For Mold Before Reopening Building
BALTIMORE --
Officials have serious health concerns at a Baltimore City elementary school
just days before students return to the classroom.
The Baltimore
City Health Department said mold has turned up inside Callaway Elementary
School in west Baltimore, WBAL-TV 11 News education reporter Tim Tooten
reported.
Right now,
school officials still hope to open Callaway on time Tuesday, but that
depends on how quickly cleanup crews can get rid of the mold.
Signs of mold
turned up a couple of days ago at the school. That's when the city health
department was called in to conduct testing. Results came back positive.
"The [mold is
on the] ceiling tiles and chairs. It's pretty extensive in the auditorium
and the cafeteria. The rest of the building doesn't appear to have anywhere
near that significant [of an amount]," said Dr. Peter Beilenson, the city's
health commissioner.
The building
is closed for now, but school officials said they are optimistic the mold
will be cleaned up by opening day.
But some
Callaway students and parents are preparing for the worst.
"They are not
going to open it Tuesday. I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm gonna have
to stay home," Shakera Solomon said.
"I'm kind of
disappointed because children should be going back to school, and it's kind
of close to home," said Amelia Tabron, a grandparent.
Health
officials said it's not uncommon for mold to form inside school buildings
over the summer because of moisture and humidity. Once Callaway is cleaned,
the city will then order a second round of air tests.
"We will
certainly assure that, before any part of the school is reopened, it's safe
for kids to go in to," Beilenson said.
City health
officials said small amounts of mold also turned up in several other
schools, but they were not serious enough to close those buildings.
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