| Q&A on Toxic
Mold Infestation in School, College, University, & other Educational
Institutions
The following are Answers to Questions about toxic molds in
schools, institutions and other questions related to toxic
molds. Please email your mold related questions to
moldconsultant@yahoo.com.
Question: (Nov-14-2002)
I am a teacher in an older building. I have had visible mold / mildew / fungus
of some sort in my room for several years now. My school district purchased an
air purifier for my room, but I'm wondering about health hazards. I experience
frequent headaches, congestions, and upper respiratory problems at work
especially in the winter months when the windows are shut. I'm willing to take
samples to be analyzed for peace of mind, but I'm not sure where to start.
There's mold on my wall and some of my lesser used reference books have fuzzy
mold on them. I also have a structural problem with my wall bulging out and
from whatever is behind the wall. Testing could get to be expensive if I take
a sample of every problem area. I'd like to know the quality of the air, but
we have radiator heat, not vents. How do I test that? I want to know if this
is a health hazard. What should I test?
Answer:
Unless you have a classroom air purifier
specially constructed to remove mold spores form the air, your school-supplied
air purifier is probably not a big help to your health. Yes, you are right
about your need to test your classroom for school classroom mold problems.
Since you are wisely willing to pay for the initial classroom mold testing
yourself to get the testing procedure underway, I suggest that you buy two
mold culture plates with laboratory analysis [$125.00 each] from the
nationally-known Mold Inspector Laboratory, Ltd.. Use one of the test kits to
take a physical sample of the mold growing in your classroom by scraping a
significant amount of the suspect growth onto the surface of the mold culture
plate to start the inoculation and growth process. Use the second mold test
kit to take an air sample of your school classroom air to determine if there
are elevated levels of mold spores in your classroom air. The test kits come
with more precise instructions than provided in this brief email explanation. You can order via PayPal using those credit
cards or Visa or Master Card by visiting the website:
www.paypal.com.
Mold Inspector's PayPal payee email address is:
moldinspector@yahoo.com. Or you
can mail your check payable to Professional
Certification Institute (PCI), addressed to:
Professional Certification Institute (PCI)
Chua Dental
Building, SOla St.,
Kabankalan City 6111
Negros Occidental, Philippines |