Hume School mould removal scheduled for completion later this month
By Erin Perkins
The removal of mould found underneath the activity room at Hume Elementary School in Nelson should be done by mid to late December, said Jeff Jones, SD8 superintendent.
Mould was found in the 100 year-old building last spring when air quality concerns came forward from staff and parents.
When the school district staff investigated they discovered several possible sources. One was found in a storage room where paper was kept. Additional ventilation and the removal of the paper helped stop that.
“We found over time furniture had been moved, vents had been blocked and, in some cases there’d been some paint where the lids hadn’t been put back on to properly, and we thought that might be contributing to what the problem was,” said Jones.
Then, when the problems persisted, the school district hired a private company from Kelowna to investigate and they found black mould in the crawl space under the activity room.
“Immediately, once we knew that, we blocked off that area and installed large fans that filtered the air through a HEPA filter and got the air out of the school as much as we possibly could and kept that area blocked off so the rest of the school wasn’t negatively impacted,” said Jones.
“To me, I think it’s a real hats off to our maintenance staff and teaching staff for working so well together and so quickly to figure out what was going on there and for being so patient with each other going through the processes,” he added.
“But I really have to say that once we knew what was happening, it started to happen really quickly there and that area got sealed off and the request for proposal went in and then we got news from the insurance company. Although it seems to people to have taken forever, in reality it happened really quickly.
Hats off go to our staff for their care and commitment both to the learning environment and to their children and to the patience of our parents who have trusted in our messaging and trusted the testing that’s been done … To me it is the human piece of the story that is most important and after that it is the fact we can look after this and we can fix this problem and we’re working on doing that.”
The remediation process was delayed slightly when the insurance provider said they would help pay for the remediation but they needed their own assessment of the situation before proceeding.
The process began several weeks ago and is scheduled to be completed by the end of this month. Part of that process included fixing the leaking valve on the hot water tank, which was the source for the moisture that caused the mould, and then cleaning and sealing off the area to prevent further growth.
All the furniture contained within that room has been washed and is now being stored in a storage container on site until the room remediation is complete, said Jones.
The room, which is often referred to as the “old gym” was being used by the school as a lunch room and multipurpose space.
The process has had some impact on the school besides air quality. Other lunch room locations are being used and larger projects are being done elsewhere on campus.
“It’s fair to say there is a certain amount of concern within the community about the building, so that of course has an impact on the operation of the school and the amount of time the principal has spent in dealing with people’s concerns and addressing them and dealing with maintenance people.”
Air quality tests have deemed the rest of the school is safe for use and the air quality continues to be monitored.
“The quality of the air inside the school was as good or better as the quality of the air on the outside of the school,” said Jones, adding this was within the part of the school people are in and not the new construction zone.
Jones said if the air quality at any time was or is deemed unsuitable according to the standards of the Interior Health Authority, the school would be closed.
After the remediation process is complete, the school district will connect with the Parent Advisory Council (PAC) and staff to redesign the space, said Jones.
“If it’s not being used as a gym, do we need to rebuild it as a gym and, if not, then what should it include as we look at how we use this as an environment for learning,” said Jones.
While Jones doesn’t know what the total cost for remediation will be, “a bit will be covered by insurance and the remainder will likely be paid for out of an annual facitilities grant the school district receives from the government.”
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