|
This document is also available as a PDF. Aging portables blamed for student's illness Aging portables blamed for student's illness
By Janice Turner
LIFE WRITER Maureen and Dom Bot don't have any doubt that the mould found in their
daughter's portable classroom caused her to be ill throughout the
fall. They pulled Lauren, 11, from the structure outside All Saints Separate
School in Mississauga for several days in October when they determined
the situation was intolerable. The building has since been cleared of mould. Just what type of mould,
however, will probably never be known, says Maureen Bot. The Dufferin-
Peel Catholic District School Board told Bot in a December letter
that no testing had been done on fungus found in the structure. Three weeks ago, the Catholic board said it will reduce by half its
715 portables over the next five years. Every little chink in the armour is worth it,'' says Bot. Children
should not be exposed to mould, period.'' The same week, its public school counterpart, the Peel District School
Board said it will look at buying homes beside overcrowded schools
to use as classrooms as part of its plan to eliminate two-thirds of
its 782 portables over a similar time frame. It costs about $30,000 to renovate a portable after mould is removed
and about $50,000 to replace portables that can't be salvaged. Some health, building and environmental officials associate prolonged
airborne exposure to stachybotrys atra - a mould commonly found in
aging and poorly kept school portables - to health problems, including
mood changes and poor concentration. Meanwhile, Lauren, who has had food and environmental allergies since
infancy, including a reaction to mould, is at long last regaining
her health, now that her school portable has been decontaminated. Since she's been out of the mouldy portable, I don't think she's
been sick once,'' says Maureen Bot, a pharmacist by training. Shortly after the fall semester began, the Grade 6 student began to
complain of a stuffy nose, nausea, irritability and difficulty sleeping.
She experienced vomiting over a period of 10 days. A rash appeared
on her body. She complained of feeling hot and cold when she was in the portable
and she was just very, very tired,'' says Bot. It got to the point
where she would cry when she got home from school. She said she couldn'
t concentrate.'' The last time Lauren had been in a portable was in Grade 3. She ended
up on a steroid inhaler due to a persistent cough. When Bot phoned school officials in late September to arrange a meeting
to discuss Lauren's health, she was told that all sorts of germs are
passed among children, and that a child not wanting to attend school
was a social issue. 1 of 2 7/25/99 3:21 PM Printable Document-Electric Library Personal Edition http://business.elibrary.com/s/elbe/getd...rydocid=35346@library_m&dtype=0~0&dinst= I explained that I had checked all other possibilities - both with
respect to her health and any other issues she may have had,'' Bot
says. Because her symptoms eased on weekends when she wasn't at
school I could only conclude that it was the abundance of mould in
the portable and her allergy to it that was making her so sick. I also explained that she had attended school inside the main building
for the last two years and had no significant problems.'' Bot says she was distressed by how quickly her daughter's health deteriorated.
She was also concerned about her youngster's classmates and wondered
what the classroom's environment might mean for them over the longer
term. About 13 per cent of Canadian children, aged 5 to 19, suffer from
asthma, a chronic respiratory ailment, and the Canadian Institute
of Child Health says indoor and outdoor air quality have a considerable
influence on the condition's early development. Minimizing asthma
triggers - including tobacco smoke, dust mites and moulds - reduces
the number and severity of attacks, it says. Asthma is an inflammation or swelling of the airways which causes
wheezing, breathlessness and chest tightness. Severe attacks can be
fatal. I was told that I needed to see the whole (school maintenance) budget
picture,'' recalls Bot. But when you have a sick child that's the
only picture you need to see.'' CAPTIONS:
CLEANING UP:
A worker dismantles a mouldy portable classroom at All Saints
Separate School in this photo supplied by Maureen Bot.
PETER POWER/TORONTO STAR
PORTABLE DANGER:
Eleven-year-old Lauren Bot, right, was pulled from school by her
mother Maureen for several days last October after mould in her
portable classroom made her sick. Copyright (c) 1999 Toronto Star, All Rights Reserved. Janice Turner, Aging portables blamed for student's illness. , The Toronto Star, 01-29-1999. Copyright © 1998 Infonautics Corporation. All rights reserved. - Terms and Conditions 2 of 2 7/25/99 3:21 PM |
| Search |
| Mirrors |