Mold, Allergies and Asthma Risks for the New School Year

Last week Maine’s Sun Journal published a story about a $1 million mold removal project at the Otisfield Community School. The remediation project came about after tests confirmed the presence of mold in the school building. According to the report the project is on track and should be completed before the new school year begins for students on August 29th.

Not all students returning to class will have been as fortunate as the students at the Otisfield Community School. Many school districts across the country have seen their maintenance and operating budgets severely diminished due to budget cuts. As both maintenance and preventive maintenance in these schools are postponed or completed by quick and inexpensive means, water damage from everything from leaking pipes, windows and roofs to inadequate humidity control can lead to mold growth. Elevated levels of mold in any indoor environment can quickly result in poor indoor air quality (IAQ).

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “Poor indoor air quality can impact the comfort and health of students and staff, which, in turn, can affect concentration, attendance, and student performance. In addition, if schools fail to respond promptly to poor IAQ, students and staff are at an increased risk of short-term health problems, such as fatigue and nausea, as well as long-term problems like asthma.”

Fortunately there is a quick and inexpensive method to test the air and surfaces for mold. “The Mycometer®-air and Mycometer®-surface sampling methodologies were developed by university scientists to identify indoor environments that have elevated levels of fungi,” reported Lisa Rogers, President of Mycometer, Inc. (USA). “This proven technology is ideal for sampling at schools that need results rapidly and have limited budgets for testing,” she continued.

Mycometer supports an educational public outreach video on IAQ and student performance that can be seen at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QxdcORr-1M

To learn more, please visit Mycometer at http://www.mycometer.com, email info@mycometer.com or call (813) 831-6511.

About Mycometer, Inc. (USA)
Mycometer was founded in 1998 as a spin off from a research group at the University of Copenhagen. Today the company has offices in Tampa, Florida and Copenhagen, Denmark. The company develops test kits for the detection and quantification of microorganisms. Their Mycometer®-test and the BactiQuant® method are utilized by the indoor air quality, healthcare, food processing, manufacturing and water industries across the globe.

Contact Information

Lisa Rogers

President

Mycometer, Inc.

Contact via E-mail