Concerned Teachers Arm Themselves With Mould Testing Kits

March 26, 2007

Elementary teachers will be testing classrooms with mould testing kits because of fears that excessively high mould levels in Lambton Kent schools are compromising the health and safety of students and school staff.

“The Lambton Kent District School Board continues to deny there is a serious mould problem in their schools,” said Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) first vice-president David Clegg.

“It’s unfortunate that we have reached this point, said Clegg.  “We don’t believe that these kits provide the ultimate in mould testing technology, but at least it will offer our members some help in determining whether their school is safe.” 

According to ETFO, testing done at Ridgetown Public School in early March indicated mould levels of 5587 spores per cubic metre in one classroom. This compares with the ambient mould level (what is considered normal) of 173 spores per cubic metre. Mould levels were also higher than normal in three other Ridgetown classrooms that were tested.

“The high mould levels are very disturbing,” said Clegg.  “Equally disturbing is the fact that the Board did not conduct any testing, and didn’t close the classroom with the highest mould level, until a teacher filed a work refusal.”

This is not the first time that ETFO has expressed concerns about mould in Lambton Kent elementary school classrooms.  In early March, ETFO obtained test results from 14 schools that indicated mould was present in six Lambton schools and in three Kent schools.

Clegg said that earlier in the year, the Board provided ETFO with conflicting test results for other schools.  Some tests revealed a possible danger, while others conducted later by the same firm seemed to contradict their initial findings. 

“The school board has continually ignored teachers’ requests to have an independent testing firm conduct higher level testing in schools to ensure the safety of students and teachers.  The Board says their schools are safe.  We think test results suggest otherwise”, said Clegg.  “Until independent testing is done, teachers and parents will never know for sure that the classrooms are safe.”

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario represents more than 70,000 public elementary school teachers and education workers across Ontario and is the largest teacher federation in Canada.