Vol. 75, No. 3, March
2002
Out
of the Dark: The Emergence of Toxic Mold Litigation
Mold in Wisconsin Schools
Last August the City of Madison opened the newly constructed Chavez
Elementary School. By November several students and teachers were
exhibiting upper respiratory symptoms, and school staff members had
already taken 23 days of sick leave.1
Environmental consultants soon discovered that the likely cause of these
symptoms was the cladosporium, alternaria, and
penicillium varieties of mold, which were found behind
one-third of the classroom walls.2 The
school was closed on Nov. 28 and students were bused to other district
schools with the hope that remediation would allow the school to reopen
for the spring semester. However, subsequent tests and investigations
located additional pockets of mold in the school and forced the district
to postpone reopening the school for the rest of the school year. To
date, the investigation into the source of the mold has centered on the
contractor the district hired to construct the building.3
Mold concerns have surfaced in at least two other school
buildings in Wisconsin. An early learning center in Sheboygan was closed
in December to allow the removal of mold from the lower level of the
building following a water leak.4 Classes at
an elementary school in Coon Valley were relocated after several
students and staff complained of headaches, burning eyes, congestion,
sore throats, and stomach aches. Environmental specialists are testing
for mold as the potential source of these problems.5
Wisconsin is not alone in confronting mold contamination in its
schools. A Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory survey of literature
pertaining to schools found that water damage leading to mold
infestation was the second most commonly reported facility-related
problem.6
1 Doug Erickson,
Teachers Union and District Agree on Chavez Costs, Wis. State
J., Dec. 7, 2001, at B1.
2 Doug Erickson,
Board Asked for Chavez Solution, Wis. State J., Jan. 29, 2002,
at A1.
3 Id.
4 Associated
Press, Mold Being Removed at School, Wis. State J., Dec. 24,
2001, at B5.
5 LaCrosse
Tribune, Coon Valley Elementary Will Reopen this Month, Wis.
State J., Jan. 2, 2002, at B3.
6 Joan Daisey
& William Angell, A Survey and Critical Review of the Literature
on Indoor Air Quality, Ventilation and Health Symptoms in Schools
(Berkeley, CA: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, March 1998).
Wisconsin Lawyer
