THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 27, 1995 TAG: 9508260097
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 17 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Back to School
SOURCE: BY ALETA PAYNE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
Within six months of the opening of three Chesapeake middle schools in 1991, people began noticing a wet sheen on the floors and desks in some classrooms. One room would be damp, but not the identical room next to it.
Four years later, officials in the district still are working to correct problems with the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems in Butts Road, Great Bridge and Greenbrier intermediate schools. The answer may be in a 2-by-4-foot, box-shaped ventilation unit that will be tested in two classrooms this year. If the unit clears the air of excess humidity, similar units will be used in other problem rooms.
``We want to make sure when we implement the remedy, it is indeed the remedy,'' said Steve Gilbert, administrative director for operations.
Chesapeake is one of many school districts nationwide - and one of three locally, with Virginia Beach and Portsmouth - that has had problems with air quality.
All three Chesapeake schools were built in the same year with the same design and same system to circulate, cool and heat the air. The problem seems related to the amount of humidity coming through the ventilation system and the flourishing mold and mildew that results, a frequent contributor to ``sick buildings.'' Another common problem is high carbon dioxide levels because of too little fresh air.
People working in such environments may experience a variety of symptoms, such as eye irritations, headaches, allergies, asthma and repeated upper-respiratory infections. In rare instances, long-term problems can result. But in most cases, symptoms disappear when the person leaves the building for an extended time.
While health complaints have not been as numerous in Chesapeake as in some other school districts, some staff members have reported problems such as upper respiratory symptoms and skin irritations likely tied to the air.
Still, the problems at the three Chesapeake schools have not prompted the community uproar that Virginia Beach, with eight sick schools, has encountered.
``I really don't think we have any major concerns right now,'' said Bob Scott, president of the city's council of parent-teacher associations and a teacher at Deep Creek High School. ``The central administration is going to take care of these things.''
Gilbert said Chesapeake officials have been working with the architects and engineers who designed the school and ventilation system to pinpoint the problems. In addition, consultants from the company that manufactured the system also have been helping, Gilbert said. All have provided their services for free.
Where studies in problem rooms found too much carbon dioxide - the gas we all breathe out - ventilation was increased to bring in more fresh air. But the district still is battling mold and mildew in some rooms.
The consultants have come up with a ``mini-version of what we're doing now in our new construction,'' to try in a couple of the classrooms, Gilbert said.
The problem, created at least in part by the region's high humidity levels, is most prevalent on days when the temperature is between 65 and 80 degrees. The air conditioners, which dry the air as it cools, rarely come on in those periods, Gilbert said. The ventilation systems then pipe in humidity-laden fresh air, which encourages mold.
What no one can explain is why other schools with similar ventilation systems have had no problems. Or why one room in a school has too much moisture but a similar one does not.
Until they solve the problems, district officials are trying to adjust the existing system and are having cleaning done more frequently. The real test for the trial system comes later this fall, when the temperature drops and classrooms are full of students.
If this solution doesn't work, Gilbert said, the district will try another.
``If there was an easy answer,'' he said, ``we'd have used it.''
KEYWORDS: CHESAPEAKE SCHOOLS by CNB