Mold found at Herndon High School

Neal Augenstein, wtop.com

HERNDON, Va. – After complaints that people were feeling sick and having difficulty breathing, environmental health engineers found mildew in a few classrooms at Herndon High School.

“It was discovered on rarely-cleaned shelving in some foreign language classrooms,” John Torre, spokesman for Fairfax County Public Schools, says. “It was cleaned up.”

Engineers have determined the mold was limited to the few rooms, he says. While the students are away for spring break, those rooms will be cleaned, monitored and inspected.

“It appears to have developed during the last use air conditioning,” he says. “There’s no water damage.”

Torre says the mold was brought to the attention of the principal March 8, and engineers investigated the problem a few days later.

An administrative assistant said Principal William Bates was unavailable for comment, but did send a letter to parents and guardians:

“I have had meetings with staff and the experts in this area to develop a long term plan to prevent any possible recurrence. We are taking immediate steps to review our housekeeping protocols, and have initiated the repairs, adjustments and monitoring required to maintain proper temperature and relative humidity levels in the building.”

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