Within the last few days there has been a high volume of school related mold stories. These are were all posted in the last few days (January 9th, 2007)
ATLANTICVILLE — School nurse says mold in office made her sick - New Jersy
FREEPORT — Mold infesting exterior walls at Freeport Middle School has ousted teachers and students from five classrooms until the problem can be fixed next week. - Maine
WILLIAMSTOWN — Wood County Schools is calling in a specialist this week after complaints of possible mold contamination in Williamstown Elementary School. -Ohio
WESTVIEW —A second lawsuit has been issued against the Weakley County Board of Education, according to press release from Parrish and Shaw, a Memphis-based law firm.-Tennessee
As concerns grow about exposure to mold, and questions are raised particularly about mold in schools. I imagine there eventually be national media attention, which will escalate concern into fear. Informed concern is good, it indicates an attempt to understand and make a reasonable response. Fear is bad as it prompts parties to first seek or avoid blame, and then respond rashly in the attempt to make the problems and complaints go away at almost any cost.
How does this affect Hawaii? Given the aging nature of our schools, add in the recent rainy season, and we will almost assurredly have at least one instance of mold in a school become a “media worthy’ event. I’ve noticed with media exposure, mold seems to have a domino or bandwagonning effect. Sniffles or sneezes are immediately blamed on mold.
Obvioulsy potential negative health effects have been associated with mold exposure in some people. The extent of those health effects, and what intensity, type, and duration of mold exposure it takes to produce negative health effects in other-wise healthy people HAS STILL NOT BEEN CLEARLY DEMONSTRATED. There are no permissible exposure levels of mold. Except for perhaps a few of the mycotoxins, a doctor can not generally tell you if you breath in x amount of mold then you will develop y symptpoms (Dose-response).
Exposure to mold may harm your health, worry and stress about mold will can definitely diminish your health or quality of life. Always take reasonable response and preventitive measures based on the best information you have available, but don’t go out of your way to convince yourself you dieing from that piece of moldy-bread left on the counter 
Tags: Hawaii Mold · Media and Mold · Mold · Mold SchoolsNo Comments
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