Mold has become the topic of discussion within the past few months at BHS. Because of the amount of rain that fell this past Fall, some parts of the school’s roof leaked, which provided the perfect growing environment for mold.

Brooke Styche, English teacher and president of the Barnstable Teachers Association, was alerted by teachers and David Kanyock, Director of Facilities, at the beginning of the school year that mold was growing in prevalence in some areas of BHS.

“Some teachers raised concerns about their work environment, and the school department and union are aware of the issues,” said Styche. “We all worked together to see if there was a real problem and fix it.”

Once the initial concern was raised, the school union did a survey of BHS on their own, bringing in professionals for air quality testing to understand the severity of the issue.

“Physical samples were taken by particular teachers, and some classrooms aren’t being taught in anymore because of the reactions to the environment people seemed to have,” said Styche.

Growing from skylights and within the grout of flooring in classrooms, the mold within BHS became more noticeable. Because of this, people became more worried.

Marina Brock, Senior Environmental Specialist for the Barnstable County Department of Health and Environment, says the problem isn’t as bad as we all think.

“I came into the school during mid-November to inspect the environment and initiate repairs. I was already pretty familiar with the classrooms because of complaints from years ago, so when David Kanyock contacted me with his concerns, I needed to make sure the air handling system was doing it’s job,” said Brock.

When she entered BHS to do her inspection, the source of the problem was pretty clear. It all came down to roof leaks.

“This past Fall was an awful time for mold. There was an abundance of rain and it was a great range to grow mold,” said Brock. “That was Cape Cod mold season.”

Although the mold seemed to be growing everywhere on the Cape, the problem is hopefully being stopped in it’s tracks at BHS.

“We fixed the problem by simply repairing the roof in certain areas of the school. We took the sheet rock out, then taking samples of it to find that what was growing was Cladosporium Aspergillus Penicillium.”

This is the most common sample of mold fungi growth and it may be linked to allergies for some individuals. High levels of Aspergillus Penicillium can be linked to the development of asthma, but it’s not 100 percent certain.When there’s growth of this species, it doesn’t always mean the environment where it’s growing is unhealthy.

“Mold is complex,” said Brock. “We’ve lived with it for millennia, it’s an organic species and it being toxic is really overstated. The reactions people have that they think are related to mold can be legitimate, but a lot of the time it’s not.”

Brock explained that identifying certain environments as safe or unsafe is extremely difficult when it comes to mold because it’s everywhere and everyone reacts to it differently.

“Some people react severely to mold, while others feel nothing. It’s difficult to say, ‘this is a safe level.’ It all comes down to accommodation based in health, and we’re always working to make sure people are safe,” said Brock.

She explained that the mold growth found at BHS is common and represents 95 percent of the mold species found on Cape Cod. It’s not toxic, it’s not black mold, and most likely pollen and dust could be a main factor in why a lot of people seem to be getting sick.

Brock believes BHS handled the problem the best way they could, but wants everyone to be cognizant of the environment they’re spending their time in.

“Look at the EPA’s Tools For Schools. It’s an app to educate students and educators on how to keep up a clean and safe environment,” said Brock. “I believe keeping a school healthful should always be the top priority. Everyone has a role to play, and everyone needs to care about how they’re possibly contributing to health risks.”