PEABODY — City students, families, teachers and staff can breathe a collective sigh of relief regarding air quality in school buildings based on a recent study conducted by OccuHealth, Inc. (OHI).
“I am pleased to report that based on their assessment, OHI concluded that airborne mold spores and particulate levels fell within normal ranges at all locations tested at every Peabody school,” Peabody Mayor and School Committee Chairman Ted Bettencourt wrote in a community message communicated via email and robocall on Aug. 26.
Bettencourt stated that he authorized an Airborne Mold and Dust Assessment at each of the eight elementary schools, the Higgins Middle School and Peabody Veterans Memorial High School. The study, which took place on Aug. 17, was overseen by the city’s Facilities Director, Jim Hafey, and was “designed to gauge overall air quality and air exchange in our school buildings,” Bettencourt said.
Samples were collected at four different locations in each elementary school and six different locations at the middle school and high school, including the nurses’ stations at all 10 schools.
A total of 45 samples were collected. Outdoor samples at each school were also taken for comparative analysis. In addition, OHI conducted a visual inspection, concluding in the report that, “OHI did not observe any evidence of water damage or mold growth in any of the building or classroom areas (and) that all locations appeared clean and very few areas had any visible settled dust.”
The best results were found at the middle school, which is also the city’s newest school building. Five of the six areas where samples were taken detected no spores; only the nurse’s station detected spores and that level was within normal range.
At the high school, spores were detected in three of six sampled areas, again, all within normal range.
Among the elementary schools, the Carroll School fared the best with spores detected at only one (the main entrance area) of the four areas where samples were taken.
OHI’s conclusion was that based on “the results of the inspection and the laboratory results OHI concludes that airborne mold spores and particulate levels are within normal ranges in all locations sampled. OHI has no recommendations to offer at this time.”
OHI qualified its report with the following: “Mold samples alone cannot be used to verify whether a space is safe or unsafe for human occupancy. However, results of air sampling, together with a thorough history of the building’s water damage, information obtained from interviews with building occupants and field observations, can help the independent environmental professional develop an opinion on the extent of the mold and the appropriate remediation plan.”
To view the report, please visit the city’s website, www.peabody-ma.gov.
Bettencourt’s statement also said the city has used nearly $250,000 of federal COVID-19 funds for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), including, 275,000 face masks; 4,000 face shields; 7,000 pairs of goggles; 6,000 pairs of gloves; 3,000 protective gowns; 1,750 gallons of hand sanitizer; including 8-oz personal size bottles for students, teachers and staff, adding that “each school will be equipped with a static fogger which will be used to spray disinfectant mist throughout the school with an emphasis on high-traffic, frequently touched surfaces.
“As the school year progresses, we will continue to take every precaution necessary to protect students, teachers, staff and their families,” Bettencourt said “We will adjust to changing circumstances and stay flexible in our approach.”
