Mold, asbestos, lead dust in Philly schools

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — More than half of the Philadelphia’s public elementary schools have serious environmental hazards like lead dust, mold spores and asbestos fibers, a newspaper investigation has found.

To paint a picture of conditions in the nation’s eighth-largest school district, with over 130,000 students, the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News reviewed years of the district’s own records and worked with school staffers to conduct some of their own environmental detective work.

In their report, the newspapers said district records identified more than 9,000 environmental problems across the district since September 2015.

Eighty of the city’s 148 elementary schools had at least 50 reports of environmental hazards such as flaking lead paint, mouse droppings mold or other asthma triggers, lead-tainted water, or frayed asbestos, their review found.

The newspapers enlisted staffers at 19 of the city’s most run-down elementary schools to take samples according to testing guidelines. The teachers used wipes to sample areas for lead dust, mold spores, and asbestos fibers. They also collected water from drinking fountains. They used a nationally accredited lab to analyze the samples.

According to their report, dangerously high levels of cancer-causing asbestos fibers were found on surfaces in classrooms, gymnasiums, auditoriums and hallways. Hazardous levels of lead dust showed up on windowsills, floors, and shelves in classrooms, including one for children with autism. Triggers for asthma like mold, mouse droppings and cockroaches were also detailed in the district’s own records.

About 90 percent of the district’s schools were built before 1978, the year the federal government outlawed residential use of lead paint.

School district officials took issue with the newspapers’ testing, questioning the method used and arguing that air monitoring for asbestos is more accurate and the only testing method required by law.

District officials also told the papers they are streamlining their record-tracking system to get a more up-to-date picture of problems that need to be fixed.

“We want to be proactive in identifying, assessing, controlling, and preventing environmental health conditions in our schools,” said Francine Locke, the district’s environmental director. “So we go above and beyond regulations when we collect data about dampness, mold, paint, and plaster damage.”

It will take $3 billion over the next 10 years to build new schools, replace roofs and heating systems, and finish all urgent repairs, school officials said.