Peabody Community Follow-Up Mold Meeting
May 14, 2019
Draft Summary
Attendees: Vedad Konjic (Director of Facilities for CPSD), Sam Lipson (Director of Environmental Health for the Cambridge Public Health Department), Jen Ford, Cathy Serrano, Diane Zylicz, Marnie Gale, Katie Stockman
Background
–Vedad Konjic, Director of Facilities for CPSD, and Sam Lipson, Director of Environmental Health for the Cambridge Public Health Department, were present to provide information to Peabody administrators, staff, and parents.
–This meeting was a follow-up to the meeting held in December to discuss mold remediation and prevention efforts at Peabody.
Mold Remediation and Prevention Work
(
see attached handout for more information)
–Spring Break Work: Vedad explained that in the fall, insulation was removed from 11 locations within the school where mold was found. The intent was to replace that insulation during February break but due to contracting delays, the work wasn’t able to get done until April break. In the process of doing this work, an area in Room 132 was identified that had mold and was not previously stripped of insulation. This area was encapsulated and the air quality was subsequently tested the week after in both Room 132 and the adjacent cafeteria. The air quality tests revealed acceptable air quality levels. The area encapsulated in Room 132 will be re-insulated this summer to minimize disruption during school year.
–Weather Stripping / Vapor Barrier: The Facilities Team has fixed the weather stripping on all doors around the school.
–Dehumidifiers: Seven additional dehumidifiers were purchased for Peabody to supplement the existing three. Seven will be put into use and the other three will serve as back-up. The locations in which these dehumidifiers will be placed are shown in attached diagrams. The units will be set up to drain into bathrooms or outside.
–Data Loggers: 10 temperature/humidity data loggers have been purchased. Seven will be placed around the school (see attached diagram for locations). The other three will serve as back-up. The data loggers will allow Vedad and his team to monitor (via Bluetooth) the humidity levels throughout the school during the summer months.
–Envelope Study: The District is in the process of contracting for a building envelope study. The results will inform additional work to be performed at the school (caulking, mortaring/repointing, etc.).
–New Chiller: A new chiller will be installed at Peabody in mid-November, after the warm season. The current chiller is too small. However, in the event additional cooling units are needed at Peabody, the District has four industrial size cooling units that can be brought in.
Summer Outlook
–The District has gone to great lengths to prepare for summer weather and prevent mold problems from recurring at Peabody.
–In addition to the above-noted measures, the District has multiple environmental testing and mold remediation companies on stand-by to assist as required.
–Custodians received extensive mold awareness training and are better prepared to assist in identifying potential issues.
–The District has a new mold protocol that has been developed and that employees will receive training on.
Communications / Next Steps
–Ms. Ford will provide a list of summer program administrators to Vedad for him to keep in touch with over the course of the summer.
–Ms. Ford will share Vedad’s contact information with all summer program administrators, so they know who to contact if any issues arise (in addition, all administrators have Ms. Ford’s contact information too).
–Vedad will make regular visits to Peabody throughout the summer to monitor the data loggers and dehumidifiers.