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GRAFTON, Mass — A licensed mold inspector, hired to investigate the suspicion of air contamination in the children’s room at the Grafton Public Library, concluded that no active spores were found, according Interim Director Heidi Fowler.
The test results were turned over to Fowler the last week of September and reported in a press release received Oct. 11 which said, “though there were some mold spores, there was no active mold in the children's room. In fact, the results showed that on the day of the inspection, the air quality was better inside the children's room than it was outside the building.”
Fowler said an environmental scientist from Enviro-Safe Engineering conducted a series of air tests called “bioaerosol sampling”. According to a University of Texas report, inactive mold spores can become active again once they come in contact with moisture or organic matter. This can happen when humidity meets or exceeds 70 percent.
Currently, the children’s reading room maintains a dehumidifier.
“I thought it would be OK,” said Fowler when asked if she was ever concerned about the room’s air quality. During a selectmen meeting on Sept. 11, R. Dayton Fair and Kathleen A. Bartels, principals with LLB Architects, who were hired to assess the repair costs of the library, expressed concern when they smelled what they suspected was mold. This, in turn, reignited a heated discussion amongst the selectmen over what they said was another example of the town’s poor maintenance record not just in the library but in all town owned buildings.
According to Fowler, the environmental scientist hired, Patricia Riley, did not need to tear up carpet to test for the spores. On September 20, she took air samples in the room and outside the building. A report was sent back to her the following week.
Two calls to Enviro-Safe Engineers were not returned by publication time.
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