Edgerton health problems alleged

The husband of an Edgerton Elementary School teacher alleges the school has mice, roof leaks and that many staff suffer from allergies that disappear outside the building.

Darryl Iblings also told the Flathead County Health Board on Thursday that the school has had 12 cases of cancer in the 18 years since it was built.

He said his wife made a request to the school district last fall to test the air, but told the health board he was not aware anything was done. He accused the district of "empty promises and lame excuses."

But District Superintendent Darlene Schottle said Friday that the school addressed all of the concerns. She said the health department performed a rodent survey last fall and the district performed the recommended cleanup activities.

The school also had an independent water test that showed no contamination.

Schottle said Edgerton was among five schools that had air-quality surveys performed. Although she did not have the report in front of her Friday, she said her recollection was that all schools were within an acceptable range.

"As far as we know, there is nothing actively wrong," she said.

Rebecca Dahl, principal at Edgerton, said the leak Iblings showed in the photos occurred during a week of rain this spring.

"As soon as it (the weather) cleared up, they fixed it," Dahl said. "If another room was getting wet, I don't know about it."

Schottle said she welcomes a follow-up inspection by the health department and admitted the district probably should have shared the health-survey findings earlier to reassure the staff that the school was safe.

Joe Russell, director of the Flathead City-County Health Department, said the department will perform a comprehensive look at Edgerton since the health board directed him on Thursday to make the school a priority.

"We'll follow up on this very soon," he said.

Russell told the health board that inspection would include testing for mold.

He said another problem in a school some years ago got the department involved in indoor air quality. At that time, he said the main focus was on radon contamination.

As mold awareness grew, the department acquired a tool called an impactor. The device impacts microbiological particles into a petri dish to analyze molds and bacteria.

Laboratory specialists grow and incubate the sample and provide a report back to Flathead health officials.

"We have mold-spore counts from many of the schools," Russell said. "We've tested a lot of county buildings."

If Edgerton's inspection produces mold or bacteria samples, Russell will use the laboratory report to research the literature for any associated health problems.

Russell said the concerns raised over the 12 cancer cases at Edgerton would be difficult if not impossible to validate as statistically significant. Science normally requires larger populations than those found in Montana to draw those conclusions.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com