Expert says mould in Saint Lucia “nothing new”

Over the past few weeks, health and safety concerns at our island’s education institutions have been at the forefront of national discussion, particularly over the presence of mould. Just this past Monday three secondary schools were forced to send students home early. Said a ministry circular on the matter: “The Ministry of Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development regrets to inform parents and guardians of students attending the Bocage, Entrepot and Sir Ira Simmons Secondary schools that due to inadequate teacher supervision at these schools, classes will be dismissed early today November 4th, 2019. The Ministry over the last few days, in response to the concerns of stakeholders, has undertaken significant work including deep cleaning, mould remediation and pre- and post-air quality testing at the various schools.”

By definition, mould is “a conspicuous mass of mycelium (masses of vegetative filaments, or hyphae) and fruiting structures produced by various fungi.” The UK’s National Health Service website says mould is “caused by excess moisture. Moisture in buildings can be caused by leaking pipes, rising damp in basements or ground floors, or rain seeping in because of damage to the roof or around window frames.”

H&L Environmental Services Ltd is an IICRC (Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification) certified mould remediation company in Saint Lucia. Its managing director, Millines Herman, agrees with the NHS assessment. “The basic thing mould needs is moisture. It can thrive in any form of moisture. Moisture can be actual water, coming from leaks in roofs for example. The source of moisture could also be relative humidity. Our climate is prime for mould infestation to occur and once there’s relative humidity of 60% and over, then the environment is conducive to mould growth.”

Some have posited that air conditioning units have contributed to the rise of mould infestation here in Saint Lucia. Herman agrees, but only partially. “For closed units like that, you do get mould growing but again there is a moisture source, so it’s not just about the air condition unit; it’s about the moisture source.”

Air-conditioned rooms stationed next to warmer ones could lead to mould build-up, said Herman. “So, if there’s any temperature differences and there’s condensation, even if it’s microscopic, mould can grow with that level of moisture. So again, whether it’s through roof leaks, whether it’s from the rain coming in through the windows, even if the place is closed up and air-conditioned, if the relative humidity levels are not controlled, you can have a lot of mould growing on the surface,” he explained.

“The thing is, mould is everywhere and that’s a fact people have to understand. So persons that say they will kill mould or prevent mould from growing, that’s a no-no. To deal with mould you have to do so on a scientific level to know for sure what species of mould you’re dealing with and what is the source of the problem; in terms of water, where the moisture source is coming from and where the contamination source is,” Herman clarified.

In terms of reducing the risk of mould infestation, Herman advised: “There are two major ways: 1) Reduce any source of moisture and ensure the place is dried. Mould will infect anything moist for more than 24 hours. 2) Proper ventilation within the space is important. So, even if your place is closed and you have an AC unit, you need to ensure that there’s proper ventilation into the space; not just for mould but for indoor air quality on a whole.”

Despite the recent uptick in sick-outs due to fears over the presence of mould at different places of work, including schools, Herman informed the STAR that the presence of mould “has always been an issue in Saint Lucia” and the running narrative that mould has suddenly become a problem is “misinformed”. 

“I think right now persons are more aware,” he said. “We’re trying to promote more mould awareness. It’s because of awareness people are starting to actually look out for it but there are still misconceptions, especially in terms of how to deal with the problem. It’s not about killing mould. There are persons who will tell you they will kill mould within a space. But even if you kill the mould spore, whether it’s dead or alive, mould is still toxigenic and allergenic. So you’ve still not dealt with the problem merely by killing the mould. That’s important to know.” 

“There are standards” he went on, “and the gold standard is the IICRC’s certification standards. And this is what we’re certified with. We’re the only ones in the Caribbean actually that are so certified for mould remediation.”