Former teacher logs on, speaks out on school mold

Susan Brinchman launched a website to teach others about 'sick buildings,' featuring content ranging from scientific studies to mold law, along with the latest news on moldy school buildings.

By Amanda Price
BioNews

Brinchman describes the moment she realized that she wasn't the only school employee experiencing health problems. Producer: Amanda Price
Brinchman worries that poor air quality and mold are making schools unsafe environments for kids and teachers.

Seven years ago, Susan Brinchman knew nothing about mold. Now the former La Mesa elementary-school teacher is determined to make sure that others are better informed.

“I didn’t know enough then to know that musty means mold,” she said. “It’s the smell from the mycotoxins.”

Brinchman’s own testimonial tells the story of her weak lungs and inflamed colon, what she says are the consequences of back-to-back mold exposures at two elementary schools.

“I feel like these exposures have stolen my good health and I won't be able to work as a teacher in the poorly maintained buildings of my very defensive and non-supportive school district,” she wrote.

Brinchman became so sick that she had to quit her job.

Now her chemical sensitivities to things like perfumes and lawn treatments often make staying indoors a crucial part of Brinchman’s bid to stay well. Yet within the confines of her office, she’s reaching out to the world beyond the ‘safe space’ of her La Mesa home.

“We’re educating the whole country and trying to help the whole country, which can be overwhelming at times,” said Brinchman, describing her efforts to spread the word about toxic mold. “But the Internet really helps us to do that."

The Center for School Mold Help eventually became a nonprofit organization headed by five board members, four of whom are now disabled from long-term school mold exposures.

Readership for Brinchman’s website has already grown steadily, yet she plans to expand even further by providing mold training modules and developing the Center’s capacity for presentations.

Eventually, she hopes that getting the word out will spark attention on the federal level.

“We hope that someday, through the education on this topic, that the government will take enough interest to protect the occupants of schools so that they don’t have to put up with the extreme conditions of damp buildings, neglected school buildings, neglected maintenance and mold,” said Brinchman.

EPA: Mold remediation in schools and commercial buildings

Newsday: New Newark school torn down after mold is found

Multimedia:
NPR News and Notes: Toxic mold harmed workers reconstructing schools after Katrina

Expert discusses toxic mold in school buildings