Bus driver Kelly Niermeyer was repeatedly hospitalized from a reaction to toxic mold growth on Wachusett School District buses operated by Robert L McCarthy & Son. A test concluded that the air samples collected from the buses “were lower in comparison to the outdoor control sample at the time of the inspection,” yet the report also said bulk and surface samples “did contain active fungal growth of ascospores, aspergillus/penicillium, cladosporium and smuts/myxomycetes/rust” and that “all molds have the potential to cause health effects.”
The bus company made an effort to clean up the mold by hiring bus drivers and others as part of “a bus washing party.”
In George’s Point of View
Personally, I wonder if the cleanup was done in a haphazard or non-professional fashion before the testing. A superficial cleaning might not take care of actual mold growth. Also, a concern in a school bus may also be if air patterns in the bus while it is moving excite established colonies of mold which may not be obvious when not in motion. Do the passengers smell mold on the bus while it is moving? The bus driver and teh concerned parents have— legitimate concerns.
If you’re in California, you might want to give us a call and see about getting an assessment from Byebyemold.