*Disclaimer: The views expressed in this opinion editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Garnet and Gold Gazette.*
Mold. Rust. Exposed electrical wire. Asbestos. Lead. Vermin.
All things that should never be in a school. And yet, walking around Brunswick High School (BHS) will have you greeted with all these hazards and more. These things can negatively impact the human brain, especially minors—the exact demographic that spends around 8 hours of their day in a school building. These issues aren’t just something that can simply be removed, though. They go much deeper than that. In reality, they’ve been inside the building for decades, only now they are finally showing themselves to be the threat they are to the staff and students in the building.
Look at the ceiling.
What do you see? If you are in Brunswick High School, there’s a good chance that you’ll see odd brownish stains on the ceiling tiles. These are small patches of black and brown mold, caused by rusty, leaking fire sprinkler systems. Many molds, especially black mold, can be harmful to people. Unfortunately, there are small patches of black and brown mold, in the ceiling, due to rusty, leaking fire sprinkler systems. This mold can cause many issues to people, all stemming from the mycotoxins that it produces, as the spores are released. These mycotoxins can cause allergic reactions in people, worsen asthma, cause skin irritations, and even cause neurological issues, such as memory loss and concentration problems. In addition, black mold exposure can increase the risk of someone having a seizure, and can lead to the development or worsening of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Some may ask, how does one tiny little mold patch negatively impact everyone in our school? You only get the effects if you’re working right under said mold patch, day and night, and that is where people are wrong. Mycotoxins can spread hundreds of kilometers from the original source, and it can also travel through air, through ventilation systems, and on people’s skin and clothes, and guess what? The mold is near several vents, allowing the mycotoxins to travel all around our school.
Rust.
It is common knowledge that rusty sprinkler systems can inhibit function, and this is dangerous, because if there is a fire, and the sprinkler system doesn’t work, that is a major safety concern. It is such a concern, in fact, that it actually violates fire codes in the United States of America. Under code NFPA 25, section 5.2. 1.1. 1, it states that “Any sprinkler showing signs of leakage, corrosion detrimental to sprinkler performance, physical damage, loss of fluid in the glass bulb heat-responsive element, loading detrimental to sprinkler performance, or paint other than that applied by the sprinkler manufacturer shall be replaced.” A large amount of sprinklers in the building shows signs of rust on the sprinkler head itself, has dust and debris on/in it, or signs of leaking connectors and pipes. These can cause blockages that inhibit the sprinkler from working, and can lead to an increase in leakage. It would make sense that some students, and teachers for that matter, are concerned about the ability for these sprinklers to actually work during an emergency.
Asbestos.
Many people have heard of asbestos, but they don’t know exactly what it is. Asbestos is a naturally occurring, group of toxic, carcinogenic (meaning it causes cancer in humans) fibrous silicate minerals. There are six types of asbestos, but they all share their most dangerous trait, these fibers can be easily removed off the main chunk by simple abrasion, and wear, releasing thousands of cancer-causing particles into the air, where people can breathe. Asbestos was a popular building material in the late 19th century to the early 1980s, since it could be put in the walls, ceilings, and walls of buildings, and better insulate, and prevent the spread of fires between rooms. Brunswick High School was built in 1965, during the peak time for asbestos. If left undisturbed, asbestos is not harmful, but, since it’s in the ceiling tiles and floor tiles, every time one breaks, thousands of particles are released. Asbestos exposure can lead to numerous health problems, including asbestosis, which is a chronic disease of the lungs, leading to serious lung tissue damage and scarring. In addition, asbestos exposure can lead to an increase of sinus infections, breathing problems, and can lead to leukemia and lung cancer.
Vermin.
Brunswick High School has a vermin problem. Sure, all schools have issues with pests, but Brunswick frequently suffers from roaches, mice, ants, and wasps, constantly getting into the building. From mice getting into food and scurrying across the floor of the classroom, interrupting class, to wasps flying around above the head of students. This is a serious problem, not just for the students that are allergic to wasp stings, but the risk of pathogens carried by these animals. Mice, and their subsequent droppings, can carry several strains of bacteria that can make people seriously sick, or even potentially be deadly, the common ones being hantavirus, salmonellosis, and leptospirosis. In fact, you don’t need to even be near the mouse droppings, since the bacteria can become airborne from their droppings, urine, and nests, and travel through ventilation. The chances of getting sick from a few mouse droppings is low, but being exposed to them, repeatedly day after day, can seriously increase the risk, especially, when you come into school, and see rat droppings across your desk, or even next to the printer. Many teachers have reported mice in their room, and sometimes, had come into school with mouse droppings across their stuff. Almost all teachers who asked about mice in their room had said yes. With ants and wasps, they pose less of a biological risk to people, they still can show the uncleanliness of the school. Especially, since it shows there is a way for these vermin to enter the building, leading to the idea that there may be major structural problems, especially with the mice getting to the second floor of the building.
Lead.
In the early 19th century to 1978, lead was common, and a popular base for paint, due to its resistance to the elements, and made the paint dry faster. The thing is, people in the 1950s and 1960s didn’t realize the adverse effects using lead based paint would cause, especially around adolescents, whose brains are still developing. Side effects of lead exposure, include but are not limited to, increased hyperactivity, decreased cognitive abilities, behavioral problems like aggression and attention deficits. Exposure to lead in both middle and high school is connected to an increased rate for participating in violent crime in adulthood. Even low levels of lead, in fact, there are no safe levels of lead for children and adolescents to be exposed to, and no safe level of lead in the blood. Children should not be exposed to levels even under 1 parts per billion, and a large chunk of the fountains in Brunswick High School contains more than 1 parts per billion, despite the legal limit being at 5 parts per billion for schools. In fact, the EPAs action level for lead content is 15 ppb, and there is one faucet in BHS, where the lead was 14 ppb. One of the only ways to fix this problem would be a new school building, since this school has lead pipes, and that is the main way the lead leaches into the system.
The next step was asking the students what they felt about their school. Almost all stated they were dissatisfied with the school building, and all said they knew someone, or themselves have witnessed a mouse in the building, along with noticing an increased amount of respiratory issues, while being in the building. A few more were asked to comment, “The school is not up to date and keeps getting pushed back in terms of a rebuild, just because the other schools in the county are hitting capacity,” said one student, “It desperately needs it.” Another student commented, “Asbestos is still in the building.”
The fundamental flaws with the way the school was built become harder to ignore with each passing year. And yet, each year passes with no change. The rebuilding of Brunswick High School is long overdue. At this point, it seems to be an inevitability. The question is, how long can the county continue delaying the inevitable?
*Warning: the following slideshow contains images that may be unsettling to some individuals, with focuses of the images being, and not limited to, mice feces, mice nests, dead cockroaches, and other dead bugs.*
