"Campbell County Parent Sues School Over Mold"
WBIR TV (NBC Knoxville)
December 16, 2005
Reporter: Herryn Riendeau
A Campbell County parent is suing his son's school because of mold he says is so bad, he had to take his child out of school.
Valley View Elementary School's principal says they have cleaned up the mold.
Now a Knoxville business is using some new technology to help the school make sure the school is in the clear.
The machine hums and glows, all the while cleaning the air.
"Ours actually uses our patented plasma technology, plasma chemistry to actually kill the microorganisms, so we guarantee a little bit better indoor air quality," said Suzanne South, Director of Biodevelopment at Atmospheric Glow Technologies.
The folks from Atmospheric Glow Technologies have volunteered to test the air at the school and use their purifier to clean it.
"The school took the steps that are necessary to get rid of the visible mold, and certainly there are no visible signs of it, but without air samples you just can't tell," said South.
"Oftentimes it will get visible and will grow on things you can see, and you can get rid of that, but it also grows in cracks and crevices and above ceiling tiles and all over the place, and it's hard to get every bit of it," said Atmospheric Glow Technologies senior engineer Ron Domitrovic.
Michael Martin is a former Valley View Elementary parent. He took pictures at the school during the time he says his son had headaches, breathing problems, even hearing loss. He has pulled his son out of school and says he is getting better.
"He's not near as bad as he was, but he's not going to get 100 percent better either I don't believe, and the doctors don't believe it either," said Martin.
Martin says he is not convinced the mold is gone, and what is happening now is too little too late.
"My son's not going back to the school at all," said Martin.
It will take about two weeks before the air tests will be back and they will know if there is still mold at Valley View Elementary.