The library at Monomoy Regional Middle School in Chatham, Massachusetts, has been closed to students this week as officials investigate elevated levels of mold in the air.
The Cape Cod Chronicle reports that a sample of indoor air quality in 23 rooms on Jan. 28 found elevated mold levels in three rooms: the small gymnasium, the art classroom and the
library.
“However, the middle school library sample came back substantially higher than any other and any previous recorded at the middle school,” Monomoy Regional School Superintendent Scott Carpenter said. “Out of an abundance of caution, we have closed the library this week while we further investigate this finding.”
School officials will be installing additional air purifiers in the library and will intensively clean each of the three rooms over the February vacation week, Carpenter said.
Late last year, a water leak in the school library caused some books to become visibly moldy, prompting the school to temporarily close the room for cleaning and repairs.
In addition to the cleaning and followup testing, Carpenter said the middle school renovation committee and its consultants are planning to do further testing within the wall cavities throughout the middle school over school vacation week.
