Contamination concerns at 3 North Providence schools

By John Krinjak

Email: Jkrinjak@abc6.com

Twitter: @johnkrinjakABC6

NORTH PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — A week before school starts, parents in North Providence are concerned.

"It seems like every school in North Providence is a problem," said parent Rebecca Beauchamp.

Interim superintendent Robert O’Brien emailed parents Wednesday, saying mold has been found in multiple classrooms at Ricci Middle School.

"That causes issues for every kid, severe allergies, asthma," said parent Nicole White.

Crews are now deep cleaning the whole school, pushing the first day back nearly a week to September 4th.

"They scrub the room from ceiling to floor, everything. Anything that’s made out of cloth has to be thrown out. All the furniture, we have Chromebook covers that are cloth. Those are going to have to be thrown out and replaced," said O’Brien.

At Whelan Elementary, the issue isn’t mold but the radioactive material radon. Slightly elevated levels were found in two classrooms.

"When you have a classroom that doesn’t have proper ventilation, that’s when the radon comes up through the floor," said O’Brien.

And at Centerdale Elementary, there are complaints of asbestos being released as the roof was being replaced.

"It came from parents, it came from teachers that went into the building," said O’Brien.

Others reported rat droppings coming from an open vent at Centredale. O’Brien says they’re taking care of it.

"It really needs to happen. My kids are not going to be sitting in a school exposed to asbestos and rat poop," said White.

"That’s where our kids are all day," said Beauchamp. "They’re not safe if they’re exposed to hazards that are going to affect their health in the long run. It’s not okay."

At Ricci, O’Brien is blaming humid weather for the uptick in mold. Out of an abundance of caution he’s ordered air quality tests at all schools town wide.

To be clear, RIcci is the only school starting late–on September 4th. All other North Providence schools will start on time–next Wednesday, August 29th.

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