It started with a pungent smell in the dining room. When the inspectors broke open the walls, they were greeted by black mold stains. But despite that, the children had to remain in school for several more years.
Sick leave skyrocketed and many complained of coughs, sore throats and headaches.
Only now, when the principal has threatened a protective shutdown, are the moldy premises closed.
– It’s about children, something should have been done a long time ago, says Janina Gustafsson, who is the mother of Elliot Gustafsson, who is in second grade at the school.
– Today I have a sore throat, a headache and I’m tired and so on, says nine-year-old Elliot Gustafsson.
It’s not the first time Elliot is home from school. Ever since he started preschool class at Björnbodaskolan in Vällingby north of Stockholm, he has missed a lot of school due to illness.
The headache and cough have been so severe that he has sought medical attention several times. Now he is being investigated for several allergies.
Carcinogenic substances
Björnboda School’s premises were already found to be damp-damaged in 2015, but parts of the premises, including the dining room and craft room, have continued to be used, as their condition was said to be within approved values. In the years that have passed, both students and teachers have struggled with health problems and high sickness absence as a result.
It went so far that the school principal this week demanded a protective stop. Only then did the education administration announce that the premises were in fact unserviceable and would be closed immediately.
But as early as 2021, inspectors testified that there were sewer leaks that loosened the wallpaper, moisture-damaged concrete in the floors and black mold in the walls of the dining room. They also wrote that the substances in the air could be carcinogenic. Despite that, the children were still allowed to stay on the premises.
“Within approved levels”
– We have continuously followed these premises and looked at the protocols that come and held a dialogue with everyone involved. The values have been within approved levels, says Vällingby’s elementary school director Teddy Söderberg.
Why has that opinion changed now?
– We saw that the values were not at the level where you could be safe with the indoor environment.
However, since no new measurements have been made, it is rather the principal who is raising the alarm. Does it have to go that far?
– Yes, eventually you get to a point where you have to act, and that’s where we are now.
Concern for the children
In Elliot’s case, the doctors have not been able to say whether there may be any connection between the recent ill health and the premises he stayed in. But for Elliot’s mother Janina, the worry that her son’s health may have been affected is a daily companion.
– Maybe it’s a coincidence and we’ll never find out. But do that, it’s horrible. Both my children have been at school for several years and have been exposed to this, she says.
– It feels like taking such an unnecessary risk to expose people to mold when you know how bad it is. You haven’t done your job here, you’ve failed.