Mold causes closing of day care

Dan Kulin and Christina Littlefield

Tuesday, March 9, 2004 | 9:35 a.m.

A Las Vegas day-care center was shut down Monday after toxic mold was discovered in the building.

The mold was found in the Children's Oasis School at 3460 Arville St. after testing of the building was done last week, Sheri Ramsey, the director of the affected center, said.

Clark County Health District officials inspected the building after receiving a complaint that there were leaks, Steven Goode, environmental health manager, said this morning.

The health district inspector found mold in multiple rooms at the center, Goode said.

The toxicity of the mold depends on on each individual's immune system.

"All mold to some degree, depending on your sensitivity to it, I don't want to say it's toxic, but it can be detrimental to your health," Goode said.

At the day care center, mold formed when leaks from recent heavy rains allowed water to leak into the dry wall, Goode said. The rooms will have to be specially screened off to prevent airborne mold and the dry wall will have to be replaced.

The nine staff members, including Ramsey, and 50 to 70 children ages six weeks to 12 years, at the center daily were apparently not made sick by the mold, Ramsey said.

Goode said the health district had received no complaints of children getting sick.

Ramsey said center staff saw the results of the testing early Monday morning and relayed the results to the health district, which then told them to close until the mold is removed and the leaks are fixed.