An industrial hygienist is recommending a series of measures to remove mold from Wiscasset Middle School. The April 22 report by Randy Geoffrey of Air Quality Management Services in Lewiston recommends getting a mold remediation contractor, and consulting with an engineer to determine how to stop a possible intrusion of groundwater.

The report also recommends removing all debris from the dirt floor of one utility space.

“Pipe insulation on the dirt floor in this space appears to be asbestos type insulation and will have to be removed by an asbestos abatement contractor in accordance with (state) regulations,” Geoffrey writes.

The surfaces and contents of certain spaces in the building should be vacuumed and wiped with a mild cleaning solution, the report states. A wall of one room will have to be scrubbed because the paint on it is flaking, the report continues.

The mechanical systems and duct work in certain spaces, including an egress area near locker rooms, should be cleaned “due to potential of contamination from settled mold spores,” the report states.

The test samples were collected April 13 and were later tested by EMSL Analytical in Cinnaminson, New Jersey, according to documents accompanying Geoffrey’s report.

As with earlier tests the state did at the school department’s request, the latest results did not warrant moving any classes, Interim Wiscasset Middle School Principal Bruce Scally said.

Wiscasset Interim Superintendent of Schools Lyford Beverage on April 23 said Geoffrey told him a good dose of housekeeping will help.

Mold was found in the music room office and the band room, Beverage said. Wooden cabinets with mold will be thrown out, he said.

Beverage said April 23 that a firm had not yet been picked to do the cleaning. He did not have a projected cost for the work.

The new tests followed the state’s early April recommendation for further testing by a privately contracted industrial hygienist. State tests sought by the school department had found low mold counts, similar to what could be found in most homes, Larry Mare, a technician with the Maine Bureau of General Services’ Division of Safety and Environmental Services has said.

However, the results warranted a second phase of investigation, using a private contractor instead of the state, Mare said.

Possible mold has been among concerns that some Wiscasset Primary School parents and staff members have expressed regarding the primary grades’ move to the middle school building next fall.

The school department released Geoffrey’s report on Tuesday, April 28, along with accompanying information that Air Quality Management Services provided on the tests. The documents cite the assessment’s limitations. “The findings ... were not intended to be exhaustive in nature .... Information and recommendations ... are intended to characterize current conditions based on the reported concerns and discoveries made at the time of the inspection and testing period,” the documents state.

The information is being provided to help develop corrective actions that may improve conditions and air quality, the documents state.