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A nurse who developed a fungal infection in her larynx has sued a New Jersey school district, claiming mold is the culprit.

A school nurse in New Jersey sued the Township of Ocean Board of Education (TOBE) district for workers' compensation after she claimed mold in the building made her sick, according to atlanticville.gmnews.com.

Valerie Boodaghians claims she was exposed to a fine dust in August 2004 when she opened her office a week prior to the start of the school year. "I became ill but worked the first three days of school," said Boodaghians, who has since been transferred to Ocean Township’s Wanamassa Elementary School.

The plaintiff said she was diagnosed with fungal laryngitis in the spring of 2005 from exposure to the school mold. "Because the fungus was in my body for seven months, I developed multiple medical problems," she said.

Boodaghians was treated for laryngeal nerve paresis, a partial paralysis of her vocal cords, at the Philadelphia Ear Nose and Throat Association by Dr. Yolonda Heman-Ackah. Her attorney, Edward Ahern, said some mold types can have a systemic effect on the body due to their toxic nature, atlanticville.gmnews.com reported.

“I believe there is still a mold problem because so many people are getting sick in that building," she said. The defendant in the suit claims the school board refused to pay her workers' compensation benefits because she was "chronically ill" prior to being hospitalized for the fungal infection.

The school was closed one week to rectify a mold problem in the year prior to Boodaghians' hospitalization, according to Ahearn.

"In 2003-2004 when we had to close the school, it was because a great deal of untreated, raw air from outside was allowed to enter the building," Ocean Township Superintendent of Schools Thomas Pagano said. "The air came in through an open window and the air conditioning was left on, allowing it to condense," he said, explaining the air entered the building for three weeks and that led to mold growth.

Since the start of the 2003-2004 school year, air quality tests have been clean, according to Pagano, who said any claims that moldy conditions remain are "baseless accusations."

"Each and every time that someone has expressed concern [with mold], we immediately run air quality tests and they all have come back negative," Pagano said. "At some time in the future, if we run a test and it doesn't come back clean, we will remedy it."

Humidity System Installed, New HVAC is Next

Following the 2003-2004 school closing, a humidity alarm system was installed, which is triggered if humidity rises above an acceptable level which could lead to mold, according to Pagano. In addition, the district is reviewing bids for a new heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system.

However, New Jersey Educators Association [NJEA] attorney Michael Barrett said steps taken by the board are insufficient.

"There are enough complaints that it concerns the association,” Barrett said. “But I think the replacement of the HVAC system will be a credible step."

Boodaghians said the fact the school is considering a new HVAC is an admittance a mold problem still exists.

But Pagano said the school addressed the problem. "There is a certain small population in any building that may, on occasion, have an allergic reaction to something that may be there," he said. “But the district has nothing to hide."

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