19 Mar 2024
Published 19 March 2024
The following information is based on the independent occupational hygienist's report relating to the mould outbreak discovered during the 2023/24 summer break. The hygienist's report can be viewed on the NSW Department of Education's website within the Library tab.
For questions and answers relating to the Term 1 2024 arrangements for Willyama High School students and staff, please refer to the news article published on 2 February 2024.
The pop-up school being constructed at Broken Hill High School will allow for all students and staff from Willyama High School to be co-located. This is on track to open for the start of Term 2 2024.
We will organise community consultation soon to further understand the community’s preferences and aspirations for education in Broken Hill. In the meantime, please register your interest at https://edu.nsw.link/Willyama-community to be notified once details of the consultation are available.
Questions and answers
How long was the mould there?
Mould was identified during the summer school holidays on 9 January 2024. There were no reports of mould at Willyama High School before Term 4 2023 ended, and there is no evidence it was present before the school holidays.
Q: What type of mould was found and was it harmful?
The report found growth of environmental moulds such as Cladosporium, Alternaria and Mucor spp.
There is also evidence of Aspergillus and Penicillium spp which are recognised human pathogens.
Q: Am I at risk of exposure?
The risk of exposure for Willyama High School students and staff is minimal because there is no known evidence that mould was present before Term 4 2023 ended.
The hygienist’s report details a unique set of events that contributed to the growth of the mould during the school break when the buildings were unoccupied.
The department has already conducted contact tracing with all relevant staff contacted.
If you have health concerns relating to mould, please contact your healthcare professional or visit the NSW Health website’s mould factsheet.
Q: Where are the areas affected?
The report indicates that the mould infestation was found inside the main 3 storey campus building which is made up mainly of classrooms, staffrooms and the library. Mould was also identified in the adjoining administration building.
Q: How bad is the problem?
Willyama High School was classified as Condition 3.
According to the hygienist report, there are 3 classifications of mould.
- Condition 1 is normal fungal ecology and no visible mould
- Condition 2 is settled spores or fungal filaments
- Condition 3 is actual fungal growth.
Q: What caused the mould?
The independent hygienist was unable to determine the exact cause of the microbial growth. However, multiple contributing factors include:
- Moisture created from within the building could have occurred from the carpets being cleaned and the air conditioning system being operational during the shutdown period.
- Water ingress from outside from large box guttering and combined with large storm events in January along with elevated humidity.
- The building’s general hygiene – overcrowding and inadequate storage facilities, not allowing for general routine cleaning.
Q: What did the report find?
The independent hygienist’s report found an extensive mould outbreak would be difficult to remediate and, even if remediated, posed a potential risk of harm to the school community into the future.
Due to these findings, the department has recommended a complete rebuild of the school.
All Willyama High School students and staff will be able to continue learning and teaching face-to-face from Term 2 at the pop-up school on the shared site at Broken Hill High School.
The pop-up school will provide students with high-quality facilities and materials, ensuring Willyama retains its own identity while the school is rebuilt.
Q: What immediate action did the department take?
As soon as the mould was detected, the department acted quickly. An independent occupational hygienist was organised and attended the school to conduct sampling and provide initial recommendations, indicating that remediation work could be completed in time for Term 1 on 8 February 2024. The school was fenced off and access was prohibited.
As advised in the 23 January works notification, based on laboratory analysis of sampling results received on Monday 22 January, the independent occupational hygienist revised their recommendations.
Q: Why did it take until now for the results to be known?
The safety of our students and staff is our number one priority.
Based on the hygienist’s advice, further testing was required to ensure that remediation work could completely remove the mould.
The short timeframe and extensive testing meant that students and staff had to be relocated to ensure continuity of learning.
The required work has now been completed, and the hygienist’s report has been made available.
Q: I left items at the school – is it safe to retrieve them?
We understand this is a unique set of circumstances being faced by Willyama High School.
All staff who have personal items they wish to retrieve will be offered assistance in cleaning the items, or where that is not possible, their replacement by the department will be considered.
Q: Are other schools in the region likely to be affected in a similar way?
There are no reports of mould detection in other schools at Broken Hill. There were unique conditions at Willyama High School that we understand exacerbated the issue.
Schools within Broken Hill are aware of the preventative measures as advised by NSW Health website’s mould factsheet to help avoid mould and are following these as steps as best they can.
Q: How long will they stay at their alternative location?
The pop-up school being constructed at Broken Hill High School will allow for all students and staff from Willyama High School to be co-located. This is on track to open for the start of Term 2 2024.
The department will work to build the new Willyama High School as soon as possible.
Consultation on the future school facilities will begin in Week 10 of Term 1.
Q: Are there safety measures from alternative schools and the new temporary school from Term 2 to ensure the mould infestation doesn’t reoccur?
Schools within Broken Hill are aware of the preventative measures as advised by NSW Health website’s mould factsheet to help avoid mould and are following these as steps as best they can.