Mould, flaking lead paint found in ANU-based Acton and Heritage early childhood centres

Three years since more than 120 campus buildings were damaged by hail, childcare centres appear to be struggling with water damage, mould and lead paint.

These are outlined in Freedom of Information documents The Canberra Times obtained after being contacted by a concerned person.

One email revealed concerns that paint with 160 times the recommended amount of lead was at risk of ending in soil where children play.

Mould was discovered in air-conditioning units in the baby room in a childcare centre.

A mould sample from the carpet did not detect levels above the guidelines - however, images from after the carpet was removed shows white matter covered the underlay beneath.

Airborne mould in the baby room of the Acton Early Childhood Centre exceeded occupational health and safety guidelines, an investigation report from July 11 said.

Mould found in the air-conditioning unit was "likely to be as a result of condensation", the report said.

Air-conditioning units are inspected every six months, an ANU spokesperson said.

"If mould or other contaminants are identified then a deep clean of the air-conditioning unit is undertaken," they said.

A nearby room had a wall to skirting board water stain and visible water damage on the ceiling.

An ANU spokesperson said this internal water issue had only been temporarily fixed.

"Further permanent repair work will occur as part of the hail remediation program," they said.

The mould levels would "pose a possible risk to health of the occupant(s)" if left untreated because they could spread to other surfaces, the report said.

Cladosporium, a common type of mould that can cause skin, sinus, lung and toenail infections, was the dominant mould in the room.

Testing done when the air-conditioning was turned off did not find a significant amount of spores in the air.

The issues were fixed on July 20, emails indicate.

An unidentified person said parents were "very nervous" about the mould issue.

"Understandably I have some very nervous parents as we were told that all of the units and vents needed checking and cleaning, but I've been told only [baby room, room] 1.01 was done," they wrote on July 21.

The officer replied that all work had been finished and that "[contractors] also went above the recommendations and removed the old carpet and replaced with brand new carpet".

While the floor beneath the carpet appeared to be covered in white matter, a report said contractors did not detect mould growth.

Carpet cleaning was the responsibility of the childcare operators, the ANU spokesperson said.

"If the childcare centre operator identifies an issue with the carpets such as mould or other significant damage, they can submit a maintenance request so the university can rectify the issue," they said.

Flaking lead paint was found in Acton Early Childhood Centre and Heritage Early Childhood Centre, documents reveal.

In August 2023, contractors had to urgently fix flaking lead paint in six rooms at the Acton Early Childhood Centre, including the toddlers and preschool craftrooms, toilet, dress up room, handwash area and kitchen.

A high level of lead in dust was found in the wooden floorboards of the toddlers craftroom.

Cracks were sealed and the walls recovered with non-lead base paint.

After the remediation works, sample results returned with acceptable levels of lead, the report said.

Paint with 6.5 per cent lead content was found flaking in the preschoolers room of the Heritage Early Childhood Centre in October 2021.

Five months later, in an email on March 31, a work, health and safety officer said:

"I'm aware of the project by [a person] to remediate these childcare centres. Could we encapsulate these small ceiling problems areas in the meantime with a brush of paint to bind to stop them breaking off and landing on the floor for potential ingestion by a child?"

The flaking lead paint was scraped and painted over with non-lead paint in May 14, with a follow up report saying lead dust was not detectable after remediation.

An ANU spokesperson said the university was working through a hail remediation program following hailstorms in January 2020.

"This program of hail remediation includes remediation of the lead paint in each of the childcare centres. The university is working with the ACT government and child care providers on this process, taking into account the buildings' heritage listing and certification requirements," they said.

A work, health and safety officer shot off a sharp email in May 2022 when they discovered shrubs had been rubbing against the outside of old buildings.

In 2017, the ANU had to shut childcare centres for weeks because high levels of lead had been found in soil where children would play.

IN OTHER NEWS:

As a result, gardens near certain buildings, including those of Acton and Heritage child care centres, had to be inspected every six months.

"It was noticed that the shrub vegetation is on or very close to rubbing on external lead paint," the email read.

"This external cream lead paint when last tested had a 16 [per cent] lead concentration level which is quite high when you consider paint is recognised as lead paint when levels are above 0.1 [per cent] lead."

An ANU spokesperson said no children had been reported as sick because of the mould or lead paint issues.

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