A large inflated rat sitting on the front lawn of the Park Avenue administration building is sending a message from the Asbestos, Lead and Hazardous Waste Laborers local: They’re biting mad.

The labor union says the district is being "reckless" in its plans to use an organic form of peroxide on the interior of the newly renovated Park Avenue Central building to remove large amounts of mold that have built up as a result of water damage there. And, they said the district should be using licensed pesticide applicators instead of the non-union workers the district’s consultants have hired to do the work.

"This chemical (penetrox/PF) is not recommended by the health department for mold remediation," said Edison Severino a business agent with the Local 78 Asbestos Lead and Hazardous Waste Laborers, AFL-CIO. "And while mold is not regulated the way asbestos is regulated, there is legislation pending in New York to regulate the way it is removed, just as asbestos is regulated."

As a result, the district should err on the side of caution, concluded Severino, and treat the mold remediation process the way it treats asbestos remediation. That is, by "using licensed applicators and by disposing of the contaminated material to prevent it from escaping into the air."

Anthony Curreri, superintendent of Park East Construction, the firm hired by the school district to complete the Park Avenue project, countered that the district has not decided which chemical it will use for mold abatement, and that any decision it does make will be in compliance with all DEC and EPA regulations. "They (the labor union) are using scare tactics," said Curreri. "We pay prevailing wages, but don’t have a contract signed with them (Local 78), to use their people exclusively, and that is what this is all about."

Application for EPA and DEC approval of penetrox as an antimicrobial or pesticide, as opposed to a deodorizer, has been made by the company that manufactures the chemical, Alcon. And, while the approvals have not been granted, Curreri said they may in fact be in place by the time Tech Clean, the company that won the bid for the work, is ready to begin the process. In the meantime, Park East is undertaking the tedious task of removing and disposing as much of the contaminated material it can. A report last year showed that as a result of water damage from an uncompleted roof the building had become contaminated with "disease causing" contaminants and mold, up to several inches thick in some locations.

Park East, which was hired when the district’s first contract manager was fired, has since sealed and waterproofed the roof and is proceeding to remove the contaminated material.

"While we are hoping that by the time we are ready with our plan (for decontamination) that the EPA will have approved Penetrox," said Curreri. "If not, then we will do whatever it is that the DEC and EPA sets as the standard."

School officials said they have hired experts to review the method of mold abatement that its contractor will use on the buildings, and that health and safety will not be compromised. Maryann Sadowski, the attorney representing the district in the numerous legal issues involving the Park Avenue project added that the district hired an expert to make recommendations on how to kill the mold.

The expert, Dr. Chuck Gilbert, a toxicologist and epidemiologist with Enviroscience Consultants in Ronkonkoma, completed a study of the mold and said this week, that penetrox is a chemical that is both safe and effective.

"It is an elegant chemical with low toxicity that dissipates into the air" said Gilbert. "It has been effective as an anti microbial in laboratory settings and in Europe."

Penetrox is made up of approximately 3 percent propylene glycol, 50 percent organic peroxide and 3 percent hydrogen peroxide and water. It is more effective as an anti-microbial than household bleach, for example, because bleach contains 95 percent water.

Gilbert added, however, that the chemical can be caustic to the skin and for that reason, the manufacturer requires that those applying it receive special training on its safe application.

However, applicators, themselves are not required by law to be certified or licensed to use the product, said Mark Lowery a spokesman for the DEC, who added that his agency had received a complaint about the potential use of penetrox at Park Avenue. "Our inspector visited the site July 1, and met with the project superintendent, and with Robert Kiach of Tech Clean," said Lowery. Both, he said, were advised that if they intended to use penetrox "as an anti-microbial on inanimate surfaces" they had to make sure that it was registered. "They told our inspector that application had been made to the EPA for approval and we advised them that once they get that, they can apply to us," said Lowery.

"We follow the law; we pay prevailing wages and we do what we are required to do," said Stephannie Andrews, the school board president.

"We have taken all necessary steps to ensure the public’s safety, engaging the services of a micro biologist in connection with the project and following his recommendations and the recommendations of our consultants," said Sadowski.

But flyers circulated throughout the community by he union says otherwise. "The effectiveness of these treatments is unproven and does not address the possible health concerns from the presence of the remaining non viable mold," the flyer states. "Standard industry practices are more effective and may be less expensive so why is the Amityville School District going to compound one mistake if hiring a second rate roofing company into another mistake by hiring Tech Clean."

"Nonsense," said Curreri. "Our job is to follow the directives of the DEC and EPA and deliver a safe and clean building to the district and that is what we are going to do."