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OAK RIDGE, N.C. – A health and safety consultant based out of Illinois says Oak Ridge Elementary is unsafe and parents should not send their students back to school on Monday.

Linda May, president of LKM Health and Safety Consultants Inc., told parents at a news conference Saturday afternoon that the suspected mold in the school is making their children severely sick.

One fifth grader says going to school is not the experience it should be.

“When I was in classes, my friend would have a nose bleed, then five minutes later I would have a nose bleed – and they are like really, really bad nose bleeds,” fifth grader Hunter Malone said.

Along with the nose bleeds, Hunter says he has blurry vision, headaches, bumps on his legs, arms and back. He says his teachers do their best to keep them learning.

“They tell me if it gets too bad to just call my mom and I leave at around 12:40 p.m. every day,” Malone said.

Hunter’s father says for the last two months his son has called home every day. But he didn't realize there were other kids dealing with the same thing until the parents started talking to each other.

“The only common link between all of these kids who are having this problem is Oak Ridge Elementary School. And we love Oak Ridge, we love the school, but there's a problem and there's been a problem for a very long time,” Tom Malone said.

This is why the parents contacted May, an independent health and safety consultant. She says after reviewing the school's data, she believes it's safe to say that nearly half the students are showing symptoms directly related to their toxic exposure.

“According to CDC definition, the school's own records state this is a confirmed school with black mold in it. And they have the records showing at least back to 2005 that this is occurring in levels that are dangerous to children's health or anyone else's health,” May said.

She says reports show there are four molds in the school – aspergillus, stachybotrys, penicillium and cladosporium.

“Those are fungi molds. Those molds, all four, give off a toxin known as T-2. T-2 is trichothecene mycotoxin that is better known as a neurotoxin,” May said.

She says anyone who goes into the school is exposed, as well as anything that comes out of the school, including clothing, backpacks and papers. That's why she says students should not be allowed back in the school on Monday.

Guilford County Schools announced Friday they plan to close the school over the summer for cleaning and inspection. School officials were not immediately available for comment Saturday.

May says any Oak Ridge Elementary parents, teachers or students who have questions about her analysis of what is in the school, can call her at (217)390-4299 or e-mail her at lmay4111@aol.com.