Plaquemines Mold is Back

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http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1043393113116290.xml Friday January 24, 2003 Mold is back, Plaquemines sheriff told Council issues evacuation order By Turni Bazile and Steve Cannizaro St. Bernard/Plaquemines bureau In light of a new report that says toxic mold has returned, the Plaquemines Parish Council ordered Sheriff Jiff Hingle to again temporarily move his lockup and 911 communications center from a parish building in Port Sulphur. Hingle could not be reached for comment Thursday, but Maj. Guey, commander of special operations, which includes 911 communications, said the sheriff's legal adviser will look into the council's action. Guey said there is no way to immediately move the 911 system as was done in March. "We're not packing up today," Guey said Thursday afternoon before receiving written notice of the council vote. The council's order to "immediately temporarily vacate and evacuate" the building came after it met in executive session Thursday afternoon with its attorney about a December letter from Hingle citing an environmental firm's study about the renewed presence of toxic mold. Parish President Benny Rousselle and Hingle have been at odds since March, when mold was found in the Port Sulphur building. Hingle said he wasn't told about the problem soon enough, and he alleged the parish tried to cut corners by first using parish workers, not professionals, to clean the building. After the sheriff evacuated the building March 7, two employees sued the parish, saying the mold caused serious respiratory illnesses. At the time, Rousselle called Hingle's evacuation of the building premature and blamed the outbreak on Hingle's employees' failure to keep the building clean. Rousselle said the parish government has cleaned and tested the building and that its consultant said the building is safe. But the sheriff's consultant, which the council said is the same one employed by the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the parish, said there is mold in the building. Rousselle said he will use a third consultant to retest the building. "It's their call" on how soon they move, Rouselle said. "We don't believe it's a problem, but the sheriff, in his correspondence, said he believes it's a problem. . . . He's going to have to protect his employees and move them out so we can test the building." Sheriff's officials said they wouldn't be able to move the operation very easily this time. "The parish's 911 center at Woodlawn, the 911 answering point, doesn't have a computer-aided dispatch system and software. That's only at Port Sulphur," Guey said. Woodlawn "doesn't have the capabilities as far as computer data entry and retrieval of information." Last March, the Sheriff's Office borrowed a mobile command post from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office and evacuated the office in a day, but that's not available now because the command posts are used for Mardi Gras parades, Guey said. . . . . . . . Turni Bazile can be reached at kturni@... or (504) 826-3835. Steve Cannizaro can be reached at scannizaro or (504) 826-3834.