Mold forces closing of St. library branch

August 6, 2005

Last update: August 5, 2005 at 10:54 PM

August 6, 2005 RICE0806

The two-year-old Rice Street Library in St. will be closed for

as long as a week while environmental crews assess and clean up a

mold problem discovered earlier this week in the heating and air

conditioning system.

The library, at 1011 Rice St., shut its doors on Thursday after

custodial workers discovered mold on a rooftop air compressor and in

the duct work, said Kathleen Flynn, interim director of the St.

Public Library. Staff members had been complaining of a foul smell

intermittently all summer, she said.

Two environmental abatement companies are looking into the problem

and will prepare a cost estimate for fixing it, Flynn said. One of

the companies is providing dehumidifiers and a charcoal air filter

system.

A third group will look into whether additional measures need to be

taken, such as scrubbing the walls and cleaning the carpet. Mold can

cause allergic reactions, including asthma, and can spread

infectious diseases, according to the American Lung Association.

The Rice Street Library opened in March 2002. The $3.7 million

building was nearly three times as big as its predecessor. It was

unclear why the relatively new system wasn't working properly, but

Flynn speculated that a faulty condensation drip plate might have

caused moisture to leak into the ducts.

A speech by author scheduled for the Rice Street

Library has been moved to the Arlington Hills Library, at 1105

Greenbrier St. will speak there at 7:30 p.m. Thursday about

his new book on the polio epidemic and its survivors.

Updates on when the library will reopen can be found online at

Jackie Crosby

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