DOES MOLD STILL LOOM IN HEALTH BUILDING?

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DOES MOLD STILL LOOM IN HEALTH BUILDING?

Curry Coastal Pilot - Brookings,OR*

Published: June 23, 2007

By Carissa Wolf

Pilot staff writer

http://www.currypilot.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=15384

When Boshart visited the Brookings Curry County health

department in February, she got more than a dose of wellness. Her

body told her that she must have inhaled something that made her

head swell and nose run.

The mold-sensitive Boshart figured she must have stepped into a

building filled with scores of spores.

" It smelled really bad when you opened the door, " she said.

Complaints about the dank smell embedded in the county rented

offices prompted county officials to investigate the health of the

human services building with the help of Oregon Occupational Safety

and Health (OSHA). Their final conclusion: There's nothing moldy

about the health department.

" What OSHA told us is there was no mold, " said Curry County

Commission Chair Marlyn Schafer.

At least Curry officials reported that the building's owner or

county and state agents couldn't see any mold.

Curry County Maintenance distributed a press release May 16 that

supposedly summarized an Oregon OSHA consultation of the Curry

County Human Services and Curry County Public Health Department

housed at 425 Mill Beach Road in Brookings. The press release made

no mention of mold, mold complaints or mold tests.

The press release reported that the building remains in good shape,

shows no evidence of water intrusion and presented acceptable indoor

air quality levels. The only flaw the county press release noted

were some needed winter repairs.

But a recent visit to the Curry County health offices and a

confidential OR-OSHA report dated April 3 obtained by the Pilot from

the county through the Freedom of Information Act tells a different

story that doesn't completely clear the air.

The county offices are slated to move out of the Brookings building

in July but the Pilot found that in recent months children have

played in the health department reception area that according to an

OSHA document, has been contaminated by water intrusion. And sick

residents have sought help at the health offices that are often

plagued by poor air quality.

The ominous black speckled patch that county workers referred to as

a mold stain covered one corner of the health department hallway

during a Pilot visit to the building in March. On June 19, that

stain still loomed above file cabinets and stacks of papers. And an

OSHA consultation report noted water infestation, the need for

abatement work and poor indoor air quality – directly contradicting

the county press release, which stated, " The building owner found no

water intrusion into the building. "

Oregon Occupational Safety and Health officials refused to submit

copies of the report to the Pilot or comment on the document, citing

privacy issues. But after the Pilot filed a Freedom of Information

Act request with the county, Curry County Maintenance turned over a

copy of the OSHA report that pointed to sites with water intrusion,

drainage system leakage, leaky windows, ineffective cleaning and

janitorial services and poor indoor air quality. The report does not

note that the building was tested for mold.

" We didn't do any mold testing for specific spores, " said Dave

, country facilities manager.

Mold thrives in moist environments and, in February ,building

visitors complained of a heavy, dank smell of mold and mildew that

greeted them when they entered the building. Workers said that they

noticed the smell and patrons filed complaints with the county.

According to documents the Pilot obtained through the Freedom of

Information Act, patrons reported respiratory problems, asthma

attacks and other illnesses after visiting the health department.

" I believe that mold must be the reason for the asthma attack, " one

patron wrote in an official compliant with the county.

But one county official denied the building had a mold problem and

the OSHA report does little sustain that claim.

" This (building) doesn't have mold anywhere, " Schafer said days

after the Pilot published a March report about the mold complaints.

" I think what we have is some employees who went overboard, " Schafer

said last March. " This is being blown out of proportion. "

In March, Schafer said that the building had recently undergone an

OSHA inspection and received a clean bill of health.

" We don't have that kind of mold over there, " she said.

Oregon Occupational Safety and Health spokesperson Weeks

confirmed that the agency did visit the Mill Beach Road facility on

March 3 for an inspection to verify that Curry County Health and

Human Services moved into the building, earlier in the year. He said

that mold was not on that visit's agenda.

" It was a routine inspection, " he said.

" I would not be able to say that the inspection gave the building a

clean bill of health, " Weeks said.

The recent OSHA report published in April and the Curry County press

release touted the use of high tech equipment to monitor air quality

in the building but ,according to and Schafer, no tests were

conducted to detect mold levels.

" We didn't do any mold testing for specific spores, " said.

And that doesn't convince Boshart, who has mold allergies, that the

next time she leaves the health department, she'll return home

healthy.

" If it smells like mold, if it looks like mold, it's probably mold, "

Boshart said of the earthy, dank oder she encountered during her

February visit to health department.

" Maybe a mold test was in order because you could see it, " she said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that

mold tests are expensive and it's difficult to test for particular

strains of spores. But high-tech tests and spore identification are

not necessary, the CDC reports. Mold carries health risks regardless

of the strain and if you can see and smell mold, you're likely

surrounded by mold, according to the CDC.

" If you are susceptible to mold and mold is seen or smelled, there

is a potential health risk; therefore no matter what type of mold is

present, you should arrange for its removal, " the CDC advises.

The OSHA report noted points of water intrusion and high carbon

dioxide levels in parts of the building, but the report noted

nothing about the visible presence or smell of mold.

" They (OSHA) said that given that there is no mold, there's nothing

to test, " Schafer said.

But the county and the owners of the county-leased building did heed

some of the OSHA consultation recommendations by installing a new

circulation system and fixing some leaky areas in the building.

" (The owner) was very cooperative, " Schafer said. " They far exceeded

OSHA expectations. "

The Pilot did find changes between the March and June visits to the

county health building, which also houses juvenile detention

services and the WIC program: The air smelled floral and perfumed.

Employees said that they haven't had any recent whiffs of foul

orders. And county officials said that the building had undergone a

sanitizing overhaul.

In early March, Schafer said that after the complaints came in, the

county used an ionizer to help sanitize the building and that the

owner did some extra repair work outside of the building.

At the end of March, Schafer said that the building's owners

repaired a leak and reported that " We found no mold anywhere. "

After Schafer was pressed to describe the extent of the early

investigation that " found no mold anywhere, " Schafer said, " We

haven't ever tested for mold. "

The more recent March 26 OSHA consultation also draws ambiguous

conclusions about the mold status at the county health department.

The report, which cannot be used to enforce recommendations, noted

that, " There likely are some hazards that were not seen or

identified because sampling and investigation did not disturb

building materials nor was it invasive. "

Boshart said that the questionable findings leaves her seeking her

own remedy when she considers services at the health department.

" I stay away from there and I'm sure other people do too. "