Mold levels to close city court jury room

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Mold levels to close city court jury room

Jury room in city court to close because of mold

The Free Lance-Star - Fredericksburg,VA

BY REBECCA BLATT

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2007/062007/06132007/292179

Fredericksburg officials have closed the Circuit Court's jury room

indefinitely beginning today because of mold levels present there.

The city received air quality test results yesterday, Director of

Parks and Public Facilities Bob Antozzi reported at the City Council

meeting last night.

Antozzi said the tests measured the total fungal spore count outside

the courthouse building and compared it to the total fungal spore

counts of five areas of the courthouse building.

Results of the tests revealed that four of the five courthouse areas

had total fungal spore counts less than that of the outside air but

indicated that the jury room's total fungal spore count surpassed

that of the outside air.

" It is questionable whether or not it is hazardous and thought not

to be, " Antozzi said. " But it is an environment for expansion, and

there's no guarantee. So it's a smart thing to do to go ahead and

clean and sanitize it. "

Antozzi said city officials will follow a protocol to clean and

sanitize the jury room while acting to contain the fungal spores

found there.

Circuit Court Clerk Sharron told the council her staff

members were experiencing unusual symptoms, including rashes, hives,

eye infections, sinus problems and nausea that she attributes to

poor courthouse conditions. She stated that these symptoms sometimes

persist for hours or days after exposure to the courthouse but do

not develop on weekends.

Blatt: 540/374-5000

Email: rblatt@...