County Employee claims county jail has mold

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February 18, 2002

Employee claims county jail has mold

By MATT JACOBS, Times Editor

A County Sheriff's Office employee claims that the reason for a quick

clearance of the county jail earlier this week was due to mold.

The employee, speaking on the condition of assured anonymity, told The El

Dorado Times that several sheriff's office employees have been sick

recently.

That employee also said inmates were removed from the facility after a

threat was made to report the situation to a Wichita television station.

Sheriff's officials were unavailable for comment Friday afternoon concerning

the employee's complaints.

Thursday afternoon, officials with the sheriff's department told The Times

that the jail was emptied out Wednesday as the result of a cleaning project

which was being readied.

Approximately three dozen inmates were removed from the jail and taken to

other undisclosed facilities around the area. It was reported by the Newton

Kansan on Thursday that 10 County inmates where being housed in the

Harvey County Jail. It's reported that inmates were also placed at Cowley

and McPherson county facilities.

The county employee said the cleaning procedure was being done to clear mold

in the building, and that employees were allowed to do their work, but were

only allowed in certain parts of the building for brief periods of time.

Carol Borger, administrator of the County Health Department, said she

received an e-mail about a possible mold situation in the jail approximately

10 days ago.

The health department then visited with the sheriff's department about the

concern.

Borger said she has had no further contact with the sheriff's office and

does not know if the current cleaning procedures is related to the mold

concern.

There are no federal or state mandates concerning indoor air pollution,

although California is close to developing a state-wide policy, according to

with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

Because there are no state regulations, very few of the county health

departments have policies in place to deal with indoor pollutants, such as

mold.

Borger said that after the flood in Augusta in October of 1998, the county

health department has accumulated information about mold in homes and

buildings, and can give suggestions on how to correct the problems.

Borger said she was asked and has given information about mold problems to

the sheriff's office and to County Administrator Jay Newton, but, again,

said she didn't know the reason behind that request.

There are commercial cleaners in the county who offer mold retaliation

services. ServiceMaster of El Dorado is one such company. ServiceMaster had

several trucks at the jail on Friday. A person answering the phone at

ServiceMaster on Friday said the company offers mold removal, then handed

the phone to someone else. That person was asked about charges for mold

removal, but would not offer any information.

Mold is caused by water stagnating where air supply is low. said the

first step in fighting mold is to stop the water. He also said that any

sheetrock or plaster that has been touched by water will likely develop

mold. The only way to fix the problem is to replace all of the affected area

There have been problems with water leakage at the jail facility for more

than 20 years.

In Friday's Times, commissioner Randy Doll admitted that water has been a

problem at the current jail facility.

Doll said the concrete roof over the jail is continuing to leak; there is a

rubber seal on top of the concrete, he related, and it has become cracked.

That, he said, has allowed moisture " and all the things which go along with

that " to get into the jail.

" Mold is a water problem, and if you can see mold, it means there has been

water there, " Borger said. " You have to get rid of the water to get rid of

the mold.

" It doesn't matter if mold is dead or alive, mold is mold, " Borger

continued. " It can be dormant for days, weeks or months, then it is exposed

to water and you have the same problems again. "

Mold is a main concern for persons with respiratory problems, Borger said,

as it can aggravate situations in a person of any age. Young people and the

elderly are more susceptible to mold complications than other individuals.