No mold problem found in Grant County courthouse

EPHRATA — Tests done at the Grant County Courthouse have found that the building does not have high levels of mold, despite concern by a number of county employees that working in the building was making them sick.

According to documents obtained through a Public Records Act request, Wenatchee-based Asbestos Central evaluated tests taken after complaints that “[m]any people throughout the campus are congested,” according to an email sent by Tom Gaines, central services director for Grant County.

“Based on this report alone, it is not feasible to conclude that occupants of the building will suffer mold-related health effects,” wrote Robert Witheridge of Asbestos Central.

Witheridge took air samples in five courthouse and annex locations after employees complained in late summer that something in the century-old courthouse’s air was making them sick.

“We did some testing, and it came back as not a problem,” Gaines told the Columbia Basin Herald. “The worst problem we have is some dust.”

Gaines said that since the test results have come back, he hasn’t heard any more complaints. However, he also said he’s left the air filters in place in the probation department just in case.

According to an email sent by County Court Administrator Barbara Smith, several employees were moved to other offices — including offsite in Moses Lake — to deal with the problem.

“With so many employees in [the Probation Area] having sinus issues we are moving employees around as we have ability/space,” Smith wrote.

Gaines told courthouse employees tests were taken in the probation manager’s office, the main probation office, the Human Resources department, several specific work areas, the third floor where renovation work is currently ongoing, and outside “to receive a baseline of the air around the courthouse.”

Tests found relatively low levels of mold spores, but high levels of dust, cellulose fibers, and human skin cells.

Gaines wrote in an email, “I do not have any evidence of mold or mildew” in the probation office, but placed several air filters in the probation department to address complaints.

The county courthouse in Ephrata has been undergoing extensive renovations for the last year, though work was temporarily delayed in September when two abandoned underground gasoline storage tanks were discovered in the courthouse parking lot.

Witheridge said molds are not the only contaminants that can cause problems, noting that in air, carbon monoxide, asbestos, gasses emitted by new building materials, and tobacco smoke can also cause environmental and health problems.

“The same habits of cleanliness that discourage mold growth indoors also protect us from other microorganisms,” he wrote.

Gaines said he was working with custodial crews to keep the building as clean as possible, given the ongoing construction work.