Small amounts of nontoxic mold were found in air handling units in two of the district attorney's offices in the Schuylkill County courthouse, according to the results of an inspection done by Air Care & Restoration Inc. of Bethlehem.

The affected areas were removed and the air ducts cleaned and sanitized on April 8 and April 9, the company's report says.County commissioners released the report along with a statement at a meeting Thursday.According to the findings of an inspection done on the district attorney's office, the clerk of courts office and the sheriff's office, a low level of three types of mold was also found in dust in the supply of the air handling unit in the clerk's and sheriff's offices, according to the report.The commissioners' public statement said in part, "While the inspection did find some minimal areas of nontoxic mold inside two of the air handling units, the air sampling did not reveal elevated or untypical airborne levels of mold in these four offices."In fact, levels of mold in the offices were far below levels of mold found outside."The sheriff's, clerk of Courts, district attorney and north district attorney's offices, all on the first floor, were inspected by Air Care & Restoration Inc.Low levels of particle allergens, chemical pollutants, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, were found in the sheriff's office.Commissioners said they are negotiating with a firm to do additional testing.Radon levels were found to be "minimally elevated" in certain areas, although well below any unacceptable levels as set by U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Agency and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, commissioners said. Remediation will begin after business hours Friday and continue for several weeks.The work will be done by Air Care & restoration and Next Step Environmental Services.Commissioners on April 6 hired them to do the work for $57,850.But Clerk of Courts Maria T. Casey still wants answers as to what, if anything, was done after a 2009 report urged "immediate action" to address mold in certain areas.Commissioners Chairman George F. Halcovage Jr. said that would be answered at a meeting scheduled for next Friday with Air Care President Keith Roe.Speaking at Thursday's public meeting, Casey said she finally received the Air Care & Restoration report after asking five times.She said she's concerned because of the high rate of illness in her office and the cancer rate in the sheriff's office.Casey also asked if it is safe for the public to use basement rooms in light of the radon levels."Yes," Halcovage said.Casey, along with District Attorney Christine A. Holman and Sheriff Joseph G. Groody, as well as courthouse employees, on April 6 told commissioners of their health concerns and the possibility that mold could be causing them.Schuylkill County commissioners released findings of an air quality inspection done in four offices in the courthouse by Air Care & Restoration Inc. of Bethlehem.•Clerk of Courts:Sample S2: No spiral content reported inside the air handling unit. Sample S1: A low level of three mold types reported in the dust at the supply.•District attorney's office:Sample S4: An elevated level of cladosporium was reported from the sample taken from the side of the "squirrel cage." This would not be typical.•North district attorney's office:Sample S6: An elevated level of two mold types were reported from the insulation inside the supply side plenum. They were Sample S5: A very low level of a ubiquitous outdoor mold, ascospores, was reported at 12 c/cm2.•Sheriff's office:Sample S3: A low level of aspergillus/penicillium was reported in the dust content from the supply register. They were aspergillus/penicillium at 255,584 c/cm2 and cladosporium at 182,561 c/cm2.These would not be typical, the report said.The company recommended remediation be done by cleaning and sanitizing the air ducts on the two air handling and duct work systems in the district attorney's office and north office using proper containment methods and HEPA filtered vacuums, and botanical based cleaning and sanitation products.This was done on April 8 and April 9.