Mold levels inside Schuylkill County’s courthouse are significantly below those outside, and radon found in certain areas of the building is being drawn out.

But, just to be safe, the president of the Bethlehem company hired to check for and get rid of any mold is asking commissioners to hire a health professional to study concerns of employees who say they are getting sick.Keith Roe of Air Care & Restoration is also asking commissioners to do a comprehensive inspection of the air quality in the 120-year-old stone building in Pottsville.The environmental study would test a broad range of indoor air quality components, Roe said.Commissioners have yet to publicly address the request.Roe performed routine radon testing in February. Then he tested the courthouse air handling systems in the sheriff’s, district attorney’s and clerk of courts offices afteremployees told commissioners they were concerned about the rates of illnesses in their offices.Roe visited several offices to speak with employees and officials about his findings last week.MoldThere are no medical standards for mold exposure, Roe said. “The reason for that is that different people respond differently to mold exposure. But there are guidelines for the mold remediation industry,” he said.Indoor mold levels should be less than outside levels during the growing season (spring).He inspected six or seven locations inside the courthouse, and found that mold levels are “significantly lower than outside.”The same guideline holds true for what is known as “black mold,” or mycotoxins.The toxic black mold, Stachybotrys chartarum, has not been found in the courthouse.Roe tested for spores in the district attorney’s offices, the sheriff’s office, the Clerk of Courts office, the third floor chambers of President Judge William E. Baldwin, and a second floor hallway/common area.”We’ve recommended all offices undergo mold testing,” Roe said. “The commissioners are considering that.”Casey addressed Roe’s statements on mold.“As for the remarks on untypical or elevated mold spore levels, the mold found in the district attorney’s office recently indicates a problem. Apparently, this vent system supplies the sheriff’s office and my office. We are seeking further clarification,” she said.RadonRadon is a naturally occurring, odorless, radioactive gas that can cause lung cancer. It is produced through the breakdown of uranium in soil, rock and water, and can enter the indoor air of a basement or lower level of a building through cracks or holes in the foundation, walls, drains or sump pump openings.Roe found eight locations where the radon level was above the 4.0 pico curies per liter level for households. The level should be 25 pCi/L or less for public places.The levels in the courthouse range from 4.2 pCi/L to 9.3 pCi/L in the eight areas Roe checked.“We recommend taking a building to 4.0 pCi/L,” he said.County commissioners on April 6 hired Air Care and Next Step Environmental Services, based in Barto, Berks County, for $57,850 to test for and remediate airborne pollutants such as mold, and radon.Next Step will handle the radon while Air Care focuses on mold.“The work should be done in about five weeks. It includes installing four large sub-slab evacuation systems. Basically, they are a motor connected to PVC pipe. The company punched holes in the floor in the affected areas, and will suck the radon out of the building,” Roe said.Fresh airTen air handling systems supply about 17,000 cubic feet per minute of filtered fresh air to the courthouse, Roe said.That’s enough to meet standards for about 1,000 people.Further, the 63 forced-air heating and cooling units are kept clean.“The building structure and roof have been well-maintained and there are no known roof leaks or other moisture ingress points” that would encourage mold growth, he said.Casey took issue with the amount of fresh air Roe says is supplied to the court house.“Mr. Roe admitted, to my entire staff, that he has no idea if 17,000 CFMs of fresh air are being supplied to the court house as he does not know if the 10 air systems are functioning at 100 percent, 75 percent or 25 percent capacity. (Former Public Works Director William) Liptok could not answer this either,” she said in an email interview.Health concernsRoe has asked the county to bring in a third party, a certified environmental health specialist, to look at health concerns being expressed by some courthouse workers.The specialist would medically document illnesses, then review the environmental test results to determine if there are any possibility of building-related illnesses, Roe said.“To date, there are no documented illnesses at the courthouse that are building related,” he said.“There are a number of people who have concerns the building is making them sick, but there is no documentation by a doctor.The environmental professional is to make sure we have someone qualified to look at those complaints. You need medical training to do that,” Roe said.Casey has expressed concern about a 2009 inspection that urged immediate action on “red flag” areas for mold growth.At that time, Roe was asked to do testing and followed through on recommendations, which included increasing the levels of air filtration, and cleaning the coils more frequently.“I think it’s difficult to correlate what happened seven or eight years ago with what’s happening now. Environmental conditions change,” Roe said. “The most important issue is what’s happening now.”Roe said he invites employees to read the test results and give him feedback.Commissioners Chairman George F. Halcovage Jr. said the county will do what’s needed to keep people safe.“As stated previously, the safety of the public and county employees is of utmost concern to our board of commissioners,” he said.