The Elbert Board of County Commissioners approved a proposal to
mitigate mold in the justice center after a “destructive”
inspection confirmed the presence of harmful molds.
The county approved mitigation recommendations submitted by the
inspection company in the hopes that the building will be re-opened
to the public by the beginning of November.
As part of the investigation Herron Enterprises, environmental
hygienists, instructed the inspection company, Excel Environmental,
to open wall cavities, ceiling cavities and cut carpeting to expose
the concrete floor underneath.
A report dated Oct. 12 from Herron detailed the findings of
water intrusion in the building, including roof leaks that began
within a few years after construction was complete.
The report identified the most likely water intrusion pathways
as leaks in the roof, leaks through the exterior walls and interior
building leaks.
Excel cut two openings in the exterior walls for inspection.
Based upon a visual inspection of those openings, Excel found the
walls were constructed without a moisture barrier
installed.
In the absence of a moisture barrier, water that hits the
outside walls of the building can soak throughout the porous
cinderblocks and through the wall cavity, resulting in moist
insulation and drywall, the report says.
Areas with the highest moisture concentration in the wall
correlate to locations where the lawn sprinkler system was spraying
water directly on the walls of the building, the report
says.
Interior leaks were less significant, and although numerous
areas of leakage and spillage were observed, none had visible mold
growth. Several of the books in the county judges chamber and
courtroom contained visible water staining and mold growth, and
Herron recommended the books be isolated from any respiratory
sensitive occupants.
Herron identified six locations in the building that contain
high levels of moisture content along the walls. The cove base
and/or drywall were removed in those areas to expose significant
amounts of visible mold growth.
The mold found in the east and north exterior walls included
high concentrations of Aspergillus, Penicillium, Stachybotrys,
Sterile Hyphae, Acremonium and Trichoderma.
Although mold was found in the wall cavities of those exterior
walls, all interior surfaces and air sampling locations contained
normal levels of mold, the report says.
Mitigation recommendations include to aggressively clean
surfaces, exchange air throughout the building with the use of air
filtering equipment, replace ceiling tiles and carpet in impacted
locations, clean walls, seal the exterior walls to prevent water
intrusion, dispose of mold impacted materials, including drywall,
wood finishing and insulation, investigate the wall cavities to
determine the extent of impact to include all directly impacted
materials and mitigate as needed.
The proposed cost for the investigation to date and mitigation
recommendations is more than $60,000, which includes all
replacement materials except carpet and ceiling tiles.
Contact Rhonda Moore at rmoore@ccnewspapers.net.