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[State-Legislature-Mold]
Maui faces mold cleanup in second county office
By
Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau, Honolulu Advertiser [newspaper], May 3, 2004
WAILUKU, Maui — After spending more than $725,000 to rid a government
building of mold two years ago, Maui County faces another potentially costly
cleanup of hazardous fungus.
The problem has surfaced in the old Wailuku Post Office on High Street, a
building now used for records storage. After employees complained, the
county placed the building under quarantine, locking up tens of thousands of
records for several weeks last summer before allowing the limited access
that continues today.
The county spent $3,250 on testing that confirmed the existence of two
different types of mold colonies, and Mayor Alan Arakawa is asking for as
much as $50,000 in his proposed budget for a temporary solution to the
problem.
A long-term solution remains up in the air, dependent on solving the
county's dwindling space and growing records-management dilemma. One
solution is to buy the building, tear it down and rebuild, Arakawa said.
The three-story post office was built in 1959 and closed in 1990 after a
larger postal facility was built in the Wailuku Millyard. In the mid-1990s,
the county agreed to lease the building from a private party that had bought
it from the federal government. According to a 30-year rental agreement, the
county is responsible for all maintenance and repairs to the building, which
is across the street from the main county office building.
Arakawa said mold apparently was discovered in the building shortly before
he took office in January 2003. Rain seeping into the basement and
stairwells has created slippery conditions, warping files and exacerbating
the mold problem.
Molds grow in damp areas and emit spores that float like pollen. They are a
common trigger for allergies and can cause or worsen respiratory problems.
Three years ago, the county's Kalana Pukui building, a former police station
down the street from the post office, was closed after Planning Department
employees complained of headaches, eye irritation and respiratory ailments.
The odors initially were believed to be linked to maintenance on the
air-conditioning system, but remedial work found an active, fertile colony
of fungus known to cause respiratory problems.
Taxpayers coughed up more than $725,000 for the cleanup, including $30,000
in moving expenses and $244,000 in rent for 80 employees in nearby offices.
Five months later, the Old Courthouse Building, on the same block, was
evacuated for about two hours after a dozen employees with the Department of
the Prosecuting Attorney reported a metallic smell and complained of
respiratory problems and headaches. Mold tests came back negative.
That apparently was an isolated incident. But when the prosecutor's office
moved about 100 file cabinets into the dank post office basement a couple of
years ago, a problem became apparent.
"People were complaining of a variety of respiratory problems when they went
over there," said Wayne Steel, the prosecutor attorney's administrative
officer.
"The smell is really bad," said Danny Agsalog, the county's budget director.
The county hired Maui-based Vuich Environmental Consulting Inc. to conduct
air and mold testing, and the building remained shut for weeks.
County Prosecutor Davelynn Tengan said the access problem was a hassle for
her staff, but didn't result in any lost court cases.
Arakawa acknowledged the closure created problems.
"Maybe it was overkill, but we don't have any sick employees," he said. "As
a new administration, we took a defensive position. We didn't want to take
any chances. If we erred, it was erring on the side of safety."
Officials installed an air-purifying device tested at Maui Community College
and created by engineer Jack Kulp, subsequently appointed city managing
director by Arakawa. The device is designed to kill mold, bacteria and
viruses by sucking in air and exposing it to ultraviolet light.
The air purifier, which Kulp has loaned to the county, appears to be working
well enough to allow people into the basement wearing breathing masks,
officials said.
The tentative plan is to hire a company to seal off the contaminated area
and bring the files to the top floor. But that's only if the Maui County
Council does not cut the managing director's budget, Arakawa said.
The council, which is considering budget cuts in its ongoing deliberations,
is expected to vote on a final draft of the 2004-05 budget early next week.
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