By Tim Hearden, Record Searchlight, Redding, California
June 2, 2004

Shasta County is considering a labor negotiator's request to move employees who are concerned about possible mold contamination in their downtown Redding mall offices, county officials said Tuesday.

Child and Family Services workers have complained of headaches, sore throats, dermatitis and other ailments since the wet winter months. Tests have confirmed a fungal patch above a back doorway but otherwise healthy air.

Dave Ritchie, a representative for United Public Employees of California Local 792, said the approximately 60 employees in the 1313 Yuba St. office are worried about their health.

"I think there's a factor in there that's not so much the presence of mold or a specific environmental hazard as a human feeling about needing to be safe ... and trust your employer to do the right thing," said Ritchie, whose union represents about 1,200 county workers.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Glenn Hawes and County Administrative Officer Doug Latimer said they're considering moving the department. Possible locations include about 20 empty cubicles in the Department of Child Support Services office on Park Marina Drive or in vacant space elsewhere in the former Montgomery Ward building, Latimer said.

However, it could take up to a year to remodel the vacant space into suitable offices, Latimer said.

"That could be considered for a long-term solution but it wouldn't solve the problem in the short term," he said.

The discussion comes as supervisors met in closed session Tuesday to discuss possible litigation over the mold issue. No lawsuit has been filed and board members took no reportable action, Hawes said afterward.