Employees at the Schuylkill County Courthouse told the county commissioners Wednesday they are worried about coming into work due to the possibility of mold or radon making them sick.
“We have cancers in our office. We have respiratory illnesses,” Debra Holley, who has worked in the clerk of courts office for about 16 years, said Wednesday. “I have been coughing for five years. I have had pneumonia, bronchitis, headaches. If you read these symptoms, we all have them.”
On April 7, the commissioners approved a $57,850 contract with Air Care & Restoration Co. Inc., Bethlehem, and Next Step Environmental Services, a state-licensed radon abatement company in Barto, for radon and mold mitigation at the courthouse.
Clerk of Courts Maria Casey had asked the board for the results of the last air quality test at the courthouse performed by the same company in 2009. She said Keith Roe, president of Air Care & Restoration Co. Inc., recommended at that time that a radon test be done in certain levels of the building and immediate action be taken in specific areas for mold.
County Administrator Mark Scarbinsky said the clerk of courts office was reviewed at that time, but no mitigation was required. He said some mitigation work was done in the district attorney’s office.
Casey asked why the county waited until February to do radon testing and what kind of mitigation was done for mold.
“We are not confident that these various issues are being addressed,” Casey said. “I have employees not wanting to come to work.”
Holley and Stacey Stoppie, who have been in the clerk of courts office for nearly 20 years, said they are worried about their health.
“We are actually terrified to come in here everyday,” Holley said. “We are afraid and this is years of sickness we had. This isn’t just recent.”
District Attorney Christine A. Holman said her staff has also been worried. County Detective Dorothy “Dolly” Malec said she is going to see a doctor because of coughing, difficulty breathing, headaches, rashes, burning eyes and other symptoms associated with air quality.
“I will go home for the weekend and I’m fine, and then I come back in here and I am feeling sick again,” Malec said.
Casey also recommended the county assemble a safer building committee to discuss the problem.
Commissioners Chairman George F. Halcovage Jr. said Roe will be at the courthouse Friday morning to speak with the county row officers and answer their questions.
“We want a healthy building. That’s our goal,” Halcovage said.
In other news, the commissioners approved an agreement with Norwegian Township to use a municipal road as a detour during the rehabilitation of county bridge No. 200 on Maple Avenue from June through August. They also approved an agreement with Alfred Benesch & Co., Pottsville, for engineering design for the paving, guide rail upgrade, deck patching and construction coordination for three county bridges. The cost for the design is $15,500 and construction coordination is estimated at $6,800, for a total of $22,300.
The commissioners also approved a 30-day burn ban starting at noon Friday.
Under the ban, residents are forbidden from any outdoor burning of items, such as garbage, leaves, grass, twigs, litter and paper. Grilling in proper containers is still permitted, but the ban forbids lighting fires in outdoor burn barrels or fire rings.
Residents violating the ban may face fines of $100 for their first offense, $200 for the second and $300 for each additional violation. They are also responsible for the cost of extinguishing any fire they cause.
Businesses may request an exemption from the burn ban by writing a letter detailing the adverse economic effects of the ban to Schuylkill County Emergency Management Agency for review and consideration.
The courthouse will be closed on Tuesday for the primary election. The next public meeting will be held at 6 p.m. April 28.