By P.J. Reilly
The Intelligencer Journal
Lancaster, PA — Lancaster County commissioners on Tuesday approved an emergency expenditure to remove mold from a wall in the county prison.
The mold was discovered “a few weeks ago,” said Charlie Douts, the county’s facilities management director, in a day-use room, where inmates watch television.
It was first identified as a discoloration on a block wall, Douts said.
“We were concerned it may be mold and had a professional come in to look at it, and they tested it and the air and the wall and determined that it is mold,” he said.
“It’s not where it is creating a hazard at this point, but they explained to us it needs to be remediated and it needs to be done properly, because if it’s not done in a proper fashion, the mold spores could become airborne. That’s when there could be a potential hazard.”
Environmental Hazard Control of Lancaster delivered its findings and recommendations for remediation to the county within the past week.
The commissioners unanimously voted Tuesday to hire the company for $23,350 to get rid of the mold.
Usually, bids must be solicited for any expenditure over $10,000. That was not done in this case.
“To avoid any potential risk, rather than coming through the bidding process, we figured let’s try to remediate this as soon as possible so it does not spread any further or (so) a health issue is not created,” Douts said.
No inmates have been moved as a result of the mold.
“We were told it’s not a risk to continue to occupy that area,” Douts said.
Environmental Hazard is expected to begin work Thursday, according to Douts, and finish the job in a couple of weeks.
The company is expected to erect barriers to contain any material that might become airborne and to clean and treat the affected wall.
Douts said the company also is expected to help figure out what caused the mold to form.
“We don’t think we have a roof leak, but there could be water coming in from somewhere else or it could be the ventilation system is not working properly or needs to have some adjustments made,” he said.
The area where the mold was found is in what’s known as the temporary housing unit. Inmates typically are not kept there for long periods. It initially was built as a place to temporarily keep inmates while construction was under way during an expansion of the prison in 1998. Because of overcrowding problems at the prison, however, the unit is now constantly in use.
A report on the efficiency of the county prison recently completed by Carter Goble Associates Inc. recommends the unit be closed to all housing.
“It was never built for long-term usage,” the report states. “It has gone well beyond its intended life span. The building is a dormitory type housing environment and contains several maintenance problems and may be construed as unsafe for housing.”
Scott Martin, commissioners chairman, said the mold problem in the temporary housing unit is “further evidence that we need to do something to address the overcrowding” at the prison.
Copyright 2011 Lancaster Newspapers, Inc.