Complaints about air quality in Orangeburg County Courthouse basement offices led to a cleanup of moldy areas over the weekend. More improvements are coming in the future.

The weekend work takes care of the most immediate problems discovered during an Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspection of the courthouse last month. Other improvements will wait until the planned renovation of the courthouse this spring and summer.

Orangeburg County Administrator Bill Clark said the “good news” from OSHA’s Feb. 10 report is “there were no OSHA hazards in the facility.”

And it comes as the county is planning the courthouse renovation, he said. “It was very good timing for this to be received when it was. We’ll be able to incorporate those ideas into the renovation’s design.”

The total cost of the renovations that will be made this year is estimated to be about $800,000.

OSHA came to the courthouse under a program in which employers can request a workplace evaluation, OSHA spokeswoman Lisa Kudelka said. The report, which Clark received last Tuesday, does note problems in the courthouse basement offices, including the growth of mold and higher-than-recommended comfort levels of carbon dioxide in the basement.

Tests of one basement office revealed the presence of Stachybotys Chartarum, a potentially hazardous mold, in one sample but the mold levels in the courthouse air are considered acceptable. The report notes that mold growing in some moist areas, including ceiling tiles, would only affect people’s health with “very direct contact.”

“What was observed in the building, it is important to note, was not airborne,” Clark said. “To get exposure to it, you’d have to be in direct contact with it.” And he says the Stachybotys Chartarum was not in a spot where someone could be in direct contact with it.

“From what appears in the report, there is no imminent hazard,” he said.

County Engineer John McLauchlin, who was trained as an environmental engineer, said “You’d have to be physically disturbing it for it to become airborne.”

To eliminate the mold problems, the county removed moist and moldy ceiling tiles Friday evening. They were also repairing leaks in the county’s aging heating and cooling system, which controls temperature by piping hot and cold water throughout the courthouse.

Other changes, such as piping fresh air into the courthouse basement to lower carbon dioxide concentrations, will be made as the county updates its 1970s heating and air conditioning system and makes other renovations.

The report found carbon dioxide levels in some offices exceed what the agency considers a “comfort level,” indicating inadequate ventilation that can lead to complaints such as headaches, fatigue, and eye and throat irritation.

First Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe said there are air quality problems in the basement, but he’s not aware of their causing any major illnesses.

“My staff has complained in the past of minor respiratory problems and symptoms that would seem to be the result of allergies,” Pascoe said.

Clark said that while the carbon dioxide levels are not at a hazardous level, they “are elevated beyond what we’d be satisfied with,” he said.

Ventilation will be improved when the heating and air conditioning system is replaced, which is planned for this spring.

The updating of the system “will allow us to enhance the flow of air and control the temperature and humidity in courthouse. Recognizing we’re working with an old building, this should be a substantial undertaking,” Clark said.

The report also notes other problems in the courthouse, such as employees reporting flooding of four to five inches. Clark said the basement offices did flood when it rained, but not four or five inches. The county corrected that problem a year ago, he said.

Other improvements planned for the courthouse this year include security enhancements, new lighting and some general sprucing up. In addition, there will be some rearranging of space, made possible in part by the relocation of the 911 communications center which will move from the courthouse, possibly in April.

Security enhancements at the courthouse will include additional cameras. The current two entrances to the building will be reduced to one and new handicapped access will be added.

The county also anticipates replacing carpets, and removing wallpaper and painting walls.

The result of all the changes should be a more comfortable environment for employees and visitors to the courthouse, plus a more energy-efficient building, Clark said.

Pascoe said the county is taking the steps necessary to address concerns.

“The actions taken by Bill Clark and his staff, they have really been on the ball in this matter,” Pascoe said.

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