Berks Heim annex mold sickens workers

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Berks Heim annex mold sickens workers

Inspections at the vacant building are stopped.

By E. Young

Reading Eagle

READING, PA

http://www.readingeagle.com/re/news/1490135.asp

The vacant Berks Heim annex is off limits because of mold that

started growing in the building in November after the temperature

dropped and condensation dripped from pipes.

Residents of the nursing home annex had been moved to a new nursing

home across the road more than two months earlier, but at least two

county employees became sick with respiratory illnesses after they

had been in the building, officials said.

Commissioner W. Gajewski Sr. said Thursday that the problem

has not interfered with or delayed plans to convert the building

into a community correctional center.

County departments are determining what will be needed in the center

before architects draw plans, he said.

" The mold was an unexpected thing, " said Gajewski, who also is

prison board chairman. " We couldn't have anticipated that. But we're

going to get this done. "

The center will house the county prison's female population and

nonviolent male offenders.

It is expected to reduce prison overcrowding and provide services so

offenders will have skills to avoid repeating their criminal

behavior and returning to jail.

County Administrator E. Dennis said the mold problem began

when the building was vacated.

The heat was turned off when residents moved out because it was warm

in September, he said. The heat should have been turned back on when

the weather turned cold but was not, he said.

Because of the contrast between the indoor and outdoor temperatures,

condensation formed and dripped from pipes in the basement, he said.

" Nobody was looking at it, " Dennis said. " It was truly an accident. "

Heim maintenance workers later started making daily checks of the

building, unaware there was mold that could make them sick, he said.

The daily checks have been stopped, Dennis said, and the county is

searching for a company that specializes in mold cleanup.

" We're going to get rid of it, " he said. " Until we're sure it is,

we're going to keep people out of there. "

Commissioner Judith L. Schwank, chairwoman, said a cost estimate is

unavailable because the county has just begun looking for a company

to remove the mold.

She acknowledged the county has a responsibility to keep all its

buildings in good condition.

" We knew it was going to be reused even before the annex was

designated for community corrections, " she said. " It's not going to

be empty for long.

" It's going to be cleaned up. We're going to monitor it. We're not

going to put anybody in there until the environment is safe. "

Contact reporter E. Young at 610-478-6292 or

myoung@...