City offices being checked for mold

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Article Last Updated: 03/19/2006 3:00 AM PST

City offices being checked for mold

Union says Lathrop employees voiced concerns about leaks, possible

spores

By Cheryl Winkelman, STAFF WRITER

http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/localnews/ci_3618494

Pleasanton,CA

LATHROP — Theres much debate over whether or not a leak in the roof

at the Lathrop Community Center needs to be investigated and could

contain mold.

The part of the roof in question sits over the citys Parks and

Recreation Department offices.

Recent rains have caused minor leaking, said Matt Browne, Lathrops

chief building official. By minor, Browne said he meant drops.

We have some flashing missing on the roof, he said. Flashing is the

term for metal joints that keep rain from coming in through

intersecting angles on the roof.

A new roof was installed on the community center about a year ago.

The contractor, Western Roofing Services, has already been called

and will finish repairs next week, Browne said.

For now, a three-square foot piece of the ceiling has been removed

until the roof is fixed.

The roof is also leaking above the foyer between the offices and the

gym due to a crack in one of three older skylights. This leak has

not caused as much concern. The skylights are set to be replaced as

soon as a contractor is hired, Browne said.

The ceiling above the offices does have some discoloration from the

rain, but the city has looked at it. Theres no evidence of mold,

said Robin Goodman, the citys director of the Parks and Recreation

Department.

None of the six employees who work in the department has asked about

the potential of mold and none have said they felt ill, Goodman

said.

But Bill Petrone, a representative

with the Service Employees International Union Local 790, which

represents city employees, said a few have called him with concerns

about the roof.

And a few have experienced scratchy throats and sinus irritations,

symptoms Petrone said county employees who worked in the portable

Public Health Office suffered last year. Those employees were

eventually removed from their office.

Petrone added that he has a piece of the dry wall from the roof that

appears to have been infested with mold, though he has not had it

tested.

Infested or not, the leaking roof is not being addressed quick

enough, he said. A Lathrop union meeting for city employees is

planned for Monday.

Petrone has told city employees to file workers compensation claims —

something he said was also recommended by the Occupational Safety &

Health Administration.

OSHA came out to inspect the roof Thursday and opened an

investigation of water intrusion and the possibility of mold, said

spokeswoman Bacchini. She could not discuss details of the

investigation while it was ongoing.

Excessive moisture from leaks in roofs can cause mold to grow,