Courthouse ductwork due for cleaning
The term “air quality” probably hadn’t yet entered anyone’s vocabulary when the Washington County Courthouse was being constructed in 1900. But an attempt to keep air circulating more efficiently also stirred up what are known as “particulates” – so much so that an employee donned a mask in an attempt to keep them out of her respiratory system, which was burning with irritants.
The public also uses the building for everything from jury duty to marriage license applications and infant adoptions, so officials expressed concern about the health of all who breathe the courthouse air. The county commissioners are poised to enter into a $28,800 contract with United Safety Services Inc. of Carnegie, which done similar work for hospitals and universities.
Over the years, a courthouse air handler becoming inoperable would cause the temperature inside the courthouse to become unbearably hot. The county added a backup system so the courthouse would have what’s known as “redundancy.”
But blowers are working so efficiently that they’re stirring up dust. The cleaning staff would find itself having to dust so often that it was taking up an inordinate amount of time, said Scott Fergus, director of administration.
“Is this the first time the ducts have been cleaned?” asked Commission Chairman Larry Maggi during an agenda-setting meeting Wednesday morning.
Randy Vankirk, purchasing director, said a residential duct-cleaning company had cleaned part of the courthouse innards recently, but the job is more extensive than the firm typically handles, so it requires an industrial approach.
Everyone seems to be concerned about mold these days, but in a report prepared by Tri-State Property Inspection, “nothing jumped off the page,” Vankirk added.
Commission Vice Chairman Diana Irey Vaughan asked for before-and-after photos so the board could see the extent of dust build-up, potentially for more than a century. The county lacks original records that show the more obscure parts of the courthouse and airways. Those who have traipsed its inner recesses are aware of both an attic above courtrooms and passages in a sub-basement that once served as a secure conduit to move prisoners to and from the original jail.
“You don’t know what you’re going to run into,” said Commissioner Harlan Shober.
The county hopes to have the duct cleaning begin as soon as possible, certainly within the next two weeks.
During renovation and restoration of the courthouse a few years ago, the rotunda and indoor scaffolding was draped with sheets of plastic in an attempt to contain dust and asbestos. PSI Engineering Inc. then provided air-quality testing at a cost estimated at between $7,000 and $10,000.