FARMINGTON – A Lewiston environmental firm has suggested a complete abatement of asbestos in the district attorney’s offices at the Franklin County Courthouse.
Morrissey Environmental representatives plan to revisit the courthouse next Tuesday to look at the whole building to see what type of sampling and program is required to clean up the asbestos and mold in the building, company Vice President Ron Tillson said Tuesday.
It is unknown at this point, Tillson said, if there is mold in the building. But in his professional opinion, the pipes throughout the building are wrapped in insulation containing asbestos, he said.
Franklin County Clerk Julie Magoon told commissioners Tuesday that she contacted Morrissey Environmental, a firm that specializes in asbestos, lead and mold abatement, after the commissioners’ last meeting.
District Attorney Norman Croteau had requested that an air-quality test be done on the district attorney’s offices in the basement of the courthouse.
Croteau said previously that he was “concerned” about the potential health hazards for county employees associated with the initial odor and poor air quality, which compelled an assistant district attorney, legal secretary and a state police detective to relocate to other areas of the basement in January.
The firm is doing the initial assessment at no cost to the county, Magoon said.
Magoon also told commissioners that Tillson told her it is more than likely they are dealing with pipe insulation that contains asbestos. They plan to go throughout the building next week to test the insulation around the pipes to check the condition of it, she said. The insulation that has been disturbed or cracked in some way could be a potential problem, she said.
Magoon said it is “very likely” it is going to be more costly to fix the district attorney’s office than the insurance adjusters previously estimated.
Assistant District Attorney James Andrews sent a memo to commissioners on Jan. 25 stating that in the six years he has been assigned to Franklin County, the heating system has had intermittent problems with leaks from radiators and other parts of the system that caused water to drip onto the system’s supply pipes and be absorbed by the insulation, which covers the pipes.
As the pipe insulation absorbs water and is subsequently dried by the heat, Andrews wrote, it causes a very noxious odor to be emitted into the office. Andrews said that because this insulation soaks up a great deal of water and dries very slowly, the odor problem tends to last a much longer than the leaking problem.
“The odor is a sharp, musty smell that makes working conditions unbearable,” Andrews wrote.
Tillson said Tuesday he has already looked at the front and back district attorney’s offices, and from what he could see, the 9-inch-by-9-inch tiles on the floor of the basement offices are asbestos. About 95 percent of that style of tile contains asbestos, he said. Some of those tiles are starting to lift up.
Tillson said that in his opinion, the insulation around the pipes in those offices is also asbestos.
“We suggested a complete abatement,” Tillson said.
It’s “not overly dangerous at this point,” he said, but he recommends taking it out to prevent future problems.
A musty smell in the basement offices could be due to water leaks, he said.
There is a potential for mold in the outer perimeter walls in the offices, Tillson said, but that cannot be determined until the wall panels are removed.
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