Building’s air
problem remains
a mystery so far

An inspector hopes to finish
his report about the Old
Courthouse in Wailuku this week

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By Gary T. Kubota
gkubota@starbulletin.com

WAILUKU >> A state health inspector said he has been unable to determine the cause of bad air that forced the evacuation of a portion of the Old Courthouse building in Wailuku.

Jeff Eckerd said finding the source has been difficult since the bad-air problem occurred several weeks before his inspection and only happened once for a couple of hours.

"We don't know what it was," said Eckerd, who conducted the inspection on Thursday.

Some 12 employees with the County Prosecutor's Office complained of headaches and respiratory problems on June 20, prompting the evacuation of the top floor, occupied by some 32 employees.

Some described the smell as "metallic."

Eckerd said when he interviewed employees, their description of the smell varied widely.

"It could have been anything," he said.

County employees have been worried about indoor air quality ever since some 80 people from planning and public works were forced to evacuate the Kalana Pukui building in Wailuku in February and relocate to other facilities.

The county hopes to have the redesigning of the Kalana Pukui's ventilation system completed soon.

The Kalana Pukui building is also being cleaned of extensive mold and mildew under the ceiling tiles, after the discovery of an "active fertile colony" of fungus known to cause respiratory problems.

The fungus is called "stachbotrys sp." It was found on the surface of a water-stained ceiling in the building, but not in the air.

The fungus can be harmful, especially to the elderly, the young or those with autoimmune problems.

Eckerd said during an inspection of the Old Courthouse building, he found spots near the air-conditioning vents that appeared to contain mold and mildew.

But he said the mold and mildew was not extensive, and he does not anticipate that the cleanup will require employees to vacate the building.

"It's something they can come in and clean up on the weekend," Eckerd said.

Eckerd, who is the only state inspector conducting indoor quality air checks in Hawaii, said he plans to work with the county on how to quicken the response time when bad-air problems occur on Maui.

He said he expects to complete his inspection report by the end of this week.

Asked to comment on the inspection, the prosecutor's administrative officer, Wayne Steel, said he was waiting to look at details in the report.