A professional abatement company is winding up a project to clean up "normal mold" in a dry storage area of Hawaii State Hospital's kitchen, hospital Administrator Paul Guggenheim said today. State Hospital cleaning mold
in storage areaBy Helen Altonn
haltonn@starbulletin.comSamples of the mold were tested by a private firm, which found "it wasn't any form of severe, contagious mold," he said.
"We were well within tolerances but we took care of it professionally as a safety precaution," added Bill Elliott, associate hospital administrator.
The hospital also "went to the extra expense to have a professional firm abate it" to reassure the staff that conditions were safe, Guggenheim said.
He doesn't have the bill yet, but estimates, "It will cost a chunk."
The administrators said they met with all hospital personnel to prevent any panic about the project.
Such mold isn't unusual, especially in areas such as Kaneohe with frequent rain and humidity, air-conditioning inside and warm temperatures outside, they pointed out.
Cleaning ventilation lines and pulling air samples "are normal kinds of operational things we do all the time," Elliott said.
The mold was in the upper corner of a dry storage area where some condensation had leaked from ventilation piping. The area was sealed off and abatement procedures began about a week ago, Guggenheim said.
The company followed the pipe back to make sure all the area was free of mold and they're now rehanging some fittings and finishing the job, he said.
Wrappings on the cooling pipes still must be replaced, but one of the cold storage boxes would have to be shut down, Guggenheim said.
"We didn't want to run the risk of losing food because we stocked up for a potential dock strike," Elliott said, explaining the abatement company is bringing a larger crew in this weekend to get the work done faster.
They'll wrap the lines, replace the dry wall, remove temporary heavy duty plastic barriers and restore the dry storage area, he said.
"We've got it pretty well under control," Guggenheim said. "I've been doing this stuff a long time (on the mainland) and we really never had a mold problem.
"I've had two since I've been here (the past year). If we have to clean vents or take it out, we bring in a firm so we know it's done professionally and well and we meet with the staff."
Elliott also drew up contingency plans to feed the patients if tests showed the mold was airborne and the entire dietary area had to be closed, Guggenheim said.
State of Hawaii
