Published: October 07, 2008 10:23 pm            

Vigo County Jail battling mold problem

Leaking from flat section of roof on second floor leading to issue, sheriff says

TERRE HAUTE — A state jail inspector has ordered that mold must be removed and cleaned from the Vigo County jail.

The report from an inspection by the Indiana Department of Correction made last week states that all vents in the jail need to be cleaned as well as “all mold needs to be cleaned and removed throughout the jail.”

Sheriff Jon Marvel said a flat roof on the second floor of the jail has been a problem since a newer section of the county jail opened in 2000.

“Mold is in the ceiling on the second floor, which has leaked from the very first day. When we get a huge deluge of rain, it seems to pool in some area up there under the rock on the roof and runs into the ceilings. It is a constant battle of cleaning up,” Marvel said Tuesday.

“The only way to fix it is to remove all the rock and redo the roof, or do, which I thought would be a simpler solution, is to put a pitched roof over the [flat roof.] Flat roofs are inherently leaky. At some point in time, to stop the leaking, it would be very simple to put a pitched roof up there.”

The sheriff said mold can be a health hazard if left untreated. “If you don’t do anything, it can become a problem with mold spores, which can affect your lungs,” he said.

Commissioners Paul Mason and Judith Anderson met with Marvel on Monday.

“We need to check to see what it would cost to possibly make that water drain onto a gutter and onto the ground surface,” Mason said. “My suggestion was to look at some kind of colored tin roof over that.”

Mason questioned that while the jail inspection report states mold, “Is it mold? Maybe it is mildew. Either way, we have to get it tested and see if it is a problem and if a problem, we have to fix it.”

Anderson said a pitched roof appears to be the “cheapest and most efficient solution.” Anderson said mold has to be removed and prevented. “We have to be sure that is not something that will cause us a problem and a [pitched roof] may be a solution.”

The sheriff said he had to deal with a separate health problem at the jail last month.

Marvel said the entire newer section of the jail was cleaned three weeks ago after that section caused five cases of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA, a contagious bacteria transmitted from person to person by contaminated hand hygiene. MRSA, and other antibacterial resistant infections, are increasing in hospitals, prisons, schools, health clubs — anywhere people come into contact with one another.

The sheriff said a county jail nurse and four inmates had the bacteria.

Joni Foulkes, director of operations for the Vigo County Health Department, said Marvel contacted the Health Department, which inspected the jail, then made recommendations on how to clean the jail to remove the bacteria. Marvel said the section, including bedding and blankets, was bleached and power washed.

Commissioner Anderson said new security ceilings will be installed “hopefully by the end of this year” in that same area.

In March, 2006, jail officials discovered that inmates had removed a security ceiling and had been chiseling mortar from interior concrete blocks, resulting in broken brick to the building’s exterior. The breach was discovered without anyone escaping from the jail.

The jail, a former county office building, was renovated beginning in 2000 to provide more room for a growing inmate population. Anderson said the county has reached an agreement with architect RQAW to repair the metal ceilings with a new design. That will allow additional cells to be used at the jail, she said.



Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.

        

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