FORT SCOTT - Pipe insulation and fittings in the Bourbon County Courthouse basement contain friable asbestos, according to laboratory results obtained by the county more than four months after a former maintenance worker first asked to have the material tested.
Six of 10 bulk samples collected Sept. 29 by APEX Environmental Consultants Inc. of Lenexa tested positive for chrysotile asbestos, according to the firm's report dated Oct. 8. Hard mudded pipe fittings in three basement rooms contained 55% chrysotile, and air cell pipe insulation in the same rooms contained 45%.
The Environmental Protection Agency considers a material asbestos-containing at more than 1%.
APEX classified all six positive materials as friable and damaged. The report counted 13 fittings and approximately 600 linear feet of insulation in the north custodial room, the custodial restroom and the south custodial room.
"The insulation is on the verge of a fiber release incident in accordance with KDHE and AHERA standards," the report states.
The reports, addressed to Commissioner David Beerbower, were available Sunday night on the county's online meeting calendar with materials for the commission's Monday meeting.
A separate report on courthouse air testing, as well as a two-sample inspection report on 108 W. Second St., where the county plans to temporarily house district court, was also included.
Air sampling below clearance level
A separate APEX report, also dated Oct. 8, found airborne fiber concentrations in five locations below the 0.010 fibers-per-cubic-centimeter clearance level. Readings were 0.0043 in the basement elevator lobby, 0.0032 in the north janitorial room, 0.0075 in the janitorial restroom, 0.0045 in the south janitorial room and 0.0055 in the third-floor elevator lobby.
The air-monitoring letter states the work was commissioned to assess indoor air quality following a potential fiber release from the basement pipe insulation, which the letter says the county suspected may have traveled through the building via the elevator shaft.
The letter describes the work as "post-abatement clearance sampling." The bulk sampling report issued the same day recommends that the abatement be performed, stating a KDHE-licensed contractor must remove the material.
The air samples were analyzed using the NIOSH 7400 method, which counts fibers under a microscope and does not distinguish asbestos from other fibers. The report lists APEX project manager Tristan O'Brien as the analyst for the air samples; the bulk samples were sent to Schneider Laboratories Global Inc. of Richmond, Virginia.
The report also contains conflicting dates. The cover letter states the air monitoring was conducted Oct. 1, while the attached results chart lists both the sample date and analysis date as Sept. 29.
Additional testing results and recommendations
The report also states that additional materials may be present in the boiler room and elevator room that were not quantified, and recommends they be assessed when the pipe insulation is abated.
The bulk sampling report describes itself as a limited inspection rather than a full asbestos survey, and states that at the time of the inspection, the county's representative indicated no other suspect materials would need to be disturbed as part of its planned work.
Within the report's recommendations, the quantity of damaged material is described as "nearly 3 linear feet," while the results table lists approximately 600 linear feet of insulation observed. The Monitor will seek clarification from APEX on the total amount of material needing abated.
Four samples of sheet vinyl flooring and carpet adhesive from the jury room and judge's chamber tested negative, as did two drywall samples from the foyer of 108 W. Second St., where the county plans to temporarily house district court operations during the courthouse elevator modernization.
Months of questions before testing
On May 29, maintenance employee William Jackson texted his supervisor, commission executive assistant Laura Krom, requesting asbestos testing of deteriorating basement pipe insulation. He attached 10 photographs. He was terminated the next day, a Saturday, his 90th day of employment.
A KDHE air compliance representative toured the basement the week of June 15 but took no samples.
At the July 6 commission meeting, then Chairman Samuel Tran said KDHE "gave us a clean bill of health" and that any asbestos was safe "as long as you don't go eating it, licking it, crumbling it and breathing it."
The county's only record of the visit is a July 8 memo from Krom stating KDHE would not issue a report and considered the concern "unsubstantiated."
In August, Dr. Arthur Frank, professor emeritus of environmental and occupational health at Drexel University, reviewed Jackson's photographs for the Monitor. He said he would "bet dollars to donuts" the insulation contained asbestos and recommended laboratory testing, professional removal if positive and medical monitoring for Jackson and retired maintenance supervisor David Neville, who Jackson said had patched the insulation for years.
The Monitor has requested Frank's comments on the test results.
Two motions to authorize testing failed Aug. 31, by votes of 1-3 and 2-2. On Sept. 2, commissioners voted 4-0 to hire APEX, capping spending at $5,000, after Commissioner David Beerbower cited EPA inspection requirements for renovation projects, including the courthouse elevator.
On Sept. 21, commissioners voted 3-1 to restrict attendance during sampling to county employees, the elected official present and APEX contractors. Beerbower dissented.
At that meeting, Tran said the courthouse asbestos issue predated his and Beerbower's terms.
"It became a controversy because somebody took it and broadcast it all over the news prior to coming to the board with the results," Tran said. "It didn't need to be blown out of proportion, and it was blown out of proportion."
The county commission meets Monday at 5:30 p.m.
The test reports are linked below.
