Mercer County Jail administrative workers will soon be housed in a temporary facility while problems with black mold growing in the basement are resolved.

"There have been a lot of respiratory problems, like sore throats, coughing and runny noses," said Jo-Ann Grade, a secretary and counselor at the jail.

The odor problem in the old warden's residence, where the administrative offices are housed, came to a head about three weeks ago.

"It's been a problem for a long time, but it really got bad recently," she said. To combat the smell, workers have opened windows and doors as wide as possible as often as they can, and fans are running full blast.

Several of the nine workers in the building have filed workers' compensation claims in case the mold turns out to be toxic.

But the mold, which has been tested, is not toxic, according to Warden Jeff Gill, It's a common type of black mold that smells like urine.

"What we smell, mostly smells like ammonia," he said. "It's not toxic, but it is an allergen."

Since the problem became pronounced, paneling and ceiling tiles in the basement have been removed, the walls have been sprayed with an anti-microbial agent, and the walls have been freshly painted.

But it still stinks throughout the entire building, Gill said. The mold is starting to grow through the fresh layers of paint, and some of the ceiling boards have suspected mold growth.

Mold spores get into the furnace system and spread through the building, Gill said.

Monday, a Mercer County Prison Board meeting that was supposed to be held in the building had to be moved across the street to the courthouse.

The mold is caused by moisture collecting in the basement, Gill said. Experts have identified three sources for the moisture: two leaky heating pipes and the entire front side of the building.

Attempts have been made to seal off the front part of the building, Gill said.

The prison board decided to start moving workers out of the building as soon as possible. To make the temporary housing as least disruptive as possible on jail operations, the records clerk will be moved to the jail building itself.

The rest of the workers will be moved to the basement of the courthouse.

During the meeting, the board decided to have the leakage problems addressed and said it would look for a trailer to house the office workers temporarily.

"You hear about sick buildings and, like most people, I thought folks who complained about it were a little on the wimpy side," Gill said. "But now I see it, and you really have no idea how much of a problem mold can be."

Gill said he hadn't received any bills for the work done to date to correct the problem, and added that he's still trying to nail down a solution to the problem.

You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Amanda Smith-Teutsch at: ateutsch@sharonherald.com