Child support enforcement workers go before county board

When they were able to temporarily move their offices from the century-old, deteriorating Professional Center in early October to the 1 ½-year-old Polk County Justice Center, the 10 employees of Polk County's child support enforcement unit were excited. Finally, they'd be out of the building that brought on health issues for some due to mold and other irritants. A new building would surely solve all that, they thought.
   
Their excitement was quickly deflated.
   
The employees, along with one from another social services department who was moved into the same area, went before the Polk County Board of Commissioners at its meeting Tuesday to bring their concerns over experiencing sick building syndrome. SBS is a term used to describe a variety of health problems that could be traced to components in a building, most often office space.
   
“It has not gotten any better since our move,” Jaime Fuchs said, speaking on behalf of her five co-workers who filed Workers Compensation claims. “Something isn't working here. These professional women aren’t complaining just to make noise. They have some serious health issues.”   
     
Health complaints vary from person to person, said CSU Supervisor Sylvia Nelson, and include swollen and blistered eyes, respiratory problems, burning skin and throat irritation. Those reporting symptoms maintain that they come about shortly after arriving at work and persist until sometime after leaving for the day. Their physicians have attributed the problems to their work environment.
   
“We do appreciate the move, it's a good location for hearings across from the court, it's roomy and has a nice view,” said Delicia Rice. “But if we're going to stay there, please fix it so that it's a better work environment for everyone.”

Work environment
So how could a building nearly two years old bring on even more health issues than one 100 years older? Because of its age, actually. The consensus of the workers, their doctors and county officials is that fine particles of building materials dust and chemicals still lingering in parts of the center are the source. The room to which they were hastily moved was previously an unfinished storage area for building materials, which more than half of it still is.
   
“There's still thick dust all over,” Nelson pointed out while holding up a black shirt she'd stroked across a wall in the room. The shirt was covered in grayish-white dust. “You can see fiberglass particles on the floor. We have to wear these face masks all the time in there just to be able to get any work done, but even then it's a challenge.”
   
Compounding the problem is poor ventilation, low humidity and high heat in the room, she added, while acknowledging that those suffering the most severe problems have pre-existing allergies the room conditions significantly increase the effects of.
   
“You walk in there and there’s a chemical smell,” Nelson said. “Even other people in the building comment on the smell and poor condition of the room.”
   
The offices moved in Oct. 5 and the first complaint was already lodged, by Terri Heggie (the non-CSU employee), the next day.
   
“I do have allergies, which are magnified as soon as I enter the room,” she said. “I have to take out my contacts after about an hour after getting to work because it feels like something's scratching my eye. The doctor's recommendations were to either get out or double up on my allergy medicines every day.”
   
“By the time I leave work I feel like I have a sunburn,” Karen Biermaier said. “I'm there for 10 minutes and my right eyelid closes. The doctor put me on a steroid for my eye, which has been known to cause glaucoma.”
   
Nelson said her allergy problems have flared up to near intolerability, as evidenced by a hoarse voice and labored breathing due to respiratory and sinus distress.
   
“This has been going on for almost two months. It's a health risk for some of us to even be in the room,” she said. “I, personally, would like to see some immediacy at finding a solution instead of no end in sight.”
   
Biermaier noted that the CSU workers had frequently been in the building prior to the move for court hearings and other business and experienced no problems, which means the problem likely lies in the room itself and not the entire building.

Solutions
“They installed some fans after we first complained, but these just push around the dust since there's no air exchange whatsoever,” Nelson said. Attempts to bring down the temperature have also been largely fruitless, she added.
   
Polk County Building and Grounds Superintendent Jan Skyberg said they've been trying remedy the situation by having the heating and cooling firm increase air movement. As far as the temperature goes, “we're doing what the state requires us to do, 78 degrees in the summer and 68 degrees in the winter. We’re right into that area. With the big windows facing south, you're going to get some temperature fluctuations during the day.”
   
The humidity in the room measures out at 20 percent, he said, which isn't bad. Other departments in the building are probably around 26 percent, and the setpoint the county tries to maintain in its buildings is 30 percent.
   
While discussing possible testing on air quality and particulate matter, he said there are not a whole lot of tests for these, but that a Twin Cities firm could come in for about $1,500 and conduct a particulate test. They could come as early as the middle of next week, but “that's not solving the problem. It can't tell the health affects, just some of what the matter is.”
   
Skyberg said he's talked to a number of testing experts, who all feel the root of the problem is allergies, and that nailing down the source to one particular room in the building could be difficult.
   
Nelson brought up several options, including tele-commuting, moving to a hearing room rarely utilized by court administration and moving to a room leased by the state for training purposes. While each has its pros and cons, the training room was determined to be the most viable and quickest solution, as it's already wired for computers and phone for 13 people. On the minus side, workers will essentially be working elbow to elbow.
   
“It was designed for training, not regular day-to-day work,” said Nelson.
   
They made the move down the hall in the afternoon. 
   
“Let's move them out. I don't see any other solution,” Commissioner Bill Montague declared. “It's an emergency thing. We have to do something.”
   
Once work on the Government Center is completed in the spring, the offices will move into that building.