Teslin board tried to move librarian out of mould-infested building
Last Updated: Wednesday, December 3, 2008 | 4:47 PM CT
CBC News
A municipal official in Teslin, Yukon, said his village tried to move the local librarian out of a building that had been infested with black mould, but the Yukon government told them to wait.
Teslin chief executive officer Wes Wirth, who also chairs the village's library board, told CBC News that his board knew librarian Claudia Hubert had concerns about working in the 50-year-old building.
The local post office and bank branch had moved out of the same building this fall, after environmental testing done in the fall of 2007 found black mould growing in the basement.
But Yukon government officials told Hubert that she would be staying in the building until at least March. Hubert told CBC News last week she experiences headaches from working there.
Wirth said the village had planned to demolish the building — which he said has structural problems, in addition to the mould infestation — but the Yukon government asked it to hold off until March.
"If it was up to the Village of Teslin, that building would be on the process of being torn down as we speak," he said Tuesday.
Wirth added that the library board had found a new space for Hubert, but the territorial government had rejected the board's suggestion.
"She indicated that she didn't want to work in that building on a long-term basis, and we absolutely agree with her," Wirth said.
"If there's ill effects to her health today, then we need to get her out of there."
Wirth said the board had assumed the building was safe after the mould was cleaned out in October 2007. He said the board did not do any follow-up testing to see if the mould had grown back.
Occupational Health and Safety staff visited the Teslin library on Tuesday to assess the mould situation. Results from the building inspection and air quality tests should be ready in about a week.
