New Orleans area courthouse infested with severe mold damage

When Hurricane Katrina caused extensive flooding in the state of Louisiana in 2005, the waters were an equal-opportunity offender. As a result, the St. Bernard Parish Courthouse also received extensive flood water damage as 3 feet of water just sat in the building.

In an attempt to keep business operating, courthouse staff found other parts of the building to work in as they picked through important wet documents in an attempt to salvage them. Business continuity led the courthouse staff to another worksite after extensive mold damage was discovered in the 70-year-old building’s walls and air ducts, and the chronically leaky roof did not make matters any better.

Big Mistakes

One dire mistake was made after Hurricane Katrina: no restoration specialists were called in to remediate the mold damage as soon as it was discovered. After only the floors and walls were merely wiped down (which probably helped spread the mold instead of kill it), the mold was never looked at until now.

A second mistake is that employees were allowed to work in the building before assessing health and safety risks, which means they were exposed to molds. Then employees were allowed back into the building to continue operations. Because of the lack of mold remediation, toxic spores were found. Nola.com reports that mold was found virtually everywhere in the building, but employees are not expected to have “any major health problem”.

The entire courthouse staff is going to have to be relocated until the mold remediation process is complete. Read more about this story.

Cleaning Mold

After there is water damage to any building, the building and its contents need to be dried ASAP. If not, mold will take over. If the drying process is not done correctly, mold will take over. One of the best things a business can do is call in a remediation specialist to help with this process; doing this will help ensure one is back in business quickly.

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