After questions arose about possible hazardous materials found during the demolition phase of the Jerauld County Courthouse heating and cooling restructure project, commissioners called in an environmental hazard firm to assess the situation.
“Gary Snow & Associates came right away the same day. They took samples, went through the courthouse top to bottom and looked at different areas,” said Jerauld County Commission Chairman Shane Mentzer. “They established there was a possibility of asbestos in the basement but definitely nothing above the basement.”
Mentzer explained that working in conjunction with the state, commissioners asked if the building, which was originally constructed in the 1930s, could remain open during construction if a plastic partition was installed in the basement area and the lower portion was closed to employees and customers.
“They said there was no danger if the basement was locked off,” he explained. “But the following day, employees expressed concerns about air quality and we decided that rather than have employees feel uneasy, we’d bring in a company to conduct air samples.”
With .14 and under deemed as the safe level of airborne asbestos and other materials/ particles, the company set out to take particle samples in three different areas of courthouse. Results in each area were: .002, .003 and .004, well below dangerous levels.
“After air quality testing, our people from Pierre sent back tests for asbestos in the basement and products they were concerned about — mainly joint compound in the plumbing. It came back negative but some other material came back positive,” Mentzer said. “It is limited to the boiler room, old AA room and a touch of it is in the sheriff’s office. It is isolated to insulation on pipes within the heating and cooling system.”
The basement, which includes the west entrance will remain closed until this phase of demolition and remediation is complete. Although the west parking lot is currently closed, the courthouse is open and customers are asked to park on the street east of the courthouse.
Look for more details about the scope of the project in next week’s True Dakotan.
