An odour issue continues to plague the Haliburton Family Medical Centre building, although Dysart et al’s maintenance facilities operator, Rob Parish, said last week it does not appear to be mould.
“We did a group of air quality and airborne mould samples. One spore per cubic metre was found in the lower back kitchen. Anything below 100 per cubic metre is considered a low hazard,” he said.
Parish added the area does not share heating or ventilation with other parts of the building open to the public, such as the Optical Centre, Hill Chiropractor, doctors’ offices, or LifeLabs. Parish said the health unit and Pinchin (the company contracted to complete the air quality) found no visible signs of mould throughout the building, including LifeLabs.
During the air quality testing, Parish said there were elevated levels of carbon dioxide and total volatile organic compounds were found. He said they contracted Pinchin to do a review of the heating and ventilation systems within the medical centre.
Kimberley Robinson, executive director and office manager for the centre, said the plan was to “engage the services of a qualified mechanical engineer to undertake a follow-up investigation of the HVAC equipment to determine how more fresh air can be brought into the building to lower the carbon dioxide and total volatile organic compounds concentrations. Pinchin’s mechanical team can assist if required.”
She said the report also suggested doing further investigation into the health centre’s family health team lunchroom and/or the attached washroom, particularly walls with sinks and toilets to determine if there is concealed mould growth.
She added, “the smell is indicative of an air circulation issue which is being investigated. We are expecting a plan/scope of work any day now to remedy this as well as further investigation of the mould found in the family health team kitchen.”
