NORTH LAUREL, Md. — A Howard County Library branch that was forced to close in late November is back open after the county spent thousands to address a reported carbon monoxide and air quality problem, but some staff say the mystery of the underlying cause continues to cause concern.
"Finding that answer, finding that piece is, I think the only way that this is going to get put to bed," staff member Charles Smalls said.
The Savage Library branch closed in late November after staff reported feeling faint and foggy, with some ending up in the hospital with confirmed carbon monoxide poisoning. The library temporarily closed.
Staff concerns linger after carbon monoxide exposure, repeated evacuations at library
In the months that followed, staff continued to intermittently smell gas inside the building, forcing more than 30 evacuations, according to Howard County. Currently, the issue appears to have subsided.
"We are lucky that we haven't had to evacuate the building in the past month or so, but before that it was, I'd say, at least a weekly problem, sometimes multiple times a day," Smalls said.
Staff believes the carbon monoxide incident and the recurring gas odor are somehow related.
Sabrina Moorer, a part-time staff member who started shortly before the issues began, said she has pulled the fire alarm herself multiple times. She often opens windows in the teen section for better airflow.
"I am very anxious about the teens being in the library or young children being in the library and the health effects that might have on them," Moorer said.
To date, extensive testing by independent third parties has not identified any hazardous materials. The building, owned by the county, has been declared safe for occupancy.
According to Samantha Cobb, director of the Department of General Services, the county has spent "well over $92,000" on related costs. The county outlined the following steps taken during and after its investigation:
- Installed 32 carbon monoxide detectors, later replaced by a permanent commercial-grade detection system integrated into the HVAC system and monitored in real time
- Deployed 6 additional gas detection devices.
- BGE evaluated the facility twice with no hazardous levels of natural gas detected either time.
- Hired 2 independent HVAC contractors and a plumbing contractor to inspect the building's mechanical systems.
- Atmospheric monitoring found no hazardous levels of carbon monoxide or other dangerous gases.
- Facilitated 3 independent indoor air quality assessments; each found air quality within acceptable standards.
- A MOSH visit in June found no safety concerns and confirmed the county had met all requirements under applicable laws and codes.
"Since concerns were first reported, we have taken every complaint seriously and responded promptly to each report of an odor or air quality concern," Cobb wrote in an email to WMAR-2 News' Blair Sabol. "Our approach has been thorough, proactive, and focused on protecting public health."
“We deeply appreciate Howard County Government and MOSH for the time and care they have dedicated to investigating reports related to carbon monoxide concerns and intermittent gas odors at our Savage Branch. The health and safety of our staff and our community members remain our highest priority, and we are grateful for the County and MOSH’s diligence in helping to address those concerns.”
Still, Smalls and other staff say that without a concrete answer, significant concern remains. Some staff members have already left their positions because of the issue.
"I think that the information that I'm looking for and the information that a lot of other people who are being affected by this are looking for is not, well, it's fine when it's fine, it's well what's going wrong when it's going wrong," Smalls said.
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