By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(Dec. 21, 2017) Ocean Pines officials are working to remove a small amount of mold found at the yacht club that was not found to be hazardous to the air quality.

Costs are thought to be negligible and remediation efforts are not believed to disrupt normal winter hours at the facility, according to General Manager John Bailey.

“The analysis for overall air quality is fine. We’re well within the guidelines for safe operation and occupancy. However, we do have some mold issues to take care of and we set about immediately to take care of them,” Bailey said Tuesday.

Bailey said “heavy spore counts” and elevated humidity were found in the attic of the waterfront property.

“Contractors are installing an air scrubber and a dehumidifier, and we’re also cleaning the registers with a biocide,” Bailey said. “It’s believe that the problem stemmed from moisture buildup during the summer months, therefore we’re also having an HVAC contractor evaluate the entire system for any leaks and/or any other adjustments we need to make in order to deal with future condensation issues.”

He said a specialist would take additional samples and perform a more detailed inspection of the yacht club, including using a camera to look at conditions inside of the walls.

“Right now those areas are contained, so there’s nothing to worry about from a breathing and operational standpoint,” Bailey said.

A cost estimate for remediation efforts was not available, although Bailey does not believe it will be significant.

“This is little stuff as far as putting the scrubber in and doing some cleaning. Right now we’re not doing anything major,” he said.

Bailey went on to say mold is a common problem, especially in coastal areas and places where humidity is high.

“A lot of people don’t know that – they hear the word mold and immediately jump to, ‘oh my God, the world is coming to an end,’” he said.