Government was last night urged to come clean over what work it has done to tackle potentially toxic mould at Hamilton Police Station.

The building was plagued by water damage, cracked walls, dirt and dust, an investigation by Bermuda Water Consultants (BWC) revealed in November last year. Experts immediately recommended a list of 20 emergency measures to bring the problem under control — but Shadow Health Minister Louise Jackson says she wants confirmation they have been carried out.

Mrs. Jackson said some Police officers had claimed to be ill from the mould, while others deserved assurances they are not working in an unhealthy environment.

She said she had recently visited the Police station and seen no evidence of work in progress.

“These are sick buildings that people are continuing to have to work in,” said Mrs. Jackson.

“It’s bad enough for anybody to be in such a situation. But Police officers are in danger in so many other ways, protecting people in Bermuda. To put them in a hazardous situation in their building is unhuman behaviour. It’s reprehensible.

“If the Government have carried out this work, they should tell us. We don’t know anything. What we do know is that we have reports saying that there was mould and they had a sick building.”

Yesterday, the Ministry of Works and Engineering did not respond to The Royal Gazette’s request for information on which of BWC’s measures it had carried out. Recommendations included: inspect air conditioning systems for leaks; assess ceiling spaces and windows for water intrusion; scrape and repaint “bubbling” walls; remove and replace all water-damaged ceiling tiles; high-power vacuum all surfaces and carpets; carry out general housekeeping on a regular schedule to remove any dust build-up.

BWC’s report had stated: “Overall, the Hamilton Police Station located in Parliament Street is in a state of poor repair.

“This includes wall cracks, along with significant external structural cracks leading to water intrusion.”

During the Budget debate two months ago, Government pledged work would start this year on a replacement Hamilton Police Station and court building — although the move is four years behind schedule.

Over the past few months, Government has come under attack for the way it has handled a mould crisis at CedarBridge Academy. CedarBridge was shut for a $4 million clean-up programme in November, but this newspaper revealed how the school had known about mould problems following an assessment by US specialists the previous July.

On this point, Mrs. Jackson said: “Here we go again. They have a report saying Hamilton Police Station is a sick building, but they knowingly allow people to go back in there and work.”