FORT SCOTT — In July, Bourbon County Commissioner Samuel Tran, then the commission’s chairman, told the public the state had given the courthouse “a clean bill of health.” In October, lab tests found 45% to 55% chrysotile asbestos in damaged basement pipe insulation and fittings.

The issue began May 29, when courthouse maintenance employee William Jackson texted his supervisor photos of crumbling pipe insulation and asked to have it tested. He was fired the next morning. The termination memo cited his probationary status and Kansas at-will employment.

A Kansas Department of Health and Environment representative walked the basement in mid-June, but it was a visual look and no samples were taken. A July 8 county memo said KDHE would not issue anything in writing and regulates asbestos only in connection with construction or demolition. Four weeks after Tran’s remark, Commissioner Gregg Motley said, “KDHE cannot give us a clean bill of health.”

Samples taken Sept. 29 came back 55% chrysotile asbestos in pipe fittings and 45% in pipe insulation. The EPA treats anything over 1% as asbestos-containing. The inspector rated the material “friable/damaged” and recommended removal by a state-licensed contractor. Air samples taken during the survey were below the clearance level.

Commissioner David Beerbower said Nov. 2 that his draft request for proposals from removal companies would go to commissioners by email for discussion the following week. The video sets commissioners’ words from July 6, Aug. 3, Sept. 21 and Oct. 26 beside the photos, the memo and the lab report. Two short passages are cut from Tran’s remarks, and each cut is marked on screen.

Earlier coverage: commissioners said the courthouse was fine and tests find asbestos in damaged pipe insulation.