Three state agencies with more than 100 employees remain shut down by foul air quality in their office building, and officials say it's not certain when they can reopen.
The Insurance, Real Estate and Business Finance and Planning divisions are located in a rented building at 788 Fairview Drive that was closed last Friday after grape seed oil sprayed in the air ducts to force pigeons out made workers ill.
Lynn Hettrick, deputy chief of staff to Gov. Jim Gibbons, said the decision was made to put all the workers on paid administrative leave until the situation was fixed. Officials had hoped to reopen for business today but Hettrick said that wasn't possible.
"They have to replace an air handler and some of the ductwork and it looks like that's going to take some time," he said.
He said the owner of the building is working as fast as possible to fix the problem.
Because all the files, computers and phone lines for those divisions are in that building, Hettrick said the three are out of business until the work is completed and they can return.
"It's a very difficult position but there's very little we can do about it," he said.
The grape seed oil was sprayed in the ducts by a professional contractor, and officials at the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection didn't believe it would cause any problems. The pigeons left, but soon after, workers began complaining of headaches and discomfort. At that point, Hettrick said, the decision was made to shut down and empty the building.
"It wouldn't be fair to tell these folks go home and lose pay," he said.
According to Carson-Tahoe Regional Healthcare spokeswoman Cheri Glockner, there were no reports of emergency room visits due to the event.