Environmental tests at a Hertel Avenue police station that was closed last month following the discovery of mold uncovered no health hazards, city officials said Friday.

While four types of fungi were found in three areas of the Northwest District Station at 669 Hertel Ave., including black mold, experts said there was no adverse health impact to employees.

But officials of the Police Benevolent Association, the citys police union, disagree with the findings, adding that the city has failed to release its full report to either the union or the public. Also, they added, city officials have prohibited the union from entering the building to conduct its own study.

Mayoral spokesman Peter K. Cutler insisted the full report was routed to the union Friday afternoon, saying a staffer visited Police Headquarters to hand-deliver it. No one was in the union office, said Cutler, so the document was given to a report technician.

"They should check their mail box," a miffed Cutler said this morning.

Document: Air quality report on District D

Remedial work in the building will keep it closed for at least a couple of months. Police operations will be moved from a temporary site in the University District to a former Catholic school near Riverside Park.

Some police officers insisted that there have been elevated levels of illness in the Hertel building, and they suspect that hazardous materials inside the structure might be harming the air quality. But the Clarence-based Leader Group said it conducted environmental tests for more than 60 harmful compounds, and all were within permissible exposure levels.

Keith Keller of Leader Group said four types of fungi were found in the police stations locker rooms and break room. However, the report concluded that air quality had not been affected.

Mayor Byron W. Brown maintained that the city acted properly by closing the station the same day officials were made aware that officers had filed a complaint about building safety.

"From what this final report is now showing, It doesnt look like theres anything environmentally in that building that would be causing people to get sick," Brown told reporters Friday during a City Hall news conference.

The city said it submitted the report to the police union, adding that the union is free to conduct its own environmental tests.

However, PBA officials dispute that.

"Since the city has not released the full report [the PBA] cannot rely on the word of the city that the building is supposedly safe, " the union said in a statement. "Given the high cost of fixing the problems—$ 300,000—so far uncovered, [it is doubtful] the building is as safe as theyre saying."

City officials released the report after The Buffalo News filed a request for the report under the states Freedom of Information Law. Cutler had said that he expected officials to release the report to the media, possibly as early as March 15. It was released Tuedsay, March 16.

Police operations will be moved to the former All Saints School at 127 Chadduck Ave. For the past month, officers have been based in a shuttered school at Minnesota Avenue and Cordova Street in the University District.

The move to All Saints will likely be made next week.

Mayor Byron W. Brown

Public Works Commissioner Stephen J. Stepniak