Most people walking into a courthouse are focused on the business at hand — jury duty, a hearing, a legal filing. What they're probably not thinking about is the air they're breathing while they wait. But in courthouses across the country, that air has become a serious and in some cases dangerous problem. Mold behind walls, aging HVAC systems, crumbling infrastructure, and decades of deferred maintenance have turned some of America's most important public buildings into spaces that quietly harm the people inside them.
This isn't a hypothetical concern. It's a documented, ongoing public health failure — and it deserves a straight conversation.
What's actually happening inside these buildings
The Roderick Ireland Courthouse in Springfield, Massachusetts, became a grim example of what happens when indoor air quality goes unchecked for too long. In 2021, jurors noticed a strong musty odor. Workers eventually found fungus growing behind bookcases, carpets, floors, and seats. The contamination was severe enough that court proceedings had to be relocated to a nearby shopping mall. A later independent study identified several cancer-causing mold species in the building. Five people who worked there have died of ALS. Another 60 workers have been diagnosed with cancer.
The Springfield courthouse is not an outlier. In February 2026, the U.S. Judiciary formally asked Congress for direct authority to manage federal courthouse properties, citing an $8.3 billion backlog of critical repairs that the General Services Administration has been unable to address. The Judiciary's own background paper documented a long list of recent incidents: ceilings collapsing during trials, Legionella bacteria found in water supplies, employees trapped in broken elevators for hours, and mold making court employees and judges sick.
At the nearly century-old Asheville, North Carolina, courthouse, the heating and air conditioning systems are decades old. In winter, the air is so dry that judges and court staff experience headaches, nosebleeds, and sore throats. In summer, unchecked humidity leads to mold growth and respiratory issues. These are not abstract air quality metrics. These are real symptoms in real people, day after day.
Why courthouse air is especially difficult to manage
Courthouses are complex buildings. They handle high occupancy volumes, serve diverse populations including elderly and immunocompromised individuals, and often operate in historic structures where renovation is expensive and complicated. Many were built in an era when indoor air quality was not a design priority, and their HVAC systems reflect that era's limitations.
The Massachusetts Trial Court recognized this problem early in the pandemic and commissioned a series of HVAC assessments across courthouses throughout the state, working with engineering firm Tighe & Bond. Their assessments used guidance from ASHRAE, the EPA, and the CDC to evaluate whether courthouse air systems met even baseline COVID-era safety standards. Many buildings required significant upgrades — better filtration, improved ventilation, demand-control systems to manage outdoor air intake, and pre- and post-occupancy air-flush protocols to reduce contaminant buildup.
The standard recommended during that period was 30 cubic feet of fresh air per minute per person, a target developed by researchers at Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Many courthouse systems were falling well short of that in their original configurations. Older buildings with limited outdoor air intake and low filtration efficiency were cycling the same contaminated air repeatedly through their systems, without adequate cleaning.
The human cost falls hardest on the most vulnerable
Poor courthouse air quality doesn't affect everyone equally. In Springfield, the burden falls disproportionately on the city's lower-income and communities of color — communities already carrying elevated outdoor air pollution from highways and industrial facilities that run directly through the city's neighborhoods. For those residents, the courthouse is one more building where the air works against them.
Rusty Polsgrove of Arise for Social Justice, a Springfield environmental justice organization, has watched these cumulative impacts build for years. When mold appears in a courthouse, it mirrors what many Springfield families are already experiencing in their homes — older housing stock, insufficient ventilation, and limited resources to address the problem. Children exposed to mold before the age of seven are significantly more likely to develop asthma, a condition they carry for life.
"The consequence is death," Polsgrove has said, speaking about the compounding effects of poor air in homes, schools, and public buildings alike.
Arise responded by offering free HEPA air purifiers to Springfield residents dealing with mold. It was a practical, immediate step when systemic solutions were slow to arrive. That same logic applies in public buildings — while structural remediation takes years to plan and fund, cleaner indoor air is achievable now.
What better courthouse air quality actually looks like
Fixing courthouse air requires addressing the problem at two levels: the building systems themselves and the air circulating inside the occupied spaces.
On the structural side, that means higher-efficiency filtration — MERV-rated filters that can capture finer particulate matter — combined with adequate outdoor air intake, proper humidity control, and regular testing and balancing of HVAC systems. The Massachusetts assessments made these recommendations building by building, recognizing that no two courthouses had identical needs.
But HVAC upgrades are expensive, slow to approve, and slower to implement. Supplemental air purification is a practical bridge that works alongside existing systems, not instead of them. An air purifier with true HEPA filtration, UV-C technology, and activated carbon can capture mold spores, bacteria, VOCs, and other airborne contaminants that aging HVAC systems miss entirely. In occupied spaces where people are spending hours at a time — courtrooms, waiting areas, clerk's offices — this layer of protection matters.
The iAdaptAir® from Air Oasis offers exactly this kind of multi-stage filtration and is sized for a range of room configurations. The 2L model covers up to 795 square feet and is well suited to courtroom-sized spaces, while the 2P handles up to 1,059 square feet for larger halls and lobbies. For the offices and smaller waiting rooms that courthouse staff occupy every day, the 2M at 530 square feet is a practical fit. For more on how air purifiers address mold in public and workplace settings, visit airoasis.com/blogs/articles/strategies-for-managing-mold-in-office-buildings-for-employee-health.
Why courthouse air quality is everyone's problem
Courts are not optional spaces. Jurors are legally required to be there. Witnesses and families show up because the law compels them to do so. Court employees report every workday. None of these people consented to breathing air contaminated with mold spores, bacteria, or VOCs. And yet in courthouses from Springfield to Asheville to Chicago, that is precisely what has been happening.
The Judiciary's push for Real Property Authority — the ability to manage courthouse maintenance directly without going through layers of bureaucracy — is a step in the right direction. So are the kinds of building-by-building HVAC assessments Massachusetts undertook. But every day between now and meaningful structural repair, the air inside those buildings either helps or harms the people required to be there.
Cleaner air in public buildings is not a luxury. It's a baseline expectation. For courthouse administrators looking for immediate, practical solutions while long-term repairs are planned and funded, supplemental air purification is a meaningful place to start. Visit airoasis.com/blogs/articles/practical-steps-to-reduce-mold-exposure-in-your-daily-life to learn more about reducing mold exposure in any environment.
Courthouse air quality and public health cannot wait for perfect solutions
The evidence is clear. Courthouse air systems are failing in too many places, with serious health consequences for those inside. Mold, inadequate ventilation, and aging HVAC infrastructure are not abstract problems — they are making people sick, some of them gravely. Systemic solutions are necessary and urgent. While they take shape, cleaner air today is always better than waiting for perfect conditions tomorrow.
If you manage a public facility, a workplace, or even a home with air quality concerns, don't wait. Shop Air Oasis today and discover how the iAdaptAir® can bring medical-grade air purification to the spaces where people spend their days — because everyone deserves to breathe safe air, no matter where they are.
Frequently Asked Questions About Courthouse Air Quality
Here is some more info.
Why is courthouse air quality so poor in many buildings?
Many courthouses are housed in aging buildings with HVAC systems that are decades old, inadequately maintained, and not designed to current air quality standards. Deferred maintenance, budget shortfalls, and complex procurement processes have allowed problems like mold, insufficient ventilation, and poor filtration to compound over time.
Can mold in a courthouse make people seriously ill?
Yes. Prolonged exposure to mold spores and mycotoxins in enclosed spaces has been linked to serious health outcomes, including respiratory illness, neurological symptoms, and, in some documented cases, cancer. The situation at the Roderick Ireland Courthouse in Springfield, Massachusetts is one of the most severe documented examples.
What can courthouse administrators do right now to improve air quality?
While structural repairs and HVAC upgrades are planned, supplemental air purifiers with HEPA filtration and UV-C technology can meaningfully reduce airborne mold spores, bacteria, and other contaminants in occupied spaces. Increasing outdoor air intake, improving humidity control, and regular HVAC maintenance are also important steps.
Do air purifiers work in large spaces like courtrooms?
Yes, provided they are appropriately sized. A unit like the iAdaptAir® 2L covers up to 795 square feet, and the 2P covers up to 1,059 square feet — both well suited to courtroom-scale spaces. Proper placement with adequate clearance from walls ensures effective air circulation throughout the room.
Is poor indoor air quality in public buildings a justice issue?
Many advocates and researchers argue that it is. Communities already burdened by outdoor air pollution — often lower-income areas near highways and industrial facilities — are disproportionately exposed to poor indoor air quality in public buildings such as courthouses, schools, and housing. Addressing indoor air quality in these settings is part of a broader environmental health equity conversation.
