The discovery of more mould at Tauranga City Council's headquarters has seen most of the second floor of the Willow Street building evacuated.

As a result, up to 70 staff are being relocated, says toxic mould outbreak project manager Terry Wynyard.

More council staff are moving into Baycourt today.

This is in addition to the 205 staff removed from the first floor and parts of the ground floor on December 15 when stachybotrys mould was uncovered.

The second floor mould is chrysosporium, says Terry.

'The fungi identified this tie around is a little bit different in that it is not as toxic as the original one,” he says.

'But it still has the potential to create health problems; skin irritation, eye irritation - that type of thing.

'So the scientists are recommending that the only way to deal with it properly is to remove all the floor coverings, wash down the floor area and walls, test and take air samples.

Staff from the top floor are being relocated, and there's room for another 25 at Baycourt. The remainder may be relocated to the ASB arena or asked to work from home.

'Basically what's going to happen is the entire second floor in the old administration building will have no staff working in it,” he adds.

The chrysosporium fungi is not airborne and doesn't affect the offices of the mayor, the chief executive officer or the staff café.

The council chambers, departments of governance, transportation and the councillors' lounge are also in the clear.

Removing the mould is expected to take three weeks to a month before staff can be temporarily brought back into the building.

'I say temporary because we still have got all the weather tightness issues to address,” says Terry.

Removing the mould is expected to take up to a month.