Lawsuit claims mold hazards at DIA

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http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~53~1489147,00.html

Wednesday, July 02, 2003 - 12:00:00 AM MST

Lawsuit claims hazards at DIAExposure to mold, fungi is alleged

By Pankratz, Denver Post Legal Affairs WriterTravelers and employees at Denver International Airport have been exposed to extensive mold and fungi contamination that can cause and has caused a variety of recurring respiratory problems, claims a class-action lawsuit filed Tuesday.

The suit alleges that since 1995, thousands of employees and travelers, especially those using Concourse B, have been exposed to the problems, caused by what the lawsuit describes as "severe environmental conditions."

These conditions have given rise to extensive mold and fungi contamination, the lawsuit alleges. In addition, there are other conditions at the airport that have adversely affected the environment, including recurring raw sewage leaks and emissions of toxic gases, the suit claims.

D. Fognani, the Denver lawyer who filed the lawsuit in Denver District Court, said the case is "unique."

"As far as I know, it is the first of its kind in terms of an airport involving a fairly sizable municipality," Fognani said. The lawsuit asks for unspecified monetary damages from the city of Denver.

The two named plaintiffs are United Airlines employees Terri Crandall and Joann Hubbard, who the suit said have spent considerable time at the airport. As a result of their time there, they have begun to develop various respiratory difficulties "and other ailments that are consistent with toxic exposure," the suit claims.

But West, DIA's deputy manager of aviation for maintenance and engineering, said Tuesday night the airport is not contaminated with mold and fungi.

West said the issue first came up about two years ago. Repeated testing, by the city of Denver and United, has failed to turn up any mold and fungi contamination, West said.

"In a nutshell, there were some very passionate people who were employees or still are employees of United, essentially on B Concourse. And they made all sorts of allegations. We, the city, or United, made all kinds of tests and went through all kinds of processes," West said.

"The end result was we never found anything. I'm unaware of any substance or validity to their concerns. To my knowledge, as of yet, we've not found anything of substance or concern."

West said there is always the potential of sewage leaks, and he can't guarantee that hasn't happened at DIA. But he added that he was unaware of such a continuing problem at the airport.

Fognani said the situation was brought to his attention by a number of people who work at the airport.

Fognani said city officials were notified that the situation was being investigated when he sent the Denver city attorney's office a letter asking that evidence be preserved.

He added, however, that he and the city have not had any direct discussions regarding resolution of the matter.

The plaintiffs are seeking an injunction to abate the alleged contamination and to force the airport to "take all precautions necessary to protect the health of the plaintiffs and class members," said a news release issued by Fognani.

The suit also asks the city of Denver to institute safeguards at the airport to find any adverse health effects caused by the allegedly hazardous environment.

The suit also seeks to establish a fund to administer a medical surveillance program allowing the plaintiffs to have periodic medical screening for early detection and treatment of health problems.