Mold worries surface

[Guest guest]

CLEANUP SOUGHT | Employees at KC Police Headquarters say they are

sick too often

Mold worries surface

Workers contend that City Hall has ignored the issue for 17 months.

They hope for a resolution soon.

Kansas City Star - MO

By CHRISTINE VENDEL

The Kansas City Star

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/16562951.htm

Mold-contaminated ductwork at Kansas City Police Headquarters has

sickened some workers for more than a year, workers say, and the

problem may be worsening.

They contend that City Hall has ignored the issue for 17 months,

even though the city owns the 69-year-old building and is

responsible for maintaining it.

They point out that:

•Four different lab tests have confirmed higher-than-normal mold

levels on the building's fifth and sixth floors.

•Two contractors have recommended the ductwork be cleaned.

•Employees wrote memos in May and June 2005 documenting their

otherwise unexplainable symptoms. Police officials informed city

officials in August 2005.

This month, police officials said they thought the cleanup was

delayed because the city lacked money. But the city's former

facilities manager, Bob Lawler, said he didn't act because he

thought the issue lacked urgency.

" It's not like it's a serious health issue, unless a person is

particularly sensitive to that mold, " he said.

Lawler said he figured the ductwork could be cleaned or replaced

later as part of a long-term capital-improvement project, so he

filed away the paperwork. He left his post in August for another

city job.

Asked whether it was significant that eight of 12 employees in a

sixth-floor office suffered symptoms, Lawler said he had not been

told specifics about employees' health, only that some had

complained.

" It wasn't like they were taking people to the hospital, " he said.

Three fugitive unit employees have had nasal or sinus surgery, and

five others have visited doctors because of their symptoms.

Hearing that, Lawler said he may have made a mistake by ignoring the

problem. Yet he also questioned why police officials didn't push the

issue, move affected employees or find their own cleanup funds.

Police officials said the cleanup is the city's responsibility.

Lawler's successor was unaware of the issue until a Star reporter

called him this month.

After reviewing the paperwork, new facilities manager Rives

relayed through a spokesman that " he will immediately start looking

into it and try to solve the problem. "

Though saying the mold-spore count does not create a life-

threatening situation, spokesman Dennis Gagnon told a

reporter: " Thanks for bringing it to our attention. This is

something that needs to be dealt with. "

, who directs the allergy and immunity research

laboratory for Children's Mercy Hospital, said he was surprised the

city hadn't acted.

" The ductwork should be cleaned, " said after reviewing the

mold reports. " At some point it will get so bad no one will want to

be in there. "

Lower mold levels may only affect employees with mold allergies, he

said. But as the spore count grows — and it will, if left unchecked —

more employees could be affected.

" Someone's going to have to spend a few thousand dollars, but it

will be well worth it, " he said. " It's better than having someone on

disability. This can be a worker's compensation issue. "

Sixth-floor fugitive unit employees report varying symptoms.

Detective Mike said he has developed one sinus infection

after another.

Investigative Assistant Tasha said she suffers constant

head and chest congestion.

Detective Jana Swann's doctor told her to quit smoking to improve

her chronic bronchitis — but she has never smoked.

" I never feel well — not sick enough to stay home in bed, but I

always feel like I'm starting to get the flu, " she said.

The employees can't import fresh air, because the windows were

welded shut years ago when the area served as a detention area.

Detective Al Devalkenaere said his symptoms seemed to improve after

he left in 2002 for another unit. He now takes fewer sick days.

When employees first tried to determine what caused their symptoms,

they wondered about mysterious black specks that fell from air vents

onto their desks each day.

The specks also filter into an adjoining office for the media

relations unit. Jim Strahle, an employee there, grew tired of wiping

the residue off his desk. In 2005 he fashioned a catch pan under the

air vent using foam board suspended by four paperclips.

Strahle said he never noticed any health issues. His office mate,

Suzie McHale, however, said she suffers from allergies and

immediately noticed the mold after being hired in 2005.

" I always have a Kleenex with me, " she said, clutching a

tissue. " It's just not normal to have a low-grade headache all the

time. "

Fugitive unit employees pooled their money to test fleck samples in

May 2005. A lab concluded the flecks were insulation pieces from the

ductwork that were contaminated with mold, primarily aspergillus or

penicillium.

The unit supervisor, Sgt. Hargarten, wrote a May 2005 memo

titled " Possible hazardous working environment " and outlined

problems suffered by eight of the 12 employees.

" It is my opinion that this prevalence of these medical conditions,

in an otherwise healthy group of adults, is highly unusual, " he

wrote.

Within days, the department's crime lab confirmed the mold.

Hargarten wrote another memo asking the department to " urgently seek

the guidance and assistance of a professional mold remediator. "

Police officials hired an expert who concurred. They forwarded the

information to Lawler, who hired a duct-cleaning service to inspect

the building. The company recommended a " thorough cleaning " and

replacement of some ductwork.

Lawler did not pursue the issue or get a cost estimate.

Now, more than 20 months after the first memo was written, tiny

clumps of moldy insulation still dangle from sixth-floor air vents.

Last year, frustrated employees taped a sign outside their office

door that read: " Mold hazard. Enter at your own risk. "

A police official this month asked them to remove the sign.

Employees hope the city soon hires someone to remove the mold.

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