Sarcoidosis study lags legislative session

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Saturday, October 13Sarcoidosis study lags legislative session

NEAL GOSWAMI, Staff Writer

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BENNINGTON — A health report on the Bennington state office complex will be

delivered later than originally expected, but state officials say it is unlikely

to prevent them from taking action during the upcoming legislative session.

Officials have been waiting for a diagnostic report from the National Institute

of Occupational Safety and Health to determine what to do with the state office

complex on Veterans Memorial Drive. The state moved about 135 employees out of

the complex and into temporary offices earlier this year.

The report is not expected to be completed until March, according to state

epidemiologist Dr. Cort Lohff.

At least six past and present workers at the complex have been diagnosed with

the rare disease sarcoidosis. Many other employees have complained of

respiratory ailments.

State officials must now determine what will be done with the building. Gov.

and Department of Buildings and Generals Services Commissioner

Gerry Myers have said they would like to refurbish the building.

The state hired Building Science & Design, an environmental testing

firm, to determine the cause of the employees'ailments. A final report issued by

stated that boiler soot had been circulating through the building by the

heating and cooling system.

NIOSH has also tested the building, collecting samples of bacteria and fungus

Those tests are not yet complete, however, and thus the final report has been

delayed, according to Lohff.

" They have been able to complete some of those tests but other tests are still

going on. Part of that has to do with the bacterium they are trying to isolate

takes several weeks or months to grow out, which is why they are telling us it

might be until March, " Lohff said.

The state Department of Health has received some preliminary information from

NIOSH, but Lohff said it was premature to discuss those findings.

" We really need to wait for the final report for the results and to

interpret the results, " he said.

But an interim report, available in November, will be sent to the

governor's office and the Legislature. That report

will be sufficient to make a determination about the building, according to

Lohff.

" We don't feel we necessarily need to have the full results back before we put

something out there. The report that we put out there should be adequate to

determine what has to be done with the building, " Lohff said. " We do feel that

will be useful report for their purposes. "

Myers said he would like to see BGS, and the Legislature make a

decision about the building when the interim report

is available.

" I believe that we absolutely have to deal with this to the best of our ability

this legislative session, " Myers said. " We can't go into this legislative

session with 130-odd people not knowing what their lives are going to be like. "

He said the modular units housing employees now may not be suitable after

winter.

" Getting those people out of the temporary buildings as soon as possible is my

priority, " Myers said. " We're already seeing that we've got issues and we

haven't even been through a winter yet. "

The state has four choices the state can make once the NIOSH information is

presented, said Myers. It can apply the recommendations on altering the building

presented by for about $9 million, gut the complex to its core and

rebuild, demolish just the older section of the building or demolish the entire

complex.

A task force created by the Legislature is looking into a downtown site to

construct new office space if the NIOSH report finds the building to be

uninhabitable. A conceptual design presented to the task force had a cost of

about $18 million.

Myers said if the state were to raze the state office complex and rebuild on

the site it would cost between $18 and $20 million.

But Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, said the interim report will need to contain

clear evidence that the health problems suffered by employees will not occur

again before he, and likely other legislators, are comfortable making a decision

about what to do with the complex.

" From my perspective, unless they can convince us that you're not going to have

more sarcoidosis from that building, I don't think I can go along with that

plan, " Sears said. " It would be an amazing thing to me if the reports come up

with a solution for sarcoidosis. "

Sarcoidosis is a rare disease of unknown origin that is characterized by

inflammation in one or more organs.

Sears said and BGS will need to use money from the state's capital

budget, which is being eyed for several projects. Securing money to refurbish

the old complex or to construct a new one will be challenging, he said.

" There's a lot of people going after what this year will be a $54 million pie.

If you were to say that over the next two years we're going to take $20 million

to build a building downtown, you're competing with a lot of things, " Sears

said.

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