I Don't Feel Well Going To Work

[Guest guest]

" I Don't Feel Well Going To Work "

MIAMI (CBS4) ¯Miami,FL*

http://cbs4.com/local/Miami.courthouse.federal.2.653032.html

All is not well with Miami's downtown federal courthouse complex. In

fact, one of the buildings itself may be sick.

A brand new 14-story federal courthouse in downtown Miami is

surrounded by a chain-link fence, still unoccupied three years after

the date it was supposed to open. Cost to U.S. taxpayers: $163

million so far, way beyond the original $100 million budget.

Across the street is the historic limestone courthouse first opened

in 1933, and there are reports of possibly hazardous mold in the

building, raising questions whether the fungus caused or contributed

to a magistrate judge's unexpected death in September 2006 from a

respiratory illness.

The judge's children also may file a wrongful death lawsuit,

depending on the results of a new expert analysis of the mold's

health risks.

The mold is " a huge, huge problem, " attorney Alan Goldfarb told the

Associated Press. His law firm is representing the children of late

Magistrate Judge Theodore Klein, 66, who had been in good health, an

avid skier and jogger.

Miami's federal court has long been one of the nation's busiest.

Its recent high-profile criminal cases include the trial of al-Qaida

operative Padilla and the fraud conviction of once-powerful

Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Drug kingpins, money launderers,

Latin American dictators like Panama's Noriega and corrupt

politicians have been on the dockets over the years.

The heavy caseload led Congress in 1998 to approve construction of

the new courthouse, built to resemble a ship gliding among a series

of grassy hills that look like waves. The lawn waves' sculptor was

Maya Lin, known for designing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in

Washington.

Delays has plagued the project, known formally as the Willkie D.

Ferguson Jr. U.S. Courthouse, including major electrical problems,

water damage from hurricanes and a dispute between the building's

owner, the General Services Administration, and its main

contractor.

The Miami federal court clerk, Steve Larimore, said in an interview

that some courtrooms still don't have viable sound and video

capabilities necessary for trials and hearings.

So a state-of-the-art building originally scheduled to open in 2005

remains unused. Larimore and GSA officials say the new target is for

full occupancy in gradual steps by the end of this year.

The inability to open the new courthouse effectively means more

people have had to work longer in the old courthouse, a Spanish-

Mediterranean Revival structure built from Florida Keys stone that

is officially named the W. Dyer building.

Goldfarb and fellow attorneys Liah Catanese and Leto along

with a team of environmental experts spent three days in early

February checking for mold throughout the Dyer building.

The experts wore masks and protection suits and occasionally asked

the attorneys to leave because of concerns about the mold they

encountered. Mold has been linked to asthma, allergies, respiratory,

skin and eye problems and lung infections, according to the Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention.

Mold, mold spores, water damage and peeling paint are apparent on

all three floors and the basement of the building, including the

area once occupied by Klein, according to their preliminary

findings. It will take another two or three weeks for the analysis

to determine the type of mold and whether is it hazardous to human

health.

Previous studies conducted on the Dyer building have also found

elevated levels of mold in some places, resulting in the gutting of

certain rooms, changes to air conditioning and filtration systems

and other work. One study, commissioned in 2006 after Klein became

ill, suggested that his sickness " could be attributed to exposure to

molds. "

Several court employees have complained about allergies, nosebleeds

and other health problems, but none would comment to The AP on the

record. One longtime employee who would speak only on condition of

anonymity because he is not authorized to talk about the issue said

many people are " terrified " about the mold problem and upset that

the building is in such poor condition.