Re: Mold Found in Second Miami Courthouse

[Guest guest]

Could it be that " Mold " is the common factor in Bad Air Quality?and

Bad Air Quality is what makes people sick?

--- In , " tigerpaw2c " <tigerpaw2c@...>

wrote:

>

> Mold Found in Second Miami Courthouse

> Problem in local courthouses first became public after judge's death

> Law.com (subscription) - San Francisco,CA*

> Pacenti

> Daily Business Review

> March 17, 2008

>

> http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1205491404497

>

> Another federal courthouse in Miami is riddled with mold, according

> to a private study last fall commissioned by the U.S Attorney's

> Office. The study found mold spores in the air throughout the

> Lawrence King building in downtown Miami. U.S. Attorney Acosta

> said March 10 he asked for the study after mold problems at the

Dyer

> Courthouse across the street became public last year following the

> unusual death in 2006 of a federal judge from a mysterious

pulmonary

> illness. Acosta said the study's report found " areas of concern "

> spread throughout the building. He said it was not unusual for one

> floor to be affected on one side more than the other.

>

> He also confirmed a small number of employees have complained about

> respiratory illness. Sources say some workers have chronic

> bronchitis. Acosta said the study -- which he did not release --

> recommended an upgrade of the building's air conditioning and

> humidity control system followed by the cleaning of the air

handling

> units and replacing insulation in air ducts.

>

> " I became concerned with the air quality in this building and

> thought it appropriate and necessary to protect our employees with

> our own assessment, " Acosta said. " This is a quality of life issue

> and it needs to get done. " Acosta said air purifiers -- purchased

> out of the U.S. Attorney's Office budget -- have been located in

the

> most problematic areas.

>

> Acosta referred questions about cost of the project to the General

> Services Administration, which acts as the government's landlord by

> renting out space in federal buildings.

>

> But GSA spokesman Mote didn't know about the King building

> study until told. He was able to confirm its existence with the

> GSA's environmental division but said he couldn't release it

without

> review.

>

> The company contracted to do the study of the King building was

Pure

> Air Control Service of Clearwater, Fla. The 12-story, 313,000

square-

> foot King building was built in 1993 at a cost of $39.5 million.

The

> building houses six district courts and three courtrooms of the

11th

> U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. It also is home to the U.S.

> Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida and the U.S.

> Marshals Service. In 1996, the courthouse was named for King, one

of

> the nation's longest serving federal jurists and a senior judge who

> maintains an active office with a full case load on the 11th floor.

>

> Acosta said the building has suffered water leaks for years, and

> like other courthouses in the district suffered damage during the

> hurricanes of 2004 and 2005.

>

> Acosta said he was cautiously optimistic after GSA picked a

> contractor for the first phase. " It's a quality of life issue, " he

> said. " This is something we have to stay in front of. "

>

> As a result, Acosta said he shared the results of the study with

> staff so if they need to they can share them with physicians.

>

> The report is just the latest blow to courthouses in downtown

Miami.

> There are three operational courthouses with a $60 million building

> sitting empty after a three-year delay due to a variety of

> contractual problems. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Federico

> Moreno said a certificate of occupancy has been issued and

technical

> services should move into the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. courthouse

this

> month.

>

> In mid-February, Moreno closed down the basement of the Dyer

> Courthouse which houses records and a stairwell used by judges

after

> receiving a new report from the Department of Health about the mold-

> ridden building. The report called a basement sump pump

> room " disgusting " and " infested with pests. "

>

> A leaking toilet in a gym used by Marshals deputies above the

> basement space is the cause of the suspected mold.

>

> Employees in the Dyer building, which was built in 1933, repeatedly

> complain about lung irritation, sneezing, coughing and runny noses.

> At least one employee works from home because of " poor indoor air

> quality and mold, " the Department of Health report stated.

>

> Meanwhile, a lawsuit moves forward on behalf of the family of the

> late U.S. Magistrate Judge Ted Klein, who died in 2006 and whose

> office was located on the second floor of the Dyer building. His

> family has sued the GSA to release records on the building's

> maintenance. Attorney Alan Goldfarb, of Goldfarb & Gold in Miami,

> who is representing the Klein family, said he worried that

> contaminated items from the Dyer Courthouse could be moved into the

> new courthouse.

>

> " This is a domino game they are stuck in, " Goldfarb said.

>

> GSA spokesman Mote said any materials from the Dyer or King

building

> moved into the Ferguson building will have to undergo

> decontamination.

>

> This was the case during the massive $3.7 million renovation at the

> West Palm Beach federal courthouse to rid it of mold. The cost

> included mold remediation, the cleaning of court furnishings and

> repairs due to a burst pipe, he said.

>