Mold Found in Second Miami Courthouse
John Pacenti
Daily Business Review
03-17-2008
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 James
Lawrence King building in downtown Miami. U.S. Attorney Alex 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 Gary 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.
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