The air-traffic controllers who manage one of the nation's busiest air spaces say their building just outside metro Atlanta is making them sick.

A fungus called scopulariopsis, which can cause everything from sinus problems to lung infections, was recently discovered beneath the raised floor of Atlanta Center near Hampton where 290 controllers and about 130 trainees work. The fungus is in an area where air is blown to cool cables and communications equipment.

Federal Aviation Administration officials, who oversee the center, said they have taken immediate steps to control the fungus and are now working on a long-term plan to clean up the building.

"We don't know what steps will have to be taken for cleanup," said regional FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen. "We cannot move to another building because the air-traffic control equipment is in that building."

Atlanta Center controls high-altitude air-traffic for Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee and Alabama, said Calvin Phillips, president of the local air-traffic controller's union. The center's controllers handle about 3 million flight operations a year.

"People come to work and soon as they walk in the building their noses starts running," Phillips said. "A lot of people are complaining of headaches and coughing."

The FAA and the controllers, who have been locked in a long-standing contract battle, differ on the current status of mold abatement at the center.

Bergen said her agency has already taken steps to protect controllers' health. She said public health officials will brief controllers later this week about findings from a survey of the mold problem.

"We have conducted air testing, and it has had negative results except in one case where we had positive results when some floor tiles were raised," she said.

Bergen said the tiles are now being kept in a stationary position and air temperatures and humidity beneath the floor have been lowered to mitigate the fungus.

"We've taken interim steps to make sure employees are not at risk and we are finalizing plans to clean the system and remove the mold," she said.

Phillips, however, said employees are still getting sick, while controllers wait for the agency to clean the building.
"The building is old and it's loaded with mold," Phillips said. "We want it fixed."

http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/stories/2007/10/09/mold_1010.html
 
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