"I don't know anyone who hasn't been affected" by the mold, local union president Donna Cole said, adding illnesses have struck most of the two dozen controllers on staff in the GRR tower.
 
Cole herself has suffered pneumonia four times in the past 10 years -- which she blames on mold.
 
Controllers asked the FAA to conduct a "sick building" survey more than two years ago, Cole said. The agency did not respond. Complaints of mold, asbestos, and other hazards present in the GRR tower were heard by a US House subcommittee on working conditions at the nation's ATC facilities.
 
Mold is a growing problem at several FAA facitilies. As ANN reported findings of significant mold concentrations in the busy Atlanta Air Route Traffic Control Center (ZTL) two weeks ago resulted in a work stoppage by a contractor hired to perform unrelated work on the facility's ventilation system (they've since returned to work.)
 
Last year, controllers in the tower at Detroit Metro complained the FAA hadn't done enough to stop a black mold outbreak there.
As is the case at ZTL, controllers in Grand Rapids say a leaky roof is to blame for the mold outbreak.
 
Complaints of illnesses similar to allergic reactions coincide with renovations done at the tower about 10 years ago, Cole said. The roof at the facility started leaking immediately; controllers catch leaking water in garbage cans, she added.
Cole wants a new building to replace the 45-year-old tower. "It's a really scary situation," she said. "We're afraid for our health. It's very difficult for families when you're sick so much."
 
The FAA responds it is spending $400,000 to fix leaks -- including adding a new roof -- and is sealing off a floor that contains asbestos.
FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory told the paper the closure of the radar facility -- which handles approach and departure duties within 30 miles of the airport -- would have a "minimal" impact on operations at GRR.
 
"We don't see where this could cause a delay for the flying public," Cory said.

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