For the second time in four years, the Federal Aviation Administration is attempting to remove mold from inside the control tower at Kansas City International Airport.

The latest efforts began earlier this month and should be completed by Wednesday, said FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Cory. The control tower’s elevator shaft, elevator lobbies and stairwells are the only areas of the facility that still need to be cleaned, she said.

But the recurrence of mold problems concerns the air traffic controllers who work there, said Kevin Peterson, the local representative for the union that represents the controllers. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association has been at odds with FAA management over various issues, particularly labor negotiations that have been at an impasse since last year.

Peterson questioned the FAA’s ability to remove the mold and noted that similar mold problems have occurred at control towers elsewhere.

Over the past several years, Peterson said, numerous controllers have suffered unexplained illnesses.
“When you find out you have been working in a mold-infested building for the past four to five years, it makes you start to wonder how many of these illnesses were caused by mold,” he said.

Peterson and other controllers association officials contend that the FAA’s cleanup at the KCI control tower is not following industry standards, but Cory disagreed.

Peterson and the others cited examples, among them that building materials in two rooms are being removed without proper decontamination procedures; dusty environmental conditions inside containment areas; porous building materials being wiped down with detergent rather than being removed; and the contractor choosing the detergents.
Peterson said the union, which wants to bring in its own environmental experts, has not been invited to meetings about the mold removal.

Cory said all the work is following guidelines established by the New York City Department of Health, which is regarded as the industry standard.

Also, an independent certified industrial hygienist is overseeing the contractor’s work, she said.
Cory added that the FAA revised its remediation plan for the control tower in March after the controllers association made several recommendations.

So far, the current mold-removal job has cost about $180,000, Cory said. The last attempt to remove mold at the tower, which finished in 2004, cost $86,225.

After the work is completed, Cory said, the FAA will periodically inspect the control tower and look for any signs of mold or moisture.

“Our goal,” she said, “is to stay on top of this.”

http://www.kansascity.com/115/story/333633.html

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