Monday, January 24, 2005

Air traffic controllers at Detroit airport say mold clean-up made them ill

By Dee-Ann Durbin / Associated Press

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DETROIT -- Air traffic controllers at Detroit Metropolitan Airport are planning to file a grievance with the Federal Aviation Administration over a mold problem that forced the evacuation of a control tower over the weekend, the president of the controllers' union said Monday.

Around a dozen air traffic controllers were evacuated from a tower for five hours Saturday after they were sickened by fumes from a chemical being used to remove mold, according to Vince Sugent, president of the Detroit branch of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.

The FAA ordered air traffic controllers to return to the tower at 7 p.m. Sugent said two air traffic controllers got sick after they returned.

"We believe the safety of the workers, the air traffic controllers and the flying public was jeopardized," Sugent said. "It's a huge, huge safety issue."

Detroit Metro spokesman Mike Conway referred questions to the FAA. FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro confirmed that the workers were moved to an older tower after the cleaning chemicals made them sick. He said the FAA tested the air in the tower and deemed it safe for the workers to return.

"Everyone has been working there since 7 p.m. Saturday night with no problem," Molinaro said.

Molinaro said the public never was in danger because flight arrivals and departures can be delayed and other facilities can handle flights that are in the air. There also were controllers on other floors of the tower who weren't affected by the chemicals and continued to work, Molinaro said. The mold was found on the fourth and ninth floors, but the workers who got sick were all on the top floor of the tower.

Molinaro said officials from the FAA were at the airport in Romulus Monday to investigate. He said the mold was gone, but Sugent disputed that. Sugent said a doctor hired by the union inspected the facility Sunday night and said the rooms that contained the mold weren't properly sealed off so the mold could have spread.

"There has been no air quality testing to see if the chemical is still around or where else the mold is," Sugent said.

Sugent said eight workers sought medical care after Saturday's incident and complained of vomiting, nausea, lightheadedness and respiratory distress.