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Black mold forces evacuation of state offices
By Mary Lynne Vellinga - Bee Staff Writer
Published 5:52 pm PDT Tuesday, October 2, 2007
The state Board of Equalization has cleared employees out of two floors of its downtown high-rise headquarters after finding mold growing in the walls.
The 22nd and 23rd floors of the 24-story building at 450 N St. are off limits to everyone but construction workers, according to a memo sent to BOE staff members Monday.
Beth Mills, a spokeswoman for the state Department of General Services, said the mold found last week between two layers of Sheetrock includes Stachybotrys chartarum, the "black mold" that has been the subject of numerous legal claims and reports of illness nationwide.
BOE officials said they cleared the two floors because they discovered the mold during a repainting job. But an attorney pointed out that the move came less than two weeks after he filed claims on behalf of four BOE employees who say they've been sickened by working in the building, and that BOE management has covered up problems stemming from extensive water leakage into the high-rise.
If the state denies the claims, the workers intend to file lawsuits against the state, said the lawyer, Anthony Perez.
Perez said he had been contacted by dozens of BOE employees, some of whom have taken leaves of absence or are telecommuting because of respiratory and other health problems that they blame on their workplace.
Board of Equalization spokeswoman Anita Gore, who was moving from her 23rd floor office Tuesday, said the building is safe for workers.
"We have had this building's air tested and tested for mold spores, and the air quality has tested normal," she said.
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