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![TMCNet: Asbestos fears, space shortage a trial for U.S. Attorney's office [Connecticut Post, Bridgeport]](http://images.tmcnet.com/siteart/invisible.gif)
Asbestos fears, space shortage a trial for U.S. Attorney's office [Connecticut Post, Bridgeport]
(Connecticut Post (Bridgeport) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jul. 5--BRIDGEPORT -- It's been studied, analyzed and managed for the past 28 years.
There have been plans, projects and promises -- some completed, others not.
Through all this the issue of cancer-causing asbestos used in the 1966 construction of the Brien McMahon Federal Building on Lafayette Boulevard remains a concern to workers.
So much so that the U.S. Attorney's office, with its 20 employees, is moving out.
"We're looking for 8,000 square feet of space, with the potential to expand to 10,000 square feet," said Assistant U.S. John Hughes, chief of the civil division in Connecticut and head of the relocation committee. "We would like to be as close as possible to the courthouse, hopefully within three to four blocks."
For several years, members of the U.S. Attorney's office expressed concern about health hazards posed by what they say is flaking asbestos. Some claim to have found suspected asbestos dust on their desks and the floors following maintenance work.
But the General Services Administration, an independent government agency that manages and maintains the country's federal buildings, disputes those claims.
"Our quarterly testing of air samples have shown no asbestos particles disseminating from the ceiling, floor or fireproofing materials," said Paula Santangelo, a GSA spokesman. "All air sample tests resulted in readings well below the Occupational Safety and Health Administration permissible exposure limit for
asbestos on all floors of the building."
Still, Hughes said the asbestos issue "pops up" every time renovations are considered for the U.S. Attorney's office, particularly when floors, ceilings or walls are cut to provide electrical and telephone line requirements for new technology. Most recently, it happened last fall with plans to remodel, carpet and paint the office.
The concerns became so great that acting U.S. Attorney Nora Dannehy allowed Bridgeport staffers to work out of the New Haven office.
"Some of them came here," he said.
The decision to move came last month during a meeting in Boston with representatives from the GSA, the U.S. Department of Justice's Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys and the U.S. Attorney's office in Connecticut.
"It was a very cordial meeting," Hughes said. "We talked about our concerns, our needs and finding new space. The big issue was whether that space would be permanent or temporary."
The government requires federal agencies to remain in federal buildings if there is sufficient space.
But Hughes said with the Bridgeport office growing in terms of staff and technological needs, "it didn't make much sense to spend all the money" moving out, renovating both the old and temporary offices only to move back.
"So they're going to let us move permanently," he said.
Santangelo confirmed Friday her agency will begin seeking leased space once it receives the required specifications for a new U.S. Attorney's office.
"We'll proceed with some preliminary pre-lease actions such as a market survey to identify what space is available in the area," she said.
Both she and Hughes expect the process to take 12 to 18 months.
"This works well for both GSA and the U.S. Attorney's Office since their requirements have expanded beyond what we can effectively provide in the federal building," Santangelo said. "GSA will be able to abate the vacated U.S. Attorney's office space and use it as swing space for other tenants to relocate to during renovations within their space ..."
The U.S. Attorney's office joins the FBI and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration as tenants who left the building in the past decade.
But the health concern remains for the federal employees left behind.
The Brien McMahon Federal Building, located on land at State Street and Lafayette Boulevard that the government bought for $342,745 in 1965, was constructed for $3.3 million. Workers used asbestos, a fibrous mineral, as fireproofing on steel beams, underneath concrete floors and in glue on floor tiles. The construction of suspended ceilings in all the offices prevents direct contact with the mineral.
While the building opened in 1968, it wasn't until asbestos was linked to causing lung cancer that concerns were raised.
Since the first air sample taken in 1981, there have been nearly three decades of sampling, testing and inspecting
In 1983, GSA identified the building as the 14th worst on a 1983 list of 44 buildings with flaking asbestos. A GSA specialist recommended a floor-by-floor shutdown to remove or encapsulate asbestos.
In February 1984, GSA advised U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd it would cost $1.3 million to remove all the asbestos from the building, replace the fireproofing and temporarily relocate the employees. They were hoping to accomplish the job, which needed congressional approval, by 1990.
But the project was cancelled.
An undated report prepared by Peter Smith of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration claims that vibration and renovation work could cause asbestos to flake off and lodge itself on pipes, electrical work and the underside of the suspended ceiling tiles.
"Everyone knows it's there," said Hughes. "But it's not like there's a whole blanket covering the ceiling tiles."
Smith maintains in his report "if the tiles are undisturbed direct office worker exposure is limited. If the ceiling tiles are disturbed large fibers would fall to the office below ..."
Hughes said the U.S. Attorney's office has photographs of these little pieces.
Smith further wrote that "smaller fibers may become airborne and be drawn into the return air system." He described the air-conditioning system's workings as involving a large basement fan that creates "a slight vacuum in the cavity between the suspended ceilings and the asbestos-coated floor above."
But that hasn't happened, according to the air tests.
Even Hughes admitted that an air sampling analysis and visual inspection by OSHA in October, at his office's request, came back well within their limits.
"Their tests show there is no problem with anyone breathing it in," he said.
But another report said "air samples can't be used as a reliable indication of whether or not the presence of asbestos constitutes a hazard ... Theoretically one asbestos fiber can be hazardous."
So GSA began using more efficient filters in its air conditioning system. It will collect air samples quarterly and conduct inspections annually. It even purchased a portable containment unit that can be used on weekends and after hours for repair work.
GSA said workers remediated or encapsulated most of the asbestos on the fourth floor where three federal courtrooms, judicial chambers and the clerk's office sit.
Similar work took place during renovations of the grand jury meeting room and the U.S. Diplomatic Services office on the third floor; the U.S. Probation office, the corridor and U.S. Marshals Service office on the second floor and the U.S. Bankruptcy courtroom and its core offices on the first floor.
Additionally, Santangelo said there is no asbestos in the $4.2 million courtroom and office annex completed in 1991. Workers removed asbestos from the connection portions of the two buildings.
"The affected areas have been clearly identified and a management plan is in place as part of the building's operations and maintenance program," Santangelo said.
Asbestos timeline for Brien McMahon Federal Building 1965: Federal government buys land at State Street and Lafayette Boulevard for $342,745 as part of State Street redevelopment project. 1966: $3.3 million construction of Brien McMahon Federal Building begins. It opens in 1968. March 1981: General Service Administration, an independent government agency, conducts the first tests to determine the concentration of asbestos fibers in office space air. The tests come back within OSHA standards. May 1, 1983: GSA identifies the building as the 18th worst on a list of 44 buildings to have flaking asbestos that could endanger the health of employees. May 31, 1983: Porter D. Leighton, GSA's acting regional administrator tells Louis J. Komondy, then chief of the U.S. courts space and facilities branch, that GSA would like to remove all the asbestos from the Bridgeport building, "but for many reasons it can't be done." Instead he proposes to enclose the sprayed on asbestos fireproofing in the courtrooms behind a suspending ceiling making the amount of airborne particles "negligible." July 1983: Exposed asbestos in electrical, telephone and mechanical closets is encapsulated. Aug. 10, 1983: asbestos removal project begins in the two fourth floor courtrooms. Aug. 17, 1983: GSA specialist recommends a floor-by-floor shutdown of the building so all the asbestos can be removed or enclosed. Feb. 9, 1984: GSA advises U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd that it would cost at least $1.3 million to remove all the asbestos from the Bridgeport building, replace the fireproofing and relocate the occupants. They also inform the senator such projects usually take years for Congressional approval. Anticipated completion date is 1990. April 1, 1984: Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning ducts are replaced and suspended ceilings are constructed in various parts of the building. Feb. 28, 1985: HUB Testing Laboratories in Waltham, Mass., confirms in air samples that asbestos fibers are still present in the building but have not decreased or increased in numbers. March 19, 1987: GSA informs tenants the asbestos removal project is cancelled. April 14 and 22, 1987: Industrial Health and Safety Consultants, of Shelton, maintains vibration caused by the air-conditioning equipment could result in the release of asbestos particles into the air return system. It notes this presents "a significant hazard to the building occupants when the air conditioning system is operational." Nov. 17, 1987: Advanced Engineering Associates International of Waltham, Mass., reports 15 air samples show fibers present in the air but not at unsafe levels. They find no deterioration of the asbestos fireproofing. 1996-2008: Asbestos is removed or encapsulated in several office remodeling projects. October 2008: Air tests show fibers well below Occupational and Safety Health Administration standards. June 17, 2009: U.S. Attorney's office receives permission to move.
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