The air traffic controllers union said that the mold, detected on at least two floors of the building, may have already caused allergic reactions, such as itchy eyes and coughing, that could hinder controllers on the job.
The Federal Aviation Administration, which employs air traffic controllers and is in charge of the tower, said there is mold on the fourth and ninth floors of the building. But the mold has not been detected in the top floor where controllers work, said FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Corey.
Vince Sugent, who represents local members of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said he is not convinced that mold hasn't spread. The union through its own tests found mold in its 10th-floor office.
"We can't use our union office. They're telling us that it hadn't even spread from (the fourth and ninth) floors, but we found it on the 10th floor," Sugent said.
Sugent said at least 15 air traffic controllers have recently complained of stuffy noses and dry or itchy eyes. But there is no way to directly connect those symptoms to the mold.
Still, in numerous grievances filed with the FAA last month, the union has asked the agency to reimburse its members for over-the-counter medicine used to treat symptoms and to pay for sinus and chest X-rays for the next five years to detect long-term effects from the mold.
One form of the mold detected in the tower is called Stachybotrys, or what is often referred to as toxic mold.
One metro Detroit doctor said the air traffic controllers should be concerned.
"People can feel lousy when they're inhaling in those molds," said Dr. Michael Harbut, chief at the Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine in Royal Oak. "Mold environments make people sick. Period. We may not know exactly how. We may not know exactly why. But anybody who has ever walked into a damp basement or a dirt cellar or a wet flooded environment knows that they can feel pretty ill quickly."
Michigan U.S. Reps. John (Joe) Schwarz, John Dingell and Joe Knollenberg are among nine members of Congress who signed a letter dated March 1 to FAA Administrator Marion Blakey asking when the administration plans to remove the mold and whether it has spread since it was discovered in September.
"You need to have a workplace environment that is free of environmental contaminants, whatever they might be," Schwarz said.
FAA spokesman Paul Turk said of the letter, "We will be responding to it with a very complete answer as soon as we can. We do have a great deal of information of what was done and when."
Schwarz said he did not feel the mold problem posed a safety risk to travelers.
The FAA detected the mold in September during its annual safety inspection of the tower.
Sugent said some of the mold is still visible and the FAA hasn't done enough to deal with the problem. He said that air traffic controllers aren't allowed to take decongestants because of the potential side effects. He argues that the FAA should be just as worried about reactions to the mold.
"We're a safety-oriented business, and they haven't done anything," Sugent said.
But Corey said the FAA has spent $15,900 to correct the problem, and is in the process of trying to find the source of the moisture that is causing the mold.
She also said the FAA has paid for the removal of some of the mold, mainly what was found on parts of the walls on the fourth and ninth floors that were stripped of their two outer layers, as contractors inspected the tower.
Sugent said he hasn't seen much action on the issue. He said mold could be seen on those walls as recently as last week. The FAA would not allow media into the tower, citing security reasons.
The mold appears to have started growing in two unventilated storage rooms and has spread to the hallways. Those rooms are near the tower's elevator shaft, which Harbut said could help it spread.
Part of the clean-up has been rocky for controllers, who had to evacuate the control tower in January after a chemical was sprayed in the elevator shaft and the infested floors. Controllers complained of lightheadedness and headaches, prompting the evacuation.
The air traffic controllers on duty that day were evacuated for about five hours and worked out of an older control tower until later that evening.
Sugent said a meeting of local FAA and union officials is slated to discuss the issue.
