Posted on: Friday, October 11, 2002

Mold displaces Inouye's office

By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Honolulu office of U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye at the Prince Kuhio Federal Building is being temporarily moved while mold infestation there is being cleaned up.

Inouye's office on the seventh floor of the federal building will be closed today and will be reopen Tuesday on the fifth floor, said Jennifer Sabas, Inouye spokeswoman.

"We should have our phone lines and computers up and running by Tuesday," Sabas said.

The office's mailing address, phone and fax numbers will remain the same.

The temporary relocation of Inouye's office is the latest problem in the federal building and courthouse complex on Ala Moana Boulevard. Earlier, mold was found at the childcare facility and the chambers of federal Magistrate Leslie Kobayashi.

The mold problem is linked to Hawai'i humidity and the federal building's aging air conditioning system. It would cost about $10 million to replace the entire ventilation system at the estimated 500,000-square-foot facility, said General Services Administration spokeswoman Esther Timberlake of San Francisco.

GSA will request federal money next year to replace the building ventilation system, she said.

"You have to remember that this building is over 20 years old, so the ventilation system eventually has to be replaced," Timberlake said. "If we can get a new system, that would permanently solve the mold problem, but for now, we'll have to be vigilant on any future mold."

Timberlake said there have been no reports of employees becoming ill because of the mold problem at the federal building.

The mold cleanup at Inouye's office is expected to take about 60 days and includes the repair of the air conditioning system, and replacement of ceiling and carpets, she said.

The childcare center already has been cleaned at a cost of $33,000, Timberlake said. Cleanup costs for Inouye and Kobayashi's area have yet to be determined.

"We have put the cleanup projects out to bid," said Timberlake, who estimated it will cost about $25,000 to temporarily move Inouye's office.

The cleanup of Kobayashi's area will also take 60 days and should begin in a few weeks, she said.

Inouye's staff on Aug. 1 noticed wet and stained ceiling tiles in their office. Inspectors checked the tiles and found mold above it, Timberlake said.

Mold was also found in another room in Inouye's office and in the air conditioning ducts, she said.

The mold issue has been on the forefront since Hilton Hawaiian Village said in July that it shut down its Kalia Tower, where contamination has left millions of dollars worth of items in ruins.

Hilton officials have estimated it will cost at least $10 million to destroy and replace every piece of furniture, carpeting and wall covering in all of its 453 guest rooms.

Timberlake said the Hilton's problems reflect the complexity of battling the mold problem in a generally-used area.

"Despite what some people say, we simply can't use Clorox on all of the mold infestation problems," Timberlake said. "Wall panels, ceiling tiles and furniture may have to be replaced."

Crews have also used a special vacuum cleaner to get rid of the mold.