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Tuesday, March 21, 2006

City defends repairs to Marine Terminal

By TOM BELL, Portland Press Herald Writer

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Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

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A consultant hired by Portland officials has determined that the city's $1.3

million effort to repair the International Marine Terminal has addressed all

concerns about toxic mold.

" The repairs and restoration have made this building relatively watertight,

and there haven't been any problems since then, " said Mark , president

of Environmental Safety and Hygiene in Westbrook.

is critical of a National Institute for Occupational Safety and

Health report that says the city has removed much of the visible mold in the

building but has never fixed the underlying water-leakage problems.

The NIOSH report is based on an inspection that was done a year ago, when

the city was in the middle of fixing the building, said. He said the

agency never returned to re-examine the building.

" It's not a true representation of the big picture, " said of the

report.

The Boston Globe ran a story on Saturday about the report, under the

headline " Portland fails to fix sea terminal. "

Portland officials held a press conference at the terminal on Monday to

voice their complaints about the Globe article, which said that the terminal

remains closed, costing the region's economy millions of dollars in tourism

revenue.

City Manager Joe Gray said the terminal is fully leased and occupied by

several companies, including Bay Ferries, which plans to begin ferry service to

Nova Scotia in two months.

Many of the ferry's prospective passengers live in Massachusetts, and Gray

said he's worried that Globe readers will cancel their plans to ride the ferry

this summer.

" The tourism industry is a vital part of Portland's economy, " Gray said,

" and we simply cannot stand idly by when misinformation is presented to the

public as fact. "

The Boston Globe is looking into the assertions of Portland officials, said

Caffrey, a business editor at the newspaper.

NIOSH gave the city a copy of the 26-page preliminary report in October. A

final version containing additional technical information is expected to be

released within a few weeks, a spokesman for the agency said Monday.

The preliminary report, which is based on a March 2005 inspection, said

extensive water damage and mold found in the terminal is the type that can lead

to respiratory illness.

Elevated levels of toxic mold caused Scotia Prince Cruises to evacuate the

building in August 2004. The ferry company, which canceled the 2005 season, is

now suing the city for $160 million in damages, according to Gray. The city

and the ferry company are in arbitration.

The NIOSH inspection of the terminal occurred March 9 through March 11,

2005.

On April 6, Scotia Prince Cruises faxed a letter to the city that said it

would cancel the 2005 season because the city had failed to fix the mold

problems at the terminal, according to Mark Hudson of Scotia Prince Cruises.

Later that day, Portland officials said they had terminated the Scotia

Prince's docking lease and would seek other tenants.

's company examined the terminal in May, September and December. In

December, the firm found some mold associated with a soiled carpet. The carpet

has since been removed.

Staff Writer Tom Bell can be contacted at 791-6369 or at:

_tbell@..._ (mailto:tbell@...)

Reader Comments

Post your comments

Mulvey son of Boston, MA

Mar 21, 2006 9:57 PM

I am so very sick and tired of property owners ignoring the horrendous

health effects of exposure to mold and not taking it seriously. You have to

find

the source of the water infiltration and fix it before you can claim that you

cleaned up a building or home. Cleaning, or attempting to clean up mold but

failing to stop the water is a waste of time and money. People get sick from

mold exposure and no one has the right to harm people's health. If you don't

think mold can hurt you, just follow the money. Drug companies, building

materials and cleaning products manufacturers are introducing new products

quite

regularly now addressing mold's harm. They know that mold problems need to be

faced and they stand to make a lot of money doing just that. Perhaps the

owner of this property should take note.