Back To Business At Coral Gables Courthouse
CORAL GABLES (CBSMiami) – It's back to business at the Coral Gables Courthouse which opened its doors Thursday for the first time after being closed for nearly two weeks.
The courthouse was evacuated and shutdown on October 21st, after seven employees were hospitalized with sore throats, irritated eyes and runny noses. It still unclear what caused the employees to get sick.
"We're just hoping everything is going to be okay," said Clerk Irma Moore.
The trouble started after the courthouse was fumigated for termites on October 8th.
The building was cleared a couple of days later by Bug Busters Incorporated and the County so employees could return to work.
But 9 days later, fire rescue rushed to the building after employees said they were sick.
Thursday, the County Health Department said they tested the building 4 times after the scare and the main chemical used, Vikane gas, was not found.
"According to our expert that we consulted, he felt that there could have still been some pockets of gas," said Dr. Vince Conte of the Miami-Dade County Health Department.
The possible gas is called Chloropicrin gas. It was used with the Vikane and is supposed to dissipate within 48 hours of use.
The health department said it likely was a very low, non-lethal or non-toxic concentration that could have remained after the building was fumigated and ventilated.
"It certainly caused anxiety because you're not feeling well, you're wondering what's going on with the building and on top of that you have to cancel, reschedule and worry about coming back to thousands of pending files that you need to work on," said Judge Nuria Saenz.
The county health department said the building is now safe so courthouse employees are now scrambling to catch up on two weeks of lost time.
"We have thousands and thousands of active files," said Judge Saenz. "Not being able to get to those files and sign those documents for two weeks is a challenge and causing some delays."
In all, 26 employees have filed claims with the risk management division of the county's internal services department.
