NV PUC's Office Building Reported to LEED for Ongoing Indoor Air Quality, Mold and Health Issues

LAS VEGAS - April 17, 2017 - PRLog -- Nevada's Public Utilities Commission (PUC) leases the entire second floor of a three-story Las Vegas building. This building was certified by LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) in May of 2010. The PUC was the initial tenant for the floor called into question.

The lack of attention to ongoing building water leaks resulted in a request submitted to the United States Green Building Council for review regarding the building's LEED Certification, on April 11, 2017. The request asked that LEED either remove the certification until this issue is properly addressed, or permanently remove them from LEED's certification listing. The Council received videos confirming the water allegations along with notifications to the PUC regarding this problem.

The building was sold on August 29, 2014. It is unknown whether the new owner was apprised of the water issue.

This building has come under scrutiny for ongoing water damage since October of 2012. While the public was being told the "water" issue was resolved, the same problem was noted again in March 2017. One ratepayer notified the PUC's General Counsel in 2013 about Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and mold issues, however, the problem lingers.

Since 2012 the PUC has been spraying either Lysol or an air freshener. When queried, why, reception-area employees stated that the room had a musty odor. These sprays can still be found in the PUC's receptionist's area. Within two years of completion this building had ongoing odor issues.

Currently, there is a note on the thermostat requesting that no one adjust the temperature. A couple of years ago, they discovered that at a certain lower temperature, there were water leaks in their main meeting room. This was disclosed by one of the PUC employees.

On March 29^th, the PUC's building manager was notified, who "passed" it off to someone else. The ultimate recipient was the same person who was notified in years' prior about this same issue. The current General Counsel, Garrett Weir, stated in an email "we have notified building management".

No testing or remediation has been done, only a replacement of the damaged ceiling tiles, a couple of years ago.

The area in question with the water intrusion suggests it is coming from the third floor of the building down into the second floor. There have been no verified reports of tenants on the third floor having problems.

There was an Open Records Request submitted on April 6^th, to the PUC. The PUC's response stated it would not provide any documents until June 1^st.

This building received a seven out of fourteen on their LEED score card for Indoor Environmental Quality.

Accessibility barriers, such as IAQ impacting human health, for a building that carries any level of LEED certification are extremely rare.

At this stage it is unknown whether any PUC employees are having ongoing "allergy/cold" like symptoms that are associated with the mycotoxins from mold.

REFERENCE:

http://www.usgbc.org/projects/lapour-corporate-center