DETROIT, MI — Seventy employees of the Detroit Police Dept. were ordered to evacuate the seventh floor of the police headquarters after complaints of poor ventilation, leaky ceilings, mold, vermin, and pigeon droppings, according to a story published in theDetroit Free Press.

Michigan state officials were called in last December to investigate conditions but did not cite the police department. However, the department has asked the Detroit Health Dept. to test the seventh floor for possible health hazards, including toxic black mold. A spokesperson for the Detroit mayor’s office said there is no evidence of mold.

In the Free Press story, Magnus Ndukwe, an industrial hygienist for the state’s Department of Consumer and Industry Services, wrote in his report that the floor did not have a proper ventilation system. The report also stated that carbon dioxide levels indicated too little fresh air and that there was evidence of prior water leaks from an eighth floor restroom.

Publication date: 04/01/2002