Mold has judges fleeing the Newmarket courthouse and some employees too ill to come to work.
The union that represents many of the workers at the Eagle Street courthouse wants the 20-year-old building shut down until all the mold is removed.
"Nine of 10 people who work here have some symptoms," said Val Erwin, a steward with Local 310 of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, which represents about 167 workers at the courthouse.
Reported symptoms include dry eyes, headaches, rashes, coughs, tiredness and breathing problems.
Ms. Erwin, a court reporter, said she hopes a health survey, currently being conducted, will persuade the Ministry of Labour to close the building. "Mold spores are being transmitted throughout the building. It should be totally evacuated," she said.
The union has asked the ministry to shut down the building, but it has refused.
Ministry spokeswoman Belinda Sutton said an evacuation is not warranted at this time based on the ministry's own investigation of the mold problem. The cleanup should be completed by mid-July, she said.
Ms. Sutton said the ministry has used the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act to order the Ministry of the Attorney-General, which is the employer, to conduct a health survey. It has also ordered the Attorney-General's office and the Ontario Realty Corporation, which owns the building, to remove the mold.
Brendan Crawley, spokesman for the Attorney-General, said the ministry is doing everything possible to locate all of the mold and to remove it because "our primary concern is for the people who work and use the courthouse."
He said the ministry has set up three portables behind the courthouse for those employees who have been ordered by their doctors to stay out of the building and for any workers with health concerns.
Mr. Crawley said the ministry has held meetings to keep staff at the courthouse apprised of what is happening and has set up an information desk where staff can obtain information.
The health survey, which was prepared jointly by the union and the Attorney-General's office, was sent to 288 people who work at the courthouse, including Crown attorneys and police officers. The questionnaire asked recipients to rate their recent health problems, as well as the quality of air, heat and air-conditioning in their work area. The results should be available by July 21, Mr. Crawley said.
At least nine defence lawyers have also complained of symptoms, Ms. Erwin said.
Small signs on the doors of the only open entrance to the building inform everyone that there is a mold problem and that a cleanup is under way.
Some parts of the building are closed off, and some services are being accommodated in makeshift offices.
Ms. Erwin said mold was discovered last November, although the air quality has always been poor.
The mold is more prevalent in office areas, but four courtrooms were temporarily closed so that mold could be removed. Mold has been found on all four levels of the building. Water leaking through windows and the roof over the years is the culprit, Ms. Erwin said.
Mold has even been found in five judicial chambers, including the office of Mr. Justice William Gorewich. He told a courtroom on Tuesday that his office is being torn apart tile by tile and that he is having problems locating needed materials that are packed in boxes scattered throughout the building.
Ms. Erwin said some judges are refusing to come to the building. One judge moved staff and the case north to the Barrie courthouse on Monday after suffering his second nose bleed, she said.
The building was rebricked about five years ago at a cost of about $4.3-million when it was discovered there was no vapour barrier, Ms. Erwin said.