The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Miami field office. | AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee $750K sculpture sickened FBI workers in Miami

TALLAHASSEE — The hulking wooden sculpture titled “Cedrus” weighed more than 15,000 pounds and stood 17 feet tall, stretching from the lobby to the second floor of the FBI’s field office in Miami.

Made of Western red cedar imported from Vancouver, the massive artwork was actually 30 individual wooden pieces built to resemble a tornado. It was designed by Ursula von Rydingsvard, an artist known for making sculptures from wood beams.


The General Services Administration, an independent agency of the U.S. government that, among other things, leases office space to federal agencies, contracted with von Rydingsvard to create the site-specific sculpture for the Miami office, which the FBI leases.

The sculpture, installed early last year, didn’t last long.

Shortly after "Cedrus" arrived, FBI workers began getting sick, including at least a dozen who were hospitalized, according to hundreds of documents reviewed by POLITICO Florida. Most suffered allergic reactions to cedar dust coming off the sculpture. Among those who became sick was the office’s only nurse, who had to be relocated to another office.

“The health and safety issues surrounding the sculpture were real,” read a January letter written by Richard Haley, the FBI’s assistant director of finance overseeing department property. “One employee required an 11-day hospital stay and none have been able to return to work at the new field office.”

After months of navigating bureaucratic hurdles, as well as interagency fighting, the sculpture was removed in October 2015. The whole ordeal cost taxpayers nearly $1.2 million, including $750,000 paid to von Rydingsvard to design the statue. In documents reviewed by POLITICO Florida, GSA officials said they believed the sculpture was a good deal because it was “likely worth more than the $750,000 the government paid.”

Haley, in a letter to Norman Dong, the GSA’s commissioner of public building services, said Michael Goodwin, the GSA's southeast regional commissioner, was reluctant to remove the sculpture even after health problems began to arise.

“Mr. Goodwin resisted the FBI’s request to remove the artwork, inexplicably ignoring that 17 Miami field office employees became ill following its instillation,” the letter states. “Mr Goodwin appeared to be concerned only for the artwork.”

Haley also wrote that Goodwin suggested the FBI “endangered” the artwork by wrapping it in a tarp to protect workers in the office.

GSA officials argued against the notion they put the artwork over the health of FBI employees.

“GSA is fully committed to ensuring public health and safety in the buildings we manage and maintain on behalf of our federal partners,” spokeswoman Saudia Muwwakkil said. “We strongly value our relationship with the FBI.”

The GSA and FBI fought on more than one occasion over removal of the sculpture, which cost an estimated $412,000. That figure was included in cost estimates reviewed by POLITICO Florida, but neither agency would confirm the exact price.

Because the FBI does not own the building and did not commission the artwork, it wanted GSA to pay to have it removed. Neither side would confirm who paid, but early discussions outlined in emails indicated the FBI was on the hook. The bureau filed paperwork for reimbursement, but it’s unclear if that happened.

FBI officials would not address questions about the statue, costs or how many employees became ill, directing all inquiries to the GSA.

“FBI Miami has a great relationship with our GSA counterparts,” Michael Leverock, an FBI spokesman, said in an email. He declined to answer follow-up questions.

Emails and other internal documents indicated the scope and severity of the illnesses.

The office nurse, who was not named in the documents, had one of the most extreme reactions.

“Upon the installation of the art sculpture, the nurse developed rhinitis, difficulty swallowing, sinus pressure, sneezing, has difficulty breathing and began to itch all over,” read a June 2015 letter from Marisol Rente, the supervisor of facilities for the FBI’s Miami Division to two GSA officials.

The same letter indicated the nurse did at least three rounds of steroids to “reset her immune system,” and that she was the area’s lone nurse.

“We have only one nurse at this time who is responsible for approximately 1,000 employees,” the letter read. “She is not able to perform her job duties being at an off-site when her health unit is in the federal building.”

According to the letter, another employee’s “face became very swollen along with their lymph nodes and they developed a fever … the employee states when they are away from the building for an extended time there is resolution of symptoms.”

A test conducted by OSHA in February found traces of “numerous substances” like formaldehyde, but the samples did not exceed OSHA air quality standards.

“The most notable impact on air quality during the project was the increased odor when the tarps covering the sculpture were removed,” read the report.

GSA also noted tests from the Federal Occupational Health agency.

“FOH measured no cedar dust in the facility and found insufficient evidence to implicate the artwork as the source of health conditions reported by FBI employees,” said Muwwakkil, the GSA spokeswoman.

After the decision was made to remove the statue, it went on a more than 1,000-mile journey from Miami to Alexandria, Virginia, where GSA has an off-site fine arts facility. It is currently awaiting its next stop at a storage facility in Maryland.

“Cedrus is now temporarily stored in Maryland until a permanent home has been identified,” Muwwakkil said.