Clark County public defenders have evacuated from their Downtown office over building contamination fears. The office’s 100-plus attorneys are now in a temporary working space in another county building.
They cite PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, as the culprit. PCBs are commonly used in electrical equipment. They are known carcinogens, with the potential to harm thyroid, liver, and heart function. The US government banned their manufacture in 1979.
Legal experts like Eve Hanan, a professor at UNLV’s Boyd School of Law and former public defender, say the immediate concern is how the loss of the uniquely suited Clark County public defender building and law library are going to impact the trial system.
“We're worried about that ability of the attorneys to work and function as a law firm to provide the best representation and stay in close contact with their clients," Hanan said. "So an office like the Clark County Public Defender's is really well positioned to meet those objectives, and that's why there's concern, of course, if they suddenly lose their office space and don't have that environment to work in."
A Clark County spokesperson said in a statement, in part, that the building has not been deemed uninhabitable, and the County plans to develop a testing and remediation plan — if needed.
