Subject: EPA workers say North Carolina building making them sick despite attempts to fix problems
Dear Brothers and Sisters of AFGE Local 3331,
These days at Headquarters, the level of cooperation from Safety and
Heath is excellent. Things weren't always this way. Those of you who
worked at Waterside Mall will remember the incredible problems we had,
where likely 1000s of employees at all grades got sick. Manaagment
stonewalled us for several years, even as more and more people got sick.
EPA never did investigate the reported apparent clusters of miscarriages
and birth defects among Waterside Mall emplyees. EPA's former head of
safety declared at an OSWER meeting that he didn't see what the problem
was because "people weren't dropping like flies". EPA's Safety and
Health even hired an indoor air expert, Dr. Mark Bradley, a retired
Naval physician who had worked with sailors on submarines. When Dr.
Bradley was documenting all the employees getting sick who consulted
him, EPA management under Adminstrator Bill Reilly didn't want to hear
this message and they terminated Dr. Bradley's contract.
Again, the attitude here at Headquarters is improved with a 180'
turnaround, although it took employees' organizing a Committee of
Poisoned Employees ("COPE") and several demonstrations with both unions
outside Waterside Mall, media coverage, Congressional hearings, and
continual followup to get the administration to change. And the 19
employees' lawsuit - - - (BTW, for those of you who may remember him,
the former landlord of Waterside Mall, Charlie Bresler, Spiro Agnew's
legendary old friend from Maryland politics, died a week and a half
ago.)
In RTP - -
From the report below - -
MaryJane Selgrade, who retired in July as acting director of the
Experimental Toxicology Division of the Research Triangle Park campus,
says EPA was slow to respond to employee concerns about air quality.
"Early on it seemed they cared more about the equipment than the
people," Selgrade said. "There was almost a sense of apathy. They
reacted slowly. It was frustrating for everybody."ˇ
MANAGEMENT: This is not a "sick building", but "workers have
building-related symptoms".
Check out the video too./steve
http://investigativereportingworkshop.org/investigations/toxic-influence/story/epa-building-north-carolina-has-air-quality-issues
(Embedded image moved to file: pic28458.gif)Investigative Reporting
Workshop
(Embedded image moved to file: pic10876.jpg)Toxic Influence
EPA workers say North Carolina building making them sick despite
attempts to fix problems
BY SHEILA KAPLAN, RANDALL KERR
Thursday, October 28th, 2010Â ShareThis
This story is being jointly published with WRAL-TV in Raleigh, N.C.
WRAL's story, which first aired on Thursday, Oct. 28, appears below.
RALEIGH, N.C. -- When it opened in November 2002, the Environmental
Protection Agency's campus in Research Triangle Park, N.C., was touted
as a state-of-the-art facility.
SEE VIDEO HERE: http://vimeo.com/16257662
It contains more than a million square feet of labs and offices, where
some of the top researchers in the U.S. work to improve the quality of
the nation's air, water and land. But there's one problem nobody at EPA
has been able to solve: Air pollution in the EPA's own offices is making
staffers sick.
An investigation by WRAL-TV in conjunction with the Investigative
Reporting Workshop, found that soon after the building opened, EPA
employees began complaining that contaminated air was causing a range of
health problems, among them, asthma, shortness of breath and eye
trouble. Although the agency has taken numerous actions to try to fix
the situation, some staffers say it is still risky for them to go to
work ˜ and have had to get permission to telecommute from home. Others
continue to work in the affected building, but believe their health is
suffering.
"You're having throat problems. Your eyes are watering. You're having,
possibly, difficult breathing,"ˇ said Silvia Saracco, the president of
the union that represents many of those workers. "They want to come to
work. They want to do their jobs. And their health is being negatively
affected. They're having a hard time breathing."
A report done in 2009, written by an EPA contractor and obtained by the
Investigative Reporting Workshop, highlights years of problems dating
back to 2003. At that time, laboratory staff reported "excessive indoor
particulate levels," i.e., toxic dust, some of which was contaminated
with metals. Since then, the report noted, workers in two buildings
reported symptoms, including coughs, eye irritation and chest pain with
inhalation after a "dump"ˇ of particulate matter occurred. "Some
individuals had persistent symptoms for many days prior to eventual
resolution, and some had symptoms recur when they tried to return to
their usual laboratories,"ˇ the report said.
The study focused chiefly on Building-B, which consists of laboratories
and office space. It concluded that the complex did not have "Sick
Building Syndrome,"ˇ but acknowledged that some workers were likely
suffering from "Building-Related Symptoms." The report also called for
additional sampling of indoor air contaminants.
EPA employees interviewed by the WRAL and the Workshop asked not to be
named, for fear of retaliation by EPA officials. One said it's still
common for small pieces of rusted metal to fall out of the air and land
on computer keyboards. Surfaces in labs and offices often look like they
have a thick coating of dust. It isn't typical office dust, however.
Tests showed the presence of metal and glass fragments that were not
found in the air outside of the buildings.
Inside, the air has been so bad that electrical components of some lab
equipment have corroded. The damaged equipment was fixed quickly, but
the cause of toxic particulates contaminating the equipment remained
elusive.
WORKERS GOT LITTLE SUPPORT FROM TOP OFFICIALS
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
MaryJane Selgrade, who retired in July as acting director of the
Experimental Toxicology Division of the Research Triangle Park campus,
says EPA was slow to respond to employee concerns about air quality.
"Early on it seemed they cared more about the equipment than the
people," Selgrade said. "There was almost a sense of apathy. They
reacted slowly. It was frustrating for everybody."ˇ
She said workers who developed health problems were encouraged to go to
the EPA health unit, but they got little support.
"They told people to go to the health unit when they had problems,"ˇ she
said. "But when they went, the health unit was not very receptive, for a
long time. People were very turned off by that."ˇ
One man in her unit, Selgrade said, reacted so badly to the particles
that he had to be rushed to the emergency room. His hand had swollen up
so much that hospital workers had to cut off his wedding ring. "It
impacted his career,"ˇ she said. "He couldn't go into his office."ˇ
Saracco, president of the American Federation of Government Employees
Local 3347, which represents the workers, said the agency was slow to
address the problems. "I think it became a real issue when management
realized it was affecting the equipment," he said.
AGENCY COMMISSIONED SEVERAL STUDIES
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
When complaints continued, EPA contracted with Booz Allen Hamilton and
El Group Inc. to examine many aspects of the building structure and
functioning, from the heating and air conditioning systems to laboratory
hood performances. The final report, done by Booz Allen Hamilton with
technical help from the El Group Inc., examined several previous studies
of the building's air quality issues. The Booz Allen study concluded
that most of the substantial changes recommended in the earlier studies
were done. But the report contains a list of key recommendations that
were not implemented, or not complete.
Saracco noted that the study only looked at Building-B, even though
employees who work in other buildings in the complex also had complained
about health problems.
One current staffer, who asked not to be named, said, "ˇThe report is
based on a limited investigation and therefore was unable to provide
information on mold problems in the building and the scope of the number
of people affected not only in the B-wing, but in other parts of the
building."ˇ
Alex Montilla, the director of the Facilities Management Support
Division in Research Triangle Park, said EPA is doing all that it can.
He noted that troubleshooting the problem is difficult because the
building is so large. He also said that particulate matter in the air
was traced to impure water from the city of Durham, which was used in
the buildings' humidifiers. The humified air corroded metal inside the
buildings, including pipes, coils and possibly ductwork. The problem got
so bad, the humidifiers were shut off. But that didn't solve the
problem.
In recent months, nearly seven years after the first complaints, the EPA
stripped and recoated the air handlers in the buildings. Montilla said
he believes this will stop the new particulate matter from forming.
If deposits of particulate matter, primarily rust, are found in the
ducts, they'll be cleaned. That process could take months, if not years.
The EPA buildings also have a history of water issues, from leaking
roofs to broken water pipes. Montilla says the problems are not out of
the ordinary with large buildings like the ones on the Research Triangle
Park campus. But many of the workers contacted by WRAL believe the
design of the building is at fault. They are especially worried about
toxic mold. Montilla says the building was tested for mold and the
findings were insignificant.
Former and current employees also point to a third possible cause of the
air issues. The basement in the B-building, where most of the sick
workers are located, has a wastewater treatment plant. That's where the
EPA cleans its own water before releasing it back to the city of Durham.
That water includes chemicals used in experiments, as well as chemicals
used to neutralize the water. According to one employee, the waste water
was stored in an open tank and emissions of volatile compounds
contaminated the air in the floors above it.
On the other side of the basement there's a large air intake system that
was supposed to supply air only to unoccupied sections of the building.
Investigators raised concerns that the potentially contaminated air was
escaping and reaching the labs and offices. In one case, investigators
noted that ductwork was leaking so much that carpet was pushed up on the
first floor of the B-building. A former worker, who asked not to be
identified, said she worked on the first floor and started having
problems with her eyes. Though she's now retired, the eye problems
persist.
Montilla said the basement is now being vented, to keep the potentially
contaminated air out of the air supply system.
Despite all the studies and recently completed work, there's no
guarantee the repairs will fix the problem. Montilla says the EPA will
keep trying. "Nothing is more important than the health and safety of
our employees," he said.
UNION SAYS EPA EFFORTS TO FIX PROBLEMS INSUFFICIENT
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Current and former employees wonder why it's taking so long to fix the
building. The employees' union president, Saracco has concerns as well.
"Have there been actions? Yes. Have they solved the problem? We still
have sick people coming to work."
It's a sensitive subject at the agency.
On Thursday, after reporters interviewed EPA staffers, EPA official Gary
Carter sent a memo to staff noting the "increase in concern regarding
the indoor air quality"ˇ in the complex.
In his note, Carter attributed this anxiety to "recent documented health
symptoms among some of our people, visible mold growth"ˇ and other
issues. Carter said those responsible for building-related problems were
"vigilant in responding to and resolving those problems to the best of
their ability."ˇ He added that management is taking steps to improve
communication regarding building-related concerns.
About the author
Sheila Kaplan
Randall Kerr
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Feeding at the Public Trough: Check out the Research Triangle Institute, the first company to have been housed at Research Triangle Park and how they are wired for lucrative \contracts with the Obama Adminstration's Healthcare "Reform expenditures like putting everybody's medical records on the web and subjecting these records to hackers in an inadequately secure federal IT contract environment.
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