Toxic Fumes Force Evacuation of MATC Downtown Campus!

August 30, 2007

Well, it happened again. Toxic fumes engulfed the downtown MATC campus almost a year to the day of last year's air quality crisis that prompted an evacuation of the Main Building. The health and safety of faculty and staff were again jeopardized. The administration's response was again inadequate. It seemed more concerned with protecting the college's image than the safety of its employees.

On Friday, August 10, subcontractors applied a floor sealer and hardener in the new Culinary Lab on the 6th floor of the Main Building (see photo). They did it without any ventilation, since the fans in the exhaust hoods weren't hooked up yet. The result was predictable. Toxic fumes spread quickly on the south end of the Main Building. Since it was heavier than air, the chemical blanketed the 6th floor and then took the stairwells down to the 2nd floor, where it spread through the east corridor all the way to the T Building.

Luckily, classes were not in session, so students were not at risk. But staff and faculty on campus weren't so lucky.

People got lightheaded, nauseous, and developed pounding headaches. Many evacuated on their own. But employees received no direction from the administration on when it was safe to return. The public address system failed again. Its sound was garbled and message unclear.

At 9:57 a.m., about 30 minutes AFTER people first noticed the noxious odor and began to feel ill, Doug Tripp, Director of the Department of Public Safety, issued an email "Air Quality Advisement" on GroupWise:

"The Main Building at the Milwaukee Campus is currently experiencing pockets of odors relating to flooring work on the 6th floor. Operations is exhausting the area, and maximizing the intake of outside air to resolve this situation.

"Individuals who wish to move to alternate work locations while this situation is being addressed are encouraged to do so. Prior to departure immediate supervisors should be advised of the need to relocate.

"Operations advises that staff should relocate to the C-building or T-building for the next hour until the Main Building's odor problem is reduced to acceptable levels."

This advisory was sent AFTER people evacuated on their own. They had no way of reading their email from the sidewalk or from the parking lot on State St!

The second advisory was an "all clear" sent at 11:00 a.m. -- AFTER many people had gone home sick:

"Operations has indicated that the air quality in all Milwaukee Campus buildings is acceptable. All personnel are advised to return to their work areas.

"If there are reports of individuals suffering health-related difficulties as a result of this air quality event, please contact the Public Safety District Emergency Response Center immediately. Officers will be dispatched to your location to provide assistance."

But the situation was NOT all clear, as faculty member John Reiss observed in his email to Doug Tripp:

"The Culinary Arts department was in the process of a practical test for new culinary instructor hires in the adjacent kitchen. Three chefs were there to take a practical exam, a stressful situation in itself, for the positions we are hiring for. It made all three chefs sick and one had to leave because he was too sick to proceed. We had to stop the exam process and move everything to a different kitchen because the fumes were so bad. This delayed everything for over one hour.

"Not only do we have a health problem but now we also have an image problem. As we attempt to hire two new instructors for the Culinary Arts department, this is their initial image of the college. One of the top applicants is thinking of withdrawing his application. This college is lacking in management, protocol, and leadership."

So what exactly was it that made everybody sick?

According to MSDS sheets obtained by the Joint IAQ Committee, the floor sealer was actually a resin and a hardener. Both formulas contained propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate, which can cause headaches, dizziness, nausea, decreased blood pressure, and changes in heart rate.

The hardener also contained 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate polymer. The warning states: "Harmful if inhaled. May cause respiratory irritation. May cause respiratory sensitization in susceptible people." Translation: If you have asthma, watch out! If you don't, you may be at risk of developing it.

The warning also states: "Chronic overexposure may cause lung damage."

So what can the college do differently?

For starters, they need to police the contractors and subcontractors they hire to do renovation work on campus. It may come as a shock, but even during the summer, our campus buildings are occupied by faculty and staff who come to work, and don't expect to be poisoned. Our campus is not a new construction site where contractors can do as they please and where odors quickly dissipate.

We've been told that the subcontractor will be sanctioned for exercising poor judgment. Let's hope that there is no next time.

Secondly, can we please get a public address system that works, so that everybody can be notified in a timely way in case of emergency?

This is also a no-brainer. When people get sick from toxic fumes, the administration should realize that they don't stick around to read emails.

If the administration has the resources and ability to pipe Dr. Cole in from a parking lot on South Campus to Coordination Day you'd think it could establish an effective public address system on the Downtown Campus!

This is precisely what we told Public Safety earlier that same week, when they asked for input on their new initiatives. They hired outside law enforcement consultants to do a management audit and ask for input from faculty and staff. Unfortunately, they picked a time, early August, when most faculty members were NOT on campus. But they still got an earful from Local 212 and 587 members.

We told them we wanted a public address system, emergency phones that work, an evacuation plan with drills, barrier-free exits, outdoor assembly areas, a consistent chain of command, identification and posting of hazardous materials, MSDS sheets for all chemicals entering MATC, training for faculty and staff, and specialized training for Building Service workers who are called upon to be first responders.

That was on August 7th. Just three days later, we had yet another crisis that showed how unsafe we really are. It's not news, but there are gaping holes in our safety net! The question now is what is the administration going to do about it?

This fall Local 212's reps on the Sustainability Committee will insist that these issues be addressed. We really do need your input!! What do you think needs to be done?

Sue Ruggles
Joint IAQ Committee
Sustainability Committee