OSHA fines KSU $22K Mold, asbestos, explosives included in findings By Brad Bowman, Published: July 3, 2014 8:43AM Kentucky State University has been cited for $22,000 in violations at a research facility after a six-month investigation by the Kentucky Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which included the assistance of an explosives expert team. KYOSHA received a detailed complaint from a researcher at the university’s College of Agriculture, Food Science and Sustainable Systems in December 2013. The complaint listed 18 alleged safety and health violations at the Atwood Agriculture Research Facility — a 14,000-square-foot building on the main campus used for organic research that housed 25 staff members. With complaints including moldy ceilings, inoperable equipment and 20-year-old chemicals, inspectors investigated nine laboratories housed in the facility and concluded their findings last week. Employees have been moved out of the building, though no university source would confirm the move was related to the complaints or investigation. The university will have until July 8 to contest the violations. Here are some of the findings from the investigation: Mold Officials found water damage in several rooms on the ceiling tiles. The tiles reportedly had visible mold growth and the growth had also affected several areas throughout the facility. According to inspection records, Grey Mandeel, KSU’s safety and compliance officer, told officials the water damage occurred at least several months prior to the investigation and the roof had been repaired and replaced in the molded areas. Inspectors recommended a citation for the deficiency stating the university had sufficient time to remove the mold and replace the tiles. Asbestos During repair of the facility’s roof, contractors found asbestos. Although no KSU employee had, to the inspectors’ knowledge, been exposed to the material during repairs, Mandeel did not have an asbestos survey for the building or any other buildings built prior to 1981, as required by OSHA garnering another recommended citation. University spokesperson Felicia Lewis stated that both issues posed no health threat. “The previous mold issue in the building was resolved with the replacement of the old roof with a new roof,” Lewis wrote in an email. “A contractor was engaged to determine if there was mold and asbestos in the building. It was determined that there was no threat of asbestos.” Safety Equipment Given researchers worked with numerous chemicals at the facility, fume hoods for proper ventilation and air quality are deemed necessary. Officials stated in the report that all fume hoods were either completely out of operation or in a state of disrepair. According to the report, “none of the fume hoods had been tested since 2009. Of those, that were labeled as tested, they were labeled as having failed certification.” Failure to maintain functioning fume hoods or other similar protective equipment violates the requirements of a chemical hygiene plan typically found in a laboratory setting. Kentucky Commissioner of Workplace Standards Anthony Russell, who spoke in general terms about OSHA standards and not directly about KSU violations, said a chemical hygiene plan not only covers an employee’s right to know about chemicals used in the workplace, but should have functioning equipment to protect them. “There is a specific requirement for someone to be a chemical hygiene officer (for a laboratory’s chemical hygiene plan), someone responsible for maintaining the plan, as any new chemicals are introduced and inventory it,” Russell said. “You have to have control methods. A lot of times in laboratories there are ventilation hoods you have to ensure they are properly installed and maintained and ensure you are not getting air contaminant exposure from chemicals.” Without properly working safety equipment or a designated chemical hygiene officer, OSHA fined the university $7,000 for the violation. Emergency showers and eyewash All nine labs housed a wide range of chemicals from toxic substances such as chloroform and chromic acid to flammable materials such as ethers, ethanol and chemicals the university housed, but hadn’t used in 20 years. Inspectors noted containers with picric acid were discovered in a dried crystallized state. When in a crystallized state, picric acid becomes sensitive to friction and can be lethal. According to the report, an explosives expert team was called in to neutralize the acid during a period when no employees were housed in the facility. The inspectors noted however, employees were exposed to the hazard after it had dried out due to “lack of property inventory, upkeep and maintenance of the chemical supply at Atwood.” During the investigation, Mandeel and other laboratory employees who were not named could not identify a chemical container with a ring of white substance around it. Given the corrosive state of chemicals observed, emergency showers and eyewashes located in the laboratories proved inadequate. “Either providing too low of flow, having high concentration of contaminants in the water, such as rust, having broken nozzle cover with sharp plastic shards in the sink basins,” the report stated resulting in a $5,000 violation. Unrestrained and uncapped gas cylinders Inspectors reported they observed Mandeel attempting to lay an uncapped and unsecured gas cylinder down on the floor and out of the view of the inspectors. Numerous cylinders of compressed gas, some flammable, were stored at the facility without proper restraints or caps to protect the nozzles from damage. Inspectors observed Mandeel laying every unsecured and uncapped cylinder on the floor and advised him it was still improper. The violation named oxygen and acetylene gas cylinders and the university was fined $5,000. Fire extinguisher Two more violations came after officials located a fire extinguisher in the basement that had not been serviced since 1996 nor had the extinguisher undergone a hydrostatic check required every 12 years. This resulted in a $5,000 fine. Other non-serious violations included the absence of an injury log and an extension cord draped from the ceiling of a lab room to an outlet with a power strip serving as a substitute power source. “Most of the problems stated in the citation will have been addressed with the renovation: eye-wash stations and shower equipment. All chemicals, including compressed gases, have been removed from the building,” Lewis said. “The portable fire extinguishers have been replaced. The building has been vacated for the scheduled renovation.” Reporting and response Research assistant Martin Matisoff reported the violations after experiencing the conditions for several years as a graduate student and a researcher. Many colleagues at the facility, he said, feared to report the findings. “Everyone here complained about the condition, but didn’t do anything. Several people here got sick,” Matisoff said. “I wanted to protect the people in this building. It has been this way for years.” Matisoff said university officials knew about the problems. The university moved the 25-member staff to other buildings on campus in January, which has disrupted research, Matisoff said. “I hope now that Mr. Burse is here things are straightened out,” Matisoff said. “When I reported it, there were people more concerned about finding out who reported it instead of fixing the problems.” In a January email to staff, notes from a meeting held at the research facility by Associate Research Director Kirk Pomper showed the university had submitted plans for renovation in May 2013 with a state mold abatement office beginning work in August 2014. The notes also mentioned the College of Agriculture Dean Teferi Tsegaye who during his interview for his current position noticed the need for the facility’s renovation and made it a condition of accepting the position. “The dean stated that the recent occurrence of someone contacting an outside agency to report problems in Atwood has caused further problems for the research program,” the minutes state. “The cost of moving earlier than planned may require resources to be taken away from research projects or personnel — he does not want to see this happen again in the future.” The State Journal obtained the internal email as part of an open records request from the university. Lewis could not answer questions related to information contained in the notes. Tsegaye was out of the state, Lewis said, and could not be contacted. “It is my understanding that the minutes were not vetted before they were distributed and some of the statements included in those minutes are not correct,” Lewis said.
Posted on: Sat, 05 Jul 2014 13:10:13 +0000
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