There have been complaints about a foul smell coming from the Molecular and Life Sciences Center (MLSC) and according to Gary Pons, assistant director of Safety, Risk Management and Information Security, the source of the odor is the vacuum system exhaust under the stairwell on the east side of the building.
Some of the complaints were for smells that were “so bad [that] it takes my breath away and makes me sick and sometimes dizzy,” biology graduate student Rachael Poston stated in an e-mail.
“The system occasionally puts out an odor,” Pons said. “It is just the nature of the beast.”
The odor comes from the chemistry labs upstairs in the MLSC building when the experiments going on in the labs are emitting volatile organic compounds, Pons said.
“The odor is more of a nuisance than a health hazard,” Pons said. “No, if it is not observable, it is not harmful. Some people are more sensitive than others. If we did believe it was harmful, we would take necessary precautions.”
Changes are on the way. Robert L. Loeschen, associate dean for facilities in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, said he has come up with a way to alter lab practices to reduce these emissions, Pons said.
Loeschen recommended that they should separate the solids from the liquids being used and properly dispose of the liquid while it is still in the liquid state. This will eliminate the source of the odor, which was a kind of solvent.
If carried out properly, this policy will eliminate almost all risks.
“Students and TAs will have to be consistent,” Pons said.
At the end of last semester, two science labs were evacuated. As a result, they began to increase maintenance frequency, Pons said. It is recommended by the manufacturer to check the vacuum system every 500 hours. According to Pons, the system is checked every 250 hours. Another change that may be made is the exhaust pipe being re-routed to the roof, Pons said.
“Everytime an odor has occurred, we have responded,” Pons said.
