IAQ Building 6 Basement

Initial Request To January 3, 2012

Industrial Hygiene Responds January 9, 2012 Mold sampling conducted Noted very dusty conditions and recommend a thorough cleaning Notice the supply air vents are blocked with Plexiglas Decided to come back with the IAQ Meter to take further measurements (CO2, CO, Temperature, humidity)

Industrial Hygiene Responds January 9, 2012 Industrial Hygiene notifies the EHS Coordinator of the complaint and the blocked supply vents. EHS Coordinator determines multiple work- orders were placed by the group to have the heat fixed. Works with the Facilities and Security Supervisor for Chemistry to more actively engage Facilities about the problem.

January 6 Mold Sampling

January 11 to 20 CO2

Jan 11 to 20 Temperature

Jan 11 to Jan 20 RH

Symptoms (In Last 6 Months) Fatigue 1 case of pneumonia Headaches Nose bleeds Vertigo

Supply Air Vents All room vents blocked Reheat coils not functioning Cold air blowing on students Multiple work- orders placed by the group to have the heat fixed

Supply Air Vents Work-orders placed on: 9/28/10 10/6/10 4/22/11 Does not include “repeated phone calls” On 4/27/11 the student decides he is not having success with the work-order process and finds a Facilities Comments form on the web and submits another request.

Supply Air Vents Facilities technician informs group that reheat coils cannot be fixed. Facilities suggests as a solution they can cover over the supply vent blowing on the student.

Supply Air Vents Reheat Coils Fixed Vents Unblocked On or Around January 23rd

January 26 Mold Sampling

February 2nd Industrial Hygiene revisits the space to assess the air using the IAQ meter.

February 2 to February 9

MIT Medical Industrial Hygiene contacts MIT Medical on February 6 to inform Dr. David Diamond of group members suffering from adverse medical conditions that they believe are related to the office space On February 13, Dr. Diamond visits the space and talks with some of the occupants.

Action Taken It is recommended to seal up a trough in the floor that may be prone to flooding (and consequently prone to mold growth) Biosafety conducts another round of mold sampling on that day Biosafety submits a work order to Facilities to have the fan coil units checked to ensure they are not clogged, moldy, etc.

Fan Coil Units Facilities reported the fan coil units had not been put on a PM schedule and were not being serviced. New filters installed.

February 13

Actions Taken Gone from essentially no air flow to fresh supply air entering the space, and significantly lower CO2 levels. Established that there is no mold problem Had the fan coil units serviced and put on a regular PM, so room temperature can be maintained. Also loaned the group a HEPA filter unit Informal visits indicated that the original students that complained felt like the air was better

April 2, 2012 Two new lab group member s EHS members involved and complain of being “more fatigued than usual”. On April 3 we meet with the group members and conduct another round of air sampling with the IAQ meter and another round of mold sampling.

April 3 Mold Sampling

April 3 to April 4

April 4 The Facilities and Security Supervisor for Chemistry is asked to arrange with Facilities to have the volume of supply air tested.

April 8, Students Meet with Dean For Graduate Education 4 people report chronic fatigue, balance impairment, vertigo, CNS infections, pneumonia, sinus infections “Went unreported by EHS, despite air quality complaint SOP mandating reporting of this to MIT Medical” “Students notifying occupational health themselves” “Months without any response to health concerns” “Randomly removing air filters; high mold levels led to mandatory HEPA filter installations, residual flooding” “No tests or quantification of mold levels, allergens, air quality, despite repeated requests”

Air Flow in Basement

Ongoing Issues Complaints of rust in the water led to a request to have the water tested… A second round of water testing involving glycols…

Lessons Learned Make sure researchers know who to contact if they are having trouble getting facilities to fix something. At the first report of “medical issues” refer to MIT Medical, and give MIT Medical a heads-up Communication is key!!!