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4:53 p.m., Oct. 25, 2002--A system-wide cleaning of the air-handling facilities in Hullihen Hall is scheduled to begin in late November, as part of ongoing efforts to ensure the best possible air quality in UD’s central administration building.
The $50,000 project includes professional cleaning of duct works, air handlers and cleaning fan coil units. An independent environmental monitoring firm also will perform inspections on completed areas.
“We are doing everything we can do to make sure that everybody in this building feels safe,” Joseph Miller Jr., assistant director of Occupational Health and Safety, said. “The environmental monitoring firm will follow a checklist used by the National Air Duct Cleaners Association. We want to see that the work is being done correctly so that we can move on with this issue.”
Miller made his remarks to a group of 15 of the building’s occupants during a meeting on Friday, Oct. 25, in Kirkbride Hall, where he shared results of health evaluations by Dr. Carol Tinklepaugh, an occupational health and safety specialist with Christiana Care Health System.
Tinklepaugh evaluated 13 of the building’s occupants who reported symptoms and/or findings that might be related to working in Hullihen Hall.
Tinklepaugh’s report indicated that preventive maintenance and cleaning are likely to alleviate respiratory complaints reported by some building occupants.
Miller said the University is continually monitoring the situation and that throughout the process, staff located there have been kept informed. Three employees with health issues have been relocated.
At no point in the investigations did the University find conditions that indicate a serious health threat to building occupants, Miller said, and business in Hullihen Hall has continued as usual.
In addition to special cleaning projects, normal maintenance procedures and increased custodial efforts have continued, and reports of building-related issues have been responded to in a timely manner, he said.
For a summary of archives involved with the investigation of air quality issues in Hullihen Hall, click here.
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