Thursday 9/19 a strong chemical smell was reported to EH&S from second-floor occupants. Rebecca Lally from EH&S responded and sampled the air to determine if the area was safe to occupy. The levels of chemical vapors in the air were very low and while the smell was strong the area was determined safe to occupy. The odor was discovered to be coming from the exterior of the building and was being brought in by the HVAC system. Contractors applied a urethane-based coating to the north exterior which is adjacent to the intakes for the HVAC system.
The smell was also reported on Friday. Tracy Stark responded and asked the contractors to prop open the exterior doors to dilute the air in the building and clear out the odor. This significantly improved the air in most areas. In some areas, we placed HEPA fans with charcoal filters and let them run over the weekend. The odor was still reported as strong on the first floor Saturday. We requested that the contractors prop open the exterior doors while they were working over the weekend and then first thing Monday morning.
Rebecca Lally has walked the building today (9/23) and reported that the air was much improved today with little to no odor in most areas. We will continue checking throughout the day to ensure it continues to improve.