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March 6,198. ths tkm\l Ct-lgtea Pagst
OSHA investigating harmful fumes in library
byRicardiiPlmeatel
■ A complaint of unsafe working condi¬
tions by a CSUF library employee
.prompted an inspection by the state
Occupational Safety snd Haxard Admin¬
istration (OSHA) of the library Wednes¬
day.
The OSHA agent's findings were in¬
conclusive, however, and' the library
was not cited far any health violations.
OSHA's final report on the matter will
not be released for another four to five
weeks. .
Library employees have reported
symptoms of nausea, chest, pains,
voi—ting, hftsr—rhns, one nosebleed and
an earache, arrrircling to campus safety
coordinator Ed Roddy. Several were sent
to the doctor late test week.
The only areas of the library seem¬
ingly affected by the fumes are the
reference departosent offices on the
second floor, the acquisition department'
offices immediately below on the. first
floor snd the entrance foyer of the
library. '
Roddy said a possible cause of the
fumes is a bad drum of locally bought
mineral oil used on the library's ventila¬
tion system filters.- He said the library
recently switched from .a mineral oil.
bought from a Kentucky firm to one sold
locally'in order to save money. The same
oil is used in the Old Science building
with no apparent ill effect, said Roddy.
Roddy said that right after the library
switched to the new mineral oil, the
employee complaints started. He de¬
clined to give the name of the company
the new oil was bought from because if
the oil ia found at fault, the university's
insurance company may want to recover
some of the cost of sending affected
employees to the doctor.
Roddy said it» saw. samples of the
mineral oil taken from the fitters and
they "were very yellow fa color, with a
definite petroleum smell to it." Mineral
ofl is usually clear with no petroleum
smell,
It won't be known for certain If the
new minersl oil is thss culprit until OSHA
completes its report. Besides taking
statements from people complsinlrig
of chit pains, OSHA agent Ed Mills
also took samples of the mineral oil for
further testing snd sir samples.
The Ao^—u—ne Department fa the CSUF library stands empty until th<-source of reported fames caa be
Roddy said Mills spent four hours in
the library without feeling any ill effects.
And white Roddy said Mills could not
give the library a dean bill of health,
neither could he spell out any specific
dangers. Roddy said he has told library
management to move anyone who com¬
plains of fumes to a new work area or to
send them home if they are feeling ill.
Assistant bead librarian Stephsnie
Hillman is apparently heeding the
advice. She aaid every employee is free
to move from an affected area or go
home.
Roddy conceded that the cause of the
fumes might be something entirely
different than the mineral oil. He did
suspect that fumes were coming from
the new library building constructteo
next door. However, Roddy said, an
—apex—on by plant operations failed to
find a source for the fumes fa the con¬
struction.
Neither could the doctor checking the
affected employees pinpoint any single
cause for their disconifort, Roddy said.
The problem te compounded, Roddy
said, because 'the doctor doesn't even
know what to look far.* Under such cir¬
cumstances, it isn't likely the doctor
will find a cause, he added.
The employee' j formal complaint
follows a report in Sunday's Fresno Bee
Photo by Jim Kernley
that late last week a handful of library
employees wero overcome by what waa
described as toxic fumes. The name of
the employee filing the formal complaint
ia being kept confidential by OSHA. The
safety agency must, by tew, respond to
such a complaint within 72 hours.
'
arch 17th
81. Pill ricks
Send a Smile
To a Friend
t Ambaaeador arffladd a.
" faugh to everyone', day.
THE KENNEL BOOKSTORE
yiVtHib -ItWTkl HEAtT Of THE CAMPUS.
r?
i
C.S.U.F. COt-UBOE UNION
C»Fr-EEHCX™« CONCEfTT
Jmxx Grammy Award Winner
(DwJAETJIT
»070 Vlbrmphonlmt or* the. Ymmr
HAPPY JACK FEDER
8P.M. March 8, 1980
•.-, ' ' } :• {■ <■'.. .• ,•?,■ ->?y y?j?-.v.
Object Description
| Title | 1980_03 The Daily Collegian March 1980 |
| Alternative Title | Daily Collegian (California State University, Fresno) |
| Publisher | Associated Students of Fresno State, Fresno, Calif. |
| Publication Date | 1980 |
| Description | Daily (except weedends) during the school year. Microfilm. Palo Alto, Calif.: BMI Library Microfilms, 1986- microfilm reels; 35 mm. Vol.1, no.1 (Feb 8, 1922)- |
| Subject | California State University, Fresno -- Periodicals. |
| Contributors | Associated Students of Fresno State. |
| Coverage | Vol.1 no.1 (Feb 8, 1922)- to present |
| Format | Microfilm reels, 35 mm. |
| Technical Information | Scanned at 600 dpi; TIFF; Microfilm ScanPro 2000 "E-image data" |
| Language | eng |
Description
| Title | March 6, 1980, Page 5 |
| Alternative Title | Daily Collegian (California State University, Fresno) |
| Publisher | Associated Students of Fresno State, Fresno, Calif. |
| Publication Date | 1980 |
| Description | Daily (except weedends) during the school year. Microfilm. Palo Alto, Calif.: BMI Library Microfilms, 1986- microfilm reels; 35 mm. Vol.1, no.1 (Feb 8, 1922)- |
| Subject | California State University, Fresno -- Periodicals. |
| Contributors | Associated Students of Fresno State. |
| Coverage | Vol.1 no.1 (Feb 8, 1922)- to present |
| Format | Microfilm reels, 35 mm. |
| Technical Information | Scanned at 600 dpi; TIFF; Microfilm ScanPro 2000 "E-image data" |
| Language | eng |
| Full-Text-Search | March 6,198. ths tkm\l Ct-lgtea Pagst OSHA investigating harmful fumes in library byRicardiiPlmeatel ■ A complaint of unsafe working condi¬ tions by a CSUF library employee .prompted an inspection by the state Occupational Safety snd Haxard Admin¬ istration (OSHA) of the library Wednes¬ day. The OSHA agent's findings were in¬ conclusive, however, and' the library was not cited far any health violations. OSHA's final report on the matter will not be released for another four to five weeks. . Library employees have reported symptoms of nausea, chest, pains, voi—ting, hftsr—rhns, one nosebleed and an earache, arrrircling to campus safety coordinator Ed Roddy. Several were sent to the doctor late test week. The only areas of the library seem¬ ingly affected by the fumes are the reference departosent offices on the second floor, the acquisition department' offices immediately below on the. first floor snd the entrance foyer of the library. ' Roddy said a possible cause of the fumes is a bad drum of locally bought mineral oil used on the library's ventila¬ tion system filters.- He said the library recently switched from .a mineral oil. bought from a Kentucky firm to one sold locally'in order to save money. The same oil is used in the Old Science building with no apparent ill effect, said Roddy. Roddy said that right after the library switched to the new mineral oil, the employee complaints started. He de¬ clined to give the name of the company the new oil was bought from because if the oil ia found at fault, the university's insurance company may want to recover some of the cost of sending affected employees to the doctor. Roddy said it» saw. samples of the mineral oil taken from the fitters and they "were very yellow fa color, with a definite petroleum smell to it." Mineral ofl is usually clear with no petroleum smell, It won't be known for certain If the new minersl oil is thss culprit until OSHA completes its report. Besides taking statements from people complsinlrig of chit pains, OSHA agent Ed Mills also took samples of the mineral oil for further testing snd sir samples. The Ao^—u—ne Department fa the CSUF library stands empty until th<-source of reported fames caa be Roddy said Mills spent four hours in the library without feeling any ill effects. And white Roddy said Mills could not give the library a dean bill of health, neither could he spell out any specific dangers. Roddy said he has told library management to move anyone who com¬ plains of fumes to a new work area or to send them home if they are feeling ill. Assistant bead librarian Stephsnie Hillman is apparently heeding the advice. She aaid every employee is free to move from an affected area or go home. Roddy conceded that the cause of the fumes might be something entirely different than the mineral oil. He did suspect that fumes were coming from the new library building constructteo next door. However, Roddy said, an —apex—on by plant operations failed to find a source for the fumes fa the con¬ struction. Neither could the doctor checking the affected employees pinpoint any single cause for their disconifort, Roddy said. The problem te compounded, Roddy said, because 'the doctor doesn't even know what to look far.* Under such cir¬ cumstances, it isn't likely the doctor will find a cause, he added. The employee' j formal complaint follows a report in Sunday's Fresno Bee Photo by Jim Kernley that late last week a handful of library employees wero overcome by what waa described as toxic fumes. The name of the employee filing the formal complaint ia being kept confidential by OSHA. The safety agency must, by tew, respond to such a complaint within 72 hours. ' arch 17th 81. Pill ricks Send a Smile To a Friend t Ambaaeador arffladd a. " faugh to everyone', day. THE KENNEL BOOKSTORE yiVtHib -ItWTkl HEAtT Of THE CAMPUS. r? i C.S.U.F. COt-UBOE UNION C»Fr-EEHCX™« CONCEfTT Jmxx Grammy Award Winner (DwJAETJIT »070 Vlbrmphonlmt or* the. Ymmr HAPPY JACK FEDER 8P.M. March 8, 1980 •.-, ' ' } :• {■ <■'.. .• ,•?,■ ->?y y?j?-.v. |
