faculty, students
By Jason B. Hogan
Employees and students have complained of feeling nauseated from the fumes from tar being used for roofing construction at Loftin Student Center.
John Strybos, director of facilities operations and construction management, said once facilities was notified, they took immediate action.
“We changed out the ventilation once the problem occurred,” he said.
Strybos said the construction is scheduled for completion on Dec. 11.
During the construction period, a premium asphalt called APOC 4400, a hot applied asphalt produced with premium grade asphalts that stands the test of weather and corrosion, was used.
But the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for the product states the effects of prolonged exposure can produce brain and nervous system damage.
Also, inhaling this product can be harmful or fatal.
Adverse effects include dizziness, weakness, headache, loss of consciousness and asphyxiation.
Tracy Wash, manager of the cafeteria, said it has affected the bottom line in Loftin.
“A lot of our regulars don’t come anymore,” she said. “They don’t like the noise or the smell. I’ve heard of some of the people down in the bookstore getting sick.”
The SAC bookstore is in the basement of Loftin.
Sophomore Mitsuko Iwanaga, international business management, who works in the bookstore, said once the use of the asphalt in the roofing project began, the store’s employees began getting headaches.
“People went home because of headaches,” she said. “This is recently with the tar. All of the workers down here were pretty sick.”
“You couldn’t even use the employee restroom downstairs,” Iwanaga said.
Dr. Usha Krishnan, chemistry professor, said, “With the weather change, that is possible. Typically tar is not good.”
“Unless there was a controlled study conducted we would not know,” she said. “When you are exposed to it for a long period of time it can have a factor. In just passing, there should not be any problems.”
Strybos said the bookstore staff were sick for a day or two.
“Once I found out about the situation, I addressed it immediately with (facilities Superintendent) David Ortega,” he said. “We always work with all the users to alleviate any problems or concerns.”