IEPA headquarters under examination

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By BRUCE RUSHTON

THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER

Posted Nov 05, 2008 @ 11:52 PM

Last update Nov 06, 2008 @ 06:33 AM

The State Journal-Register - Springfield,IL,USA

IEPA headquarters under examination

Workers: Building with hazardous past makes people sick

http://www.sj-r.com/homepage/x1720642142/IEPA-headquarters-under-

examination

Under pressure from employees who say they're getting sick, the

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has examined old records to

determine what kind of hazardous substances might be present at EPA

headquarters on North Grand Avenue.

After reviewing records, EPA officials are recommending radon

testing and calling in the state Department of Public Health to

check for mercury at the building, a former electrical manufacturing

plant and timepiece factory with a history of environmental problems.

In 1997, shortly after a multimillion-dollar renovation was

completed and the state signed a lease, the federal EPA fined the

building owner $25,000 for improper labeling, inspection and

disposal of PCBs, a carcinogen. In addition, a consultant in 1993

found asbestos and evidence of underground storage tanks on the

property, including at least one tank believed to have once

contained benzene, another carcinogen.

Now, workers are suffering, said Ann Cross, an environmental

protection specialist with the agency who has been researching the

building's history for more than six years. Health issues include

breathing problems, headaches and allergic reactions, Cross said.

Her biggest concern is PCBs, which were commonly used in capacitors

and transformers at plants like Sangamo Electric, which was

converted into EPA headquarters by New Frontier Development

duringthe 1990s. She said EPA brass in a meeting last month refused

requests to test for PCBs in the building and in soil outside.

" They couldn't afford to hire someone to do it, " said Cross, one of

three workers who met with top EPA officials. " They didn't want our

guys to do it because they didn't want the liability. The gist of

the meeting was, `We're not going to do anything about this.' "

Joyce Munie, who manages cleanup programs for the state EPA, said

her review of agency memos from the 1980s and '90s shows the

building is safe. However, raw data on which the memos are based is

missing, Munie said, as are twice-yearly asbestos-inspection reports.

The last asbestos-inspection report in the EPA's file is dated Nov.

16, 2001. Inspections to ensure asbestos remains safely contained

are supposed to continue in perpetuity, according to a Sept. 17 memo

Munie wrote to Bonnett, EPA acting deputy director.

" If inspections and maintenance has continued past the last one in

the file, that would be good to know, " Munie wrote. " If not, they

should be continued unless the asbestos is removed. "

A preliminary screen with EPA equipment designed to detect levels of

mercury requiring immediate evacuation wasn't conclusive, so the

state health department has been asked to test.

" The pin came off zero, so there could be some mercury present, "

Munie said. " However, the zero here is well below what is considered

safe for a commercial building. "

The EPA's concern about mercury is rooted in anecdotal information

from an employee who reported a conversation with a construction

worker who said he had seen mercury on a floor when the building was

being renovated, Munie said.

New Frontier officials could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

The state in 1996 signed a lease-to-own agreement with an entity

called LGG Realty Investment, promising to pay $58 million in a

series of payments through 2017. According to the agreement, the

state is responsible for dealing with hazardous materials, including

PCBs, asbestos and petroleum products.

It's not clear who owns the building now or what company is

responsible for maintaining it. In response to those questions, Alka

Nayyar, spokeswoman for the state Department of Central Management

Services, told The State Journal-Register to file a written request

under the state Freedom of Information Act.

Cross acknowledged that it can be difficult to pin blame on a

building when people get sick.

" It's very hard to prove that what people are feeling isn't related

to getting old or whatever — that's how they get away with it,

basically, " Cross said. " A lot of people say that they're just

really, really exhausted. A lot of people are complaining about

developing allergies they never had — asthma, headaches, sinus

issues. "

There are enough illnesses and so little known about what

contaminants might be on the property, Cross said, that a thorough

investigation, including soil borings, is warranted.

Munie, however, said memos show that environmental review and

cleanup has been sufficient and that underground tanks were removed

and soil decontaminated. But that doesn't mean the building hasn't

had problems.

The state health department in the mid-1990s documented high levels

of carbon dioxide in some areas and recommended adjusting the

ventilation system to provide more fresh air. Barb Liebman, who

retired from the EPA in 2002, said she suffered from headaches,

sinus infections and a lung infection. The problems with headaches

caused by high levels of CO2 worsened as the work week progressed,

Liebman recalled.

" By the end of the week, you'd feel like you had the flu, " she said.

After testing, air circulation was increased, and headaches

disappeared, Liebman said, but symptoms returned after ventilation

was reduced during cold weather.

Maggie Carson, EPA spokeswoman, said ventilation was never reduced,

but she said Liebman isn't the sort of person to make things up.

" I've known Barb Liebman for a long time, and she is a highly

credible person, " Carson said. " Her issues were legitimate, and

those issues have been resolved. "

Mold also was present, said Liebman, who remembers complaining about

a stench in the ceiling near her desk. When a maintenance crew came,

they found a cauliflower-like growth that they scraped from the top

of a ceiling tile, she said.

Munie said she, too, had problems with mold that were solved when

the building's leaky roof was replaced. As for radon testing, it's a

good idea to do occasional surveys, she said.

" It's something that's recommended for anybody who lives in this

area of town, " Munie said.

Liebman said she developed nasal polyps while working at EPA but

delayed surgery until retirement because her doctor told her the

polyps could grow back if she continued to be exposed to whatever

caused them. And she's suspicious that former EPA Director Gade

was the only employee in the building who worked in an area where

the windows could be opened.

Carson said Gade's insistence on windows that opened was probably

personal preference.

" I don't think it had anything to do with carbon dioxide, " Carson

said.

EPA brass promised to survey employees to find out how widespread

symptoms might be, Liebman said, but sent questionnaires to only a

small percentage of workers.

Munie said 40 employees returned surveys. She said she did not know

how many surveys were distributed.

Carson said problems are to be expected in old buildings like the

EPA's headquarters.

" It's an ongoing process, " she said. " This is an old industrial

building. We're aware of it. That's why there's a building

committee. "

But Cross, who has worked in EPA's underground tank section and now

works for the division that handles abandoned properties with

pollution issues, contends the EPA would be taking a much different

stance if the building was being used by the private sector.

" This would never pass, " Cross said.

Bruce Rushton can be reached at 788-1542.