YSU to clean up lead contamination

The university's classified employee union had filed a grievance over the issue.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Youngstown State University will do some lead-abatement work on the roof of Beeghly Center to clean up contamination around a roof drain area found to contain higher-than-acceptable levels of lead.
Sandy Denman, YSU's director of environmental and occupational health and safety, said the university received a lead contamination assessment report on the issue Friday from Environmental Quality Management Inc., a Cincinnati-based firm hired to test the area around and below a Beeghly Center fan that exhausts air from the campus shooting range.
The report found acceptable (lower than state guidelines) levels of lead in an outdoor playground at adjacent Fedor Hall and on other surfaces close to the area, but said levels of contamination around a roof drain and on the roofing membrane beneath the gravel surface in the area of the fan's discharge vent should be addressed.
The report noted the sample showing the highest lead level may be the result of that area being in contact with the drain flashing, which itself contains lead.
The report recommended the flashing and other exposed areas of Beeghly's roofing membrane be thoroughly covered with an asphalt roofing adhesive and covered with new gravel surfacing.
The gravel surfacing material there now should be removed, and the roof drain dome and basin should be scrubbed twice with a lead-specific detergent solution to clean it.
Denman said the university will hire an outside company to handle the cleanup work as soon as possible.
Grievance filed
The issue of lead contamination on the roof came to light when the Association of Classified Employees union filed a grievance in October claiming the university was failing to provide a safe work environment for maintenance employees because of possible lead contamination coming through the exhaust fan from the shooting range. Employees must occasionally work on the roof.
The exhaust fan that vents air from the shooting range was replaced in October when the old system, which had a filter equivalent to a furnace filter, failed.
YSU hired an engineer to oversee the installation of a new exhaust unit, and the engineer determined no filter was required for the new fan, the university said.
The latest testing results were a follow-up to testing done on the area last fall that basically showed the same results.
Denman said Environmental Quality Management had three other recommendations, all related to additional or continued monitoring, to determine if air coming from the exhaust fan is carrying any level of lead contamination that might cause concern.
The university will implement those recommendations as well, she said.
Ivan Maldonado, vice president of the Association of Classified Employees, said he will have the union's legal counsel review the report and won't consider dropping the grievance until it is determined the university is following its recommendations.
He said it is unfortunate the union had to go to the point of filing a grievance to get the issue addressed.
gwin@vindy.com