State Fines NHPS On Lab Ventilation

The state fined New Haven Public Schools $14,200 following an inspection of Metropolitan Business Academy that found faulty fume hoods, a broken eyewash station, obstructed fire extinguishers, and improper storage of hazardous chemicals in several of the Water Street high school’s laboratory classrooms.

Those financial penalties and accompanying citations are detailed in two letters sent on July 28 by state Department of Labor CONN-OSHA Director Kenneth Tucker III to NHPS Superintendent Iline Tracey, NHPS Chief Operating Officer Michael Pinto, MBA Principal Michael Crocco, and city Workers’ Compensation Coordinator Evonne Duzant.

They come at a time when NHPS’s school buildings remain closed to in-person learning as the city school system kicks off the first 10 weeks of the academic year entirely online—with a newly granted exception for a maximum of 125 students with autism and other severe disabilities, who will be allowed to return to physical classrooms starting Monday.

Board of Education members, teachers and parents in support of all-remote education this fall have raised concerns throughout the spring and summer about NHPS’s buildings not having adequate ventilation to accommodate a safe return to in-person school during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

The July citation letters, along with a related two-page narrative, reference a March 10 inspection by the state. They provide a detailed example of recent airflow trouble at one particular school, a problem that NHPS Chief Operating Officer Michael Pinto said the school system is in the process of addressing at Metro in particular and at all city school buildings in general.

Pinto said NHPS is on track to fix the issues identified by the state at Metro by the state-given deadlines. He said the administration will hire an engineering firm, pending Board of Education approval, to conduct an exhaustive review of ventilation at all city schools before in-person classes resume in full later this fall.

“We’re trying to be proactive to address Covid concerns and generalized air quality concerns,” he said. ​“People spend a lot of time indoors [at school.] We’re committed to making that experience a safe one.” He also cautioned against conflating the two issues — that is, specific concerns about airflow in labs at Metro, and broader concerns about ventilation at school buildings across the district.

$14K In Penalties

The July state citation letters refer to a March 10 inspection of Metropolitan Business Academy by a state Division of Occupational Safety and Health compliance safety and health officer. Click here, here and here to read all three documents in full.

According to the narrative, the state OSHA inspector visited the Wooster Square magnet school last spring in response to allegations of inadequate air flow creating health problems for employees, chemical hoods that were not working properly, and a broken handle at an eyewash station in one of the school’s science laboratories.

The state department ultimately issued the public school system three citations and a total of $14,200 in penalties, including:

• $7,000 for a broken handle and a lack of verified safety inspections at a ​“Bradley” eyewash station in Room 208; numerous physical obstructions impeding access to eyewash stations in Prep Rooms 214B and 314B; and a lack of verified inspections at an eyewash station in Room 308.

• $6,000 for improperly functioning fume hoods in Rooms 208 and 308.

• $700 for failing to follow a variety of safety provisions stated in the school’s Chemical Hygiene Program for hazardous chemicals stored in Rooms 208, 214B, 308 and 314B.

• $500 for obstructions impeding access to fire extinguishers in Prep Rooms 214B and 314B.

“Based on information obtained through management interviews, employee interviews, a walkthrough of affected area, and a review of records, it became apparent that the presence of these hazards is likely symptomatic of an ineffectively administered, implemented, and enforced chemical hygiene plan,” Tucker wrote to the NHPS administrators,

The CONN-OSHA director recommended that NHPS in general and Metropolitan Business Academy in particular develop an effective Chemical Hygiene Plan ​“which is administered by personnel capable of adequately implementing the established policies and procedures. Furthermore, efforts must be put forth by the district to fully support the roles and responsibilities of the Chemical Hygiene Officer so that person may effectively carry out the provisions of the Chemical Hygiene Plan, including having the ability to swiftly correct deficiencies when they are identified.”

The state citations provide a variety of different deadlines, ranging from Monday through the end of November, for each of the different school safety violations to be remedied.

A spokesperson for the state Department of Labor, Juliet Manalan, told the Independent by email that NHPS has successfully abated the violation due to be resolved on Monday —that is, the removal of obstructions impeding access to fire extinguishers in Prep Rooms 214B and 314B. She deferred to NHPS for progress updates on the corrective actions that are due in October and November.

Manalan also said that all $14,200 in state fines levied against NHPS have been paid in full. She stated that the local school system did not contest any of the violation findings or proposed penalties related to the March 10 Metropolitan Business Academy inspection.

Ventilation Trouble, Eyewash Blocked By Skeleton

The narrative provided by the state notes that the inspection was conducted in March in response to a complaint filed with the Division of Occupational Safety and Health regarding inadequate air flow, potentially broken chemical hoods, and a broken handle at an eyewash station.

The compliance safety and health officer evaluated the chemical fume hoods in Rooms 208 and 308 during the inspection.

“At that time, the ​‘Sheldon Laboratory Systems’ fume hoods located in the rooms did not appear to be functioning properly,” the narrative reads. ​“In addition, each hood was equipped with a ​‘TEL AFA-500’ airflow monitor which also did not appear to be functioning in either location. The district did not ensure that fume hoods were functioning properly and did not implement specific measures that will be taken to ensure proper and adequate performance of the equipment.”

Furthermore, the narrative continues, documentation obtained by the state showed that NHPS district representatives knew as far back as July 2018 that the fume hoods were likely not functioning properly.

“Despite this knowledge, the district had not made any attempts to test the equipment, repair it (if necessary), and/or take the hoods out of service until they were deemed to be functioning properly.”

The state citation letter fined NHPS $6,000 for the faulty fume hoods, and set a deadline of Nov. 9 by which the school system must abate the issue and ensure that those fume hoods are functioning properly.

The narrative also notes that the inspection officer found during their walkthough of the school that the handle on a ​“Bradley” emergency eyewash located in Room 208 was indeed broken.

“Documentation shows that district representatives were notified that this handle was broken at least as of September 2019,” the narrative reads. ​“Furthermore, the employer was unable to verify that periodic inspections of the eyewashes/showers in Rooms 208, 214B, 308, and 314B had been performed.”

The state fined NHPS $7,000 for these eyewash-related violations, and gave the school system until Oct. 5 to fix the problems.

The citation letter also notes that, in addition to the broken handle at the eyewash in Room 208, the eyewash in Prep Room 214 was obstructed by ​“miscellaneous items, including lights, a chair, and a fan” while the eyewash in Prep Room 314B was obstructed by ​“miscellaneous items, including a skeleton, chairs and boxes.”

The narrative goes on to describe the inspector’s review of the school’s written Chemical Hygiene Plan. The inspector identified ​“various deficiencies with the Plan and associated training.”

The citation letter elaborates on these findings, noting that a current copy of the school’s Chemical Hygiene Plan was not readily available to employees; the school did not designate personnel to administer and implement the written plan; the plan did not provide for additional employee protection for work with certain hazardous chemicals such as formaldehyde/formalin, sodium chromate solution, and lead nitrate solution; and the school did not provide laboratory employees with information and training at the time of their assignment to labs with hazard chemicals. None of these citations were accompanied by any financial penalties, and all came with a violation abatement deadline of Nov. 30.

Finally, the inspection found a variety of hazardous chemicals — including formaldehyde, sodium chromate solution, and lead nitrate solution — stored in Rooms 214B and 314B.

While the state did not fine the school system for its handling of those chemicals, Tucker wrote that CONN-OSHA ​“strongly advises your district to either eliminate the use of these products or substitute them with products that are less hazardous” because of the dangers presented by those chemicals to those exposed.

The narrative concludes by noting that a ​“closing conference” between state occupational health officials and the city school system was held on July 16. At that time, the violations were discussed and the abatement dates set.

Pinto: Districtwide Review In Works

“We take the allegations and citations very seriously,” Pinto told the Independent about the state’s findings. ​“We are working to correct all of them in a timely manner.”

He said that the fume hoods appeared to have burned out motors as well as problems with the hoods’ control system. He said NHPS has had them inspected by a Branford-based company called Wings Testing, which identified the burned out motors. At least one has been replaced, he said, while the other is either on order or has already been replaced.

Pinto added that the school system is bringing on a company called Connecticut Controls to make sure that the control systems and switching systems for the fume hoods work properly. ​“Once they’re up and running, we’ll bring Wings Testing out to certify they’re in good working order,” as well as have a third-party verification per OSHA rules.

He also said that the broken eyewash handle has been fixed

As for the Chemical Hygiene Plan, Pinto said that the school system and the Board of Education are working with a company called PMA to develop a new Chemical Hygiene Plan that will apply to schools district-wide, and will be made available on the school system’s website and easily accessible to the public. He said that Richard Therrien, the NHPS science director, will serve in an acting role as chemical hygiene officer.

Pinto also said that, out of an abundance of caution, the city will safely dispose of whatever specimens in Metro’s labs are currently stored in the hazardous chemicals identified by the state, and then the school system will not purchase any more specimens going forward that have those chemicals on them.

As for broader concerns about ventilation and airflow at city schools during the ongoing Covid pandemic, Pinto said that NHPS has received quotes from two engineering companies for pending work that will involve verifying safe airflow at all city school buildings.

“I think they’re separate,” he said about air-related concerns cited by the state in these Metro lab classrooms, and air-related concerns more broadly in the context of Covid. ​“I don’t want to conflate the two.”

He added that the airflow work to be performed at Metro, as well as the broader work to be done citywide, should have ​“some additional salutary and proactive effects for being able to look at the general air quality, and make sure that it’s as good as it can be.”