Oct. 25 at the Ivan Hilton Science and Technology Building at New Mexico Highlands University. The building remains closed following reports of a chemical spill.
Vanessa Maciel/Optical Photography
The New Mexico Department of the Environment’s Office of Hazardous Waste has released the results of an inspection of the Ivan Hilton Science and Technology Building at New Mexico Highlands University.
The 11-page report lists 16 potential violations that NMED inspectors found at the Ivan Hilton building during the Sept. 11 inspection. The building was evacuated on September 3 following reports of a chemical spill. It remains closed.
NMHU President Neil Wolfe released the test results to the school’s faculty, staff, and students via email on Nov. 6. He said in the email that NMED’s final report was received by the school on October 18th.
“Since the Ivan Hilton Science Building closed on September 3rd, we have worked with our partners at the New Mexico Environmental Department (NMED) and the Las Vegas Fire Department (LVFD) to resolve all issues related to this building. “We’ve been working on it,” Wolf said. said in an email.
Mr. Wolf could not be reached for comment. However, his meeting with The Optic is scheduled to take place next week.
The NMED report cites several examples of chemicals and hazardous waste that were not properly stored or disposed of at Ivan Hilton.
“In some laboratories, it was discovered that hazardous waste containers were open and much of the contents appeared to have evaporated over time,” the NMED report said. “Some labs had chemicals all over their cabinets and shelves that didn’t account for their waste status.”
The report said much of Ivan Hilton’s waste was “not stored in accordance with regulations and could provide little knowledge about the generators.”
NMED inspectors found “apparent toxic gases” inside the building, the report said. NMED received a report from Advanced Environmental Services that there were “large quantities of acutely hazardous waste and other containers storing unspecified waste” in the building. The AES had hazardous waste identified and labeled for transportation.
The NMED report said Ivan Hilton’s ventilation hood and other emergency equipment were found to be inoperable. The report calls the chemical hygiene of Ivan Hilton’s laboratory “substandard.”
According to the report, NMED’s inspection was intended as a compliance support visit. However, due to an aggressive hazardous waste response emergency initiated by the Las Vegas Fire Department, a compliance assessment test was conducted.
NMED’s report lists 16 violations found at Ivan Hilton. Corrective action will be taken after each violation. These violations include failure to operate the facility to minimize the possibility of fire, explosion, or sudden or non-sudden release of hazardous waste components.
Storage without permission and failure to conduct weekly inspections of hazardous waste central collection area.
Other violations relate to storing hazardous waste without proper labeling. There is a lack of training on how to handle hazardous waste, and emergency equipment is not tested and maintained.
Some of the corrective actions described in the report have already been implemented.
“We accomplished a lot of things,” Wolf continues. “However, there is still work to do as we plan to safely reopen the Ivan Hilton building in the spring semester.”
“This is a complex and complex process, and as a transparent campus, it is important that we have a place to share information,” Wolf continued in the Nov. 6 email. “To this end, a forum will be held by the end of the semester to further address issues, solutions and safety measures related to the Ivan Hilton Science Building.”
“Please keep an eye on your email for more information on that forum.”
