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Subject: Re: Odor
Date: Wed, 27 Jul 2011 18:13:00 +0000
Author: wdwatt**At_Symbol_Here**COMCAST.NET
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Subject: Portland State University Open Positions
Date: Wed, 27 Jul 2011 12:44:09 -0700
Author: John Burnham
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Date: Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:07:23 -0400
Reply-To: DCHAS-L Discussion List <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU>
Sender: DCHAS-L Discussion List <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU>
From: Ken Kretchman <ken_kretchman**At_Symbol_Here**NCSU.EDU>
Subject: Re: Odor
In-Reply-To: <BAY166-W22CB368E41E78F4FFDD6F2C4350**At_Symbol_Here**phx.gbl>
Interesting.. I'm ex-IBM and had the exact "moldy orange" experience
listed below here at NC State. Only different is the desk was in a
complex lab area. These can certainly be tough to pinpoint.
Some of these can be quite a task to pinpoint. Dry traps, wet
insulation, etc ... A number of years ago we blew theatrical smoke into
the waste line vent pipe on the roof of our chemistry building after a
frustrating run of fugitive odors and had facilities personnel moving
through labs in the building to spot emissions. We found more that one
area with compromised waste drain plumbing.
Kenneth Kretchman, CSP, CIH
Director, Environmental Health and Safety
NC State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-8007
919-515-6860 (p)
919-515-6307 (f)
ken_kretchman**At_Symbol_Here**ncsu.edu
>>> Alan Hall 7/27/2011 1:49 PM >>>
Rachel,
Since it is a microbiology laboratory, have you considered any of the
biological organisms that contribute to the problem of "Athlete's foot"
(some are odoriferous fungi) that might be being grown/incubated? Could
there be some cultures of such in there? Certainly, many "moldy" odors
are actually from biological organisms. Could it in fact be that "dirty
socks" are actually dirty socks (as in someone's overlooked gym bag)?
I'm reminded of a case at a major IBM facility a friend of mine
investigated some years ago of "sick building syndrome" in an office
area that turned out to be a "lost" mouldy orange buried beneath
paperwork in a worker's lower desk drawer (after an expensive IH
evaluation of multiple worker odor complaints had already been done).
Just a thought.
Alan
Alan H. Hall, M.D.
Medical Toxicologist.
Date: Wed, 27 Jul 2011 10:57:04 +0000
From: patty.olinger**At_Symbol_Here**EMORY.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Odor
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU
Hi Rachel, Obviously from the responses you’ve received there could
be several possibilities. Dry traps are usually a good one to start
with. If you (and your facilities and research staff) have exhausted
all possibilities there is also something called “dirty sock
syndrome”. Google it and you will see many reference and
discussions. Here is a link with an explanation.
http://www.foxservice.com/austin/knowledge_base.asp?ID=1291219433792&_perPg=40&view=articles&_category=Residential%3A%3AAir%20Conditioning%20%26%20Heating%20&_filterField=Categories
We recently had an issue that people described as dirty socks, sewer
gas, etc. After several months found the odor by reviewing the floor
plan of the building and following the pipes in the walls. We found a
couple of uncapped pipes that were no longer in use.
Good luck,
Patty
Patty Olinger, RBP
Director EHSO
Emory University
1762 Clifton Rd., Suite 1200
M.S. 0940-001-1AB
Atlanta, GA 30322
404-727-5690 office
404-727-9778 fax
www.ehso.emory.edu
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"Harrington, Rachel" wrote:
We have a strong “dirty socks” odor present in one of our micro
labs. It’s a pretty typical lab using media and cultures, etc. and
we are systematically removing everything and deconning but this odor is
persisting. I know I have smelt this chemical before, maybe back in my
undergraduate days, but it is really a sickening odor. Any ideas? Any
help is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Rachel E. Harrington, MPH, CHMM
Director- Office of Environmental, Health and Safety
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
3333 Green Bay Road
North Chicago, IL 60064
847-578-3420 work
224-622-4244 mobile
847-775-6548 fax
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