From: "Debbie M. Decker" <dmdecker**At_Symbol_Here**UCDAVIS.EDU>
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU
Sent: Thursday, July 28, 2011 12:45: 46 PM
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Odor

Personal Fave:  d uring the "white powder" heightened awareness several years ago, I respon ded to a call about a white powder that had contaminated a student backpack .  I arrived on scene to find a very frightened young person, her professor and classmates, milling about waiting for "someone" who could " do something."

I asked her where her backpack was and she pointed to her backpack, against the front wall of the classroom, under a blackbo ard (you can see it coming).  Had she noticed any white powder on he r backpack before class?  No, not until this class.  And th en I gently pointed out that she had dropped her backpack under the blackbo ard and the white powder was probably chalk dust and she could just dust it off.  No, she didn't want to chance it.  I explained to he r that I was happy to take her backpack away and put it into the incinerato r drum we had at the haz waste facility for these types of situations. &nbs p;But once she made that decision, she would not be able to access her backpack and it would be shipped to Utah, to the fiery furnace.

Ta king a deep breath, she decided it probably was chalk dust and that takin g away her backpack wouldn't be necessary.  Brave girl.  :-)

-----Original Message-----
From: DCHAS-L Discussion List [mailto :DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU] On Behalf Of Ken Kretchman
Sent: Thursday, July 28, 2011 8:55 AM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] O dor

popcorn actually..late afternoon after long day .. respond to a call of
burning odor.. travel across long building to office of complain t.  He
says it smells like burnt popcorn and takes me to the offi ce door of
where he feels the smell originates.. knock at door and perso n answers
door with bag of popcorn in hand.

Top notch IH work ..   Sorry I could not resist either and we all have
a million stor ies like this one but certainly better things to do as
well so my apolog ies for continuation..

Kenneth Kretchman, CSP, CIH
Director , Environmental Health and Safety
NC State University
Raleigh, N C 27695-8007
919-515-6860 (p)
919-515-6307 (f)
ken_kretchman**At_Symbol_Here**ncsu. edu
 


>>> Mark Grossman <qed**At_Symbol_Here**WESTN ET.COM> 7/27/2011 8:33 PM >>>
Then, of course, t he root cause could have been the employee who left
Chrysler to go to I BM and then decided to pursue higher education at
North
Carolina Sta te, leaving a trail of old fruit along the way.

Sorry, couldn't resist!  :-)

Mark

Mark I. Grossman, CIH, CSP
Br iarcliff Manor, NY 10510

----- Original Message -----
From: "K en Kretchman" <ken_kretchman**At_Symbol_Here**NCSU.EDU>
To: <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST. UVM.EDU>
Sent: Wednesday, July 27, 2011 2:07 PM
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Odor


> Interesting.. I'm ex-IBM and had the exac t "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
> th e waste line vent pipe on the roof of our chemistry building after
a
> frustrating run of fugitive odors and had facilities personnel
mo ving
> through labs in the building to spot emissions.  We f ound 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
>< BR>>
>
>>>> Alan Hall <ahalltoxic**At_Symbol_Here** MSN.COM> 7/27/2011 1:49 PM >>>
>
> Rach el,
>
> 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 cult ures 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 overloo ked gym
bag)?
>
> I'm reminded of a case at a major IBM facility a friend of mine
> investigated some years ago of "sick bu ilding 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 To xicologist.
>
>
>
>
> 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=92ve 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 somethin g called =93dirty sock
> syndrome=94.  Google it and you wil l see many reference and
> discussions.  Here is a link with an explanation.
>
>
http://www.foxservice.com/austin/kn owledge_base.asp?ID=1291219433792&_perPg=40&view=articles &_category=Residential%3A%3AAir%20Conditioning%20%26%20Heating%20&a mp;_filterField=Categories

>
>
> We recentl y 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 f ound
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
>
>
> ; How are we doing?  Please take a minute to complete our survey:< BR>> http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MRVTPBV
>
> TEAMWO RK...Our Path to Excellence
>
>
>
>
> ; "Harrington, Rachel" <rachel.harrington**At_Symbol_Here**ROSALINDFRANKLIN.EDU> ; wrote:
> We have a strong =93dirty socks=94 odor present in one of our micro
> labs.  It=92s a pretty typical lab using med ia and cultures, etc.
and
> we are systematically removing ev erything and deconning but this odor
is
> persisting.  I know I have smelt this chemical before, maybe back in
my
> und ergraduate 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 o f Medicine and Science
> 3333 Green Bay Road
> North Chicag o, IL  60064
> 847-578-3420 work
> 224-622-4244 mo bile
> 847-775-6548 fax
> LIFE IN DISCOVERY
>
&g t;
>
>
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