Police Work Amid Damage, Disrepair

A University-commissioned report on 29 Garden St., the home of the Harvard Police Department, has prompted new concerns and exacerbated old fears about possible health risks to the people who work there.

In interviews conducted during the past week, former and current police officers have talked with deep trepidation about the structural integrity of the building. Much of their unease has been prompted both by their own health problems and the similar suffering of co-workers and friends.

The president of the police officer's union, locked in tense negotiations for a new contract, is making an issue of the working conditions at 29 Garden St., just as Harvard continues piecemeal renovations of the building.

During the past week, the union president, Robert Kotowski, spoke repeatedly with The Crimson to voice concerns about the working conditions of his fellow officers. Kotowski wants a full investigation of the health risks associated with working in 29 Garden St.

"I'd like some answers," says Kotowski. "I'd like some answers as to why a police department is being renovated but nothing is being done to improve the working conditions for the police officers."

Twelve other Harvard University police officers have agreed to interviews this week to discuss their complaints about working conditions within the department. They talked of their own problems breathing on the job, the prostate troubles of four or five officers and, in particular, the cancer deaths this year of two colleagues.

None, however, would speak for the record, saying the department has a policy that officers should not speak to the media and may be disciplined for doing so. But Kotowski says his views reflect those of many officers. "I can honestly say without a doubt that this is the consensus of the department," he said.

Five public health experts from around the country, contacted this week and informed of the officers' comments,said they, too, believe the situation is worthy ofinvestigation. The experts said they could make nostatements on the specific risks posed to 29Garden St. workers without personally examiningthe building.

The University-commissioned report examined therisks posed by asbestos contained in theresidences, freight elevator and two trash andlaundry rooms on various floors of the apartmentbuilding. In addition to housing the policedepartment, the building is also home to more than150 first-year students.

The report, dated July 1993, identified anumber of asbestos-contaminated areas within thepolice station, including the first floor propertyroom, the men's and women's bathrooms, the officerlocker rooms and the first floor police task forceroom.

But the experts, who were read portions of theHarvard-commissioned report, cautioned thatasbestos was probably not the cause of specifichealth problems in the building.

The more likely cause of health problems, theexperts said, are personal habits, such assmoking, or poor conditions common to many olderbuildings.

A Crimson investigation reached no conclusionon whether there was any link between healthproblems among police officers and the conditionof the building. But the investigation made threefindings:

. Longstanding maintenance problems, which theUniversity has allowed to go uncorrected, havehurt the quality of the police officers' workinglife.

. Asbestos was removed from the police stationearlier this year at the same time officers andothers worked in the building. Health experts saythat such removal significantly increases thehealth risk posed by asbestos, although the levelof exposure depends on what precautions are used.

. Asbestos-containing floor tiles andasbestos-containing pipes, named in theUniversity-commissioned report as possible sourcesof "minimal" danger to workers, are in a state ofdisrepair throughout the police departmentoffices.

The Crimson provided University officials withseven photographs of conditions inside the policestation yesterday, including the pictures thataccompany this article. Almost immediately,officials at the University police department,Harvard Real Estate, Environmental Health andSafety, the Harvard News Office and the privateenvironmental services company that produced theHarvard-commissioned asbestos report were summonedfor a tour of police headquarters.

In a statement released shortly after that tourlate yesterday, the officials said unequivocallythat the building is safe. And Police Lt. LawrenceJ. Murphy and Harvard spokesperson Joe Wrinn saidlast night that "sealed, contained areas"protected police employees from exposure toasbestos during the recent removal.

"The photographs do not show environmentaldanger of any kind, nor the potential for anyunusual health-related concerns, other than thoseconnected with the normal debris and dustassociated with construction and remodeling," saysthe statement, which is signed by sevenofficials--including Michael F. Tibert, thedirector of the environmental company thatproduced the Harvard-commissioned report.

But the report prepared by Tibert's companyappears, in places, to contradict the officialstatement he signed. For example, while thestatement says that the only asbestos in thebuilding remains in floor tiles, Tibert's ownreport details three different locations ofasbestos in the department's pipe work.

And although the official statement says theasbestos tile would have to be "purposely grounddown" to pose any danger, Tibert's report saysasbestos may become hazardous during any one ofsix activities. Those activities include "routinecleaning," "moving furniture," "hanging plants"and "general deterioration."

The report recommends asbestos removal thatwould cost the University $51,054. Universityofficials indicate they will remove the asbestoswhen the building is fully renovated next summer.

Considerable portions of the 29 Garden St.police headquarters recently have been, orcurrently are being, renovated. Upstairs, there isa new dispatch and communications area.Downstairs, work is being completed on a newholding area, which will have two spacious"holding rooms" complete with glass observationwindows.

But large sections of the station--mostly thosenot readily visible to the general public, placeswhere officers spend a considerable amount oftheir time over the course of a year--remain in asqualid state.

Numerous maintenance problems, reportedlyignored for years, remain: large holes and mold inthe ceilings, asbestos tiling in the floors andpipes, exposed wiring and plumbing fixtures whichleak water into carefully positioned buckets.

Officers say there is no hot water in thelocker room shower facility, that no one has usedit in years, and that it is so filthy that it isunlikely anyone will ever use it again.

"I wouldn't wash my dog in the shower," saysKotowski. "It's disgusting, nasty. They refuse tofix that."

"We've stated a number of different reasons whywe need to have an adequate shower, nothing fancy:If an officer got in a struggle in a street, wereexposed to someone filthy, or bodyfluids--something more serious--someone thatreally stunk, or if someone worked a twelve-hourshift and would like to take a quick shower inbetween shifts, it would be nice to have a placeto freshen up," Kotowski said. "If you get in afight with a filthy homeless person, there shouldbe some specific strong soaps."

"There are very few police departments that donot even have adequate shower facilities," theunion president added. "We've asked and asked andasked and been told it's not in the real estatebudget."

In the men's locker room, holes larger than afoot in circumference perforate the ceiling. Waterdrips slowly, continuously into two large bucketsin the middle of the floor. Throughout thebuilding, wires and pipes protrude through openholes.

Kotowski said that on occasion the locker roomfloods with as much as an inch of water, and thatofficers must put their uniforms on while standingon a bench.

"It was more important to do the renovationsthat were more important to them. They put therenovations in front of the safety of theemployees," Kotowski said. "They did improvementsupstairs for upper management--the conferenceroom, offices, they redid bathroom upstairs. Nowthey went downstairs and they didn't touch thelocker room."

Adjacent to the men's locker room is the men'sbathroom, which also has large holes in itsceiling. The ceiling tile is flaking above theurinals, which officers complain leak, causingfloor tiling to buckle.

A vent located directly above the two bathroomstalls is covered with a gray, soot-like filth. Asimilar substance can be found in gratesthroughout the police department.

A green garden hose projects from a cabinetbeneath the women's bathroom sinks. Two womenofficers said this exposed hose used to carry rawsewage.

Kotowski and other officers said they haverepeatedly brought their concerns to policedepartment management. Yet each time, they say,officers are told Harvard does not have thefinancial wherewithal to bankroll improvements inthe locker rooms, bathrooms and other locations.

Kotowski said he has appealed to Brian D.Sinclair '62, assistant director for finance andadministration for the police department,describing officers' concern about workingconditions within the building.

"We repeatedly approached them...I'm veryserious about what people in my union deserve,"Kotowski said. "We've pointed out to them the factthat we need showers, that we need cleanerbathrooms." Kotowski said he proposed that ifrenovating the showers was too expensive, thedepartment should consider purchasing aself-contained shower at a lower cost.

Sinclair did not return repeated telephonecalls yesterday.

Police Lt. Lawrence J. Murphy, the actingchief, said yesterday that the maintenanceproblems were temporary inconveniences stemmingfrom the installation of a handicapped rampoutside the station. He said the tile in the men'sand women's bathrooms was replaced a month ago,and that the new tile does not contain asbestos.

Photographs of the women's room, however, showthe tiles there to be almost identical to the tilein the locker room, which has been in place foryears. Asked about the deteriorating condition ofthe bathroom tile in the women's room, Murphysaid, "it gets beat up real fast." The actingchief also said that the locker room tile willsoon be replaced.

In the women's bathrooms, asbestos-containingfloor tile and mastic, a resin-like cement oftenused with such tiles, shows heavy damage. Sometiles are cracked and buckling, others are dustyand flaking.

Tiles are visibly decaying. Some are brokeninto pieces. And according to Harvard's ownasbestos report of the building, such crumblingmay make the asbestos in the tile "friable,"releasing it into the air and making it moredangerous.

Says the report: "The floor tile must betreated as asbestos-contaminated."

Although the upstairs communications area hasbeen newly renovated--complete with recessedlighting and a more open, spacious receptionarea--there is asbestos debris in the basementelectrical room as well as in pipes which runthroughout the building, according to Harvard'sown investigation of the building, a copy of whichwas obtained by The Crimson.

Officers say three separate asbestos removalprojects have taken place at the station thisyear, but that little has been done in the lockerroom or bathrooms. A few months ago, workersinstalled new tiles in part of the men's room sothat an electrical conduit could run through thefloor.

During at least one asbestos removal project,officers were on duty while asbestos was beingripped from the ceiling directly above them, fourofficers have told The Crimson independently.Asbestos air-quality tests were also routinelyperformed while officers were working in thestation, they said.

Ralph G. Vetters '85, an organizer for theHarvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers,says dispatchers and communications personnel onduty during the asbestos removal were paidovertime wages to compensate for the "headache."

"It wasn't a pay-off or an attempt to hushanybody up," Vetters says. "It was a highlyrespectful thing to do."

But Murphy, the acting chief of the Harvardpolice, said last night that department employeeswere not paid overtime wages during the asbestosremoval. They received the extra pay, he said,during a later period when contractors inspectingthe building were "banging at the walls."

Health experts consulted by The Crimson saythat removal while on duty increases the healthrisk posed by the asbestos. The overall riskdepends on the precautions taken as well as theamount of asbestos removed.

"There were some studies conducted by theEnvironmental Protection Agency of asbestos intile or lucite," says John D. Spengler, professorof Environmental Health at the School of PublicHealth. "It was found that these processesproduced pretty big clumps--big particles--ofasbestos. They don't stay in the air very long,and don't tend to be a major health problem."

Officials at Harvard's Environmental Health andSafety office and Harvard Real Estate who arefamiliar with the process have referred allquestions to the University's news office. Thenews office has been unable to provide details andevidence of University safeguards and testing.

Both sides in the growing dispute over workconditions in the police department seem tosupport further renovations and asbestos removal.

And the health experts say there's nothingwrong with further investigation. "We're about tolaunch a big study on asbestos," says Spengler."We actually have to do some pilot studying, andmaybe this is a good place to do some testing."

Of course, removal and study cost money. Thereport says removing contaminated asbestos fromthe building would cost more than $51,000. That'sa lot of money, but still less than the reported$55,000 spent by one of Harvard's river houses tobuy new furniture.

"You've been there. You've seen it," says onedepartment source. "That place is not in greatshape."CrimsonEdward H. WuThe University says this leaking hole in thepolice department's basement ceiling will be fixednext week.

The University-commissioned report examined therisks posed by asbestos contained in theresidences, freight elevator and two trash andlaundry rooms on various floors of the apartmentbuilding. In addition to housing the policedepartment, the building is also home to more than150 first-year students.

The report, dated July 1993, identified anumber of asbestos-contaminated areas within thepolice station, including the first floor propertyroom, the men's and women's bathrooms, the officerlocker rooms and the first floor police task forceroom.

But the experts, who were read portions of theHarvard-commissioned report, cautioned thatasbestos was probably not the cause of specifichealth problems in the building.

The more likely cause of health problems, theexperts said, are personal habits, such assmoking, or poor conditions common to many olderbuildings.

A Crimson investigation reached no conclusionon whether there was any link between healthproblems among police officers and the conditionof the building. But the investigation made threefindings:

. Longstanding maintenance problems, which theUniversity has allowed to go uncorrected, havehurt the quality of the police officers' workinglife.

. Asbestos was removed from the police stationearlier this year at the same time officers andothers worked in the building. Health experts saythat such removal significantly increases thehealth risk posed by asbestos, although the levelof exposure depends on what precautions are used.

. Asbestos-containing floor tiles andasbestos-containing pipes, named in theUniversity-commissioned report as possible sourcesof "minimal" danger to workers, are in a state ofdisrepair throughout the police departmentoffices.

The Crimson provided University officials withseven photographs of conditions inside the policestation yesterday, including the pictures thataccompany this article. Almost immediately,officials at the University police department,Harvard Real Estate, Environmental Health andSafety, the Harvard News Office and the privateenvironmental services company that produced theHarvard-commissioned asbestos report were summonedfor a tour of police headquarters.

In a statement released shortly after that tourlate yesterday, the officials said unequivocallythat the building is safe. And Police Lt. LawrenceJ. Murphy and Harvard spokesperson Joe Wrinn saidlast night that "sealed, contained areas"protected police employees from exposure toasbestos during the recent removal.

"The photographs do not show environmentaldanger of any kind, nor the potential for anyunusual health-related concerns, other than thoseconnected with the normal debris and dustassociated with construction and remodeling," saysthe statement, which is signed by sevenofficials--including Michael F. Tibert, thedirector of the environmental company thatproduced the Harvard-commissioned report.

But the report prepared by Tibert's companyappears, in places, to contradict the officialstatement he signed. For example, while thestatement says that the only asbestos in thebuilding remains in floor tiles, Tibert's ownreport details three different locations ofasbestos in the department's pipe work.

And although the official statement says theasbestos tile would have to be "purposely grounddown" to pose any danger, Tibert's report saysasbestos may become hazardous during any one ofsix activities. Those activities include "routinecleaning," "moving furniture," "hanging plants"and "general deterioration."

The report recommends asbestos removal thatwould cost the University $51,054. Universityofficials indicate they will remove the asbestoswhen the building is fully renovated next summer.

Considerable portions of the 29 Garden St.police headquarters recently have been, orcurrently are being, renovated. Upstairs, there isa new dispatch and communications area.Downstairs, work is being completed on a newholding area, which will have two spacious"holding rooms" complete with glass observationwindows.

But large sections of the station--mostly thosenot readily visible to the general public, placeswhere officers spend a considerable amount oftheir time over the course of a year--remain in asqualid state.

Numerous maintenance problems, reportedlyignored for years, remain: large holes and mold inthe ceilings, asbestos tiling in the floors andpipes, exposed wiring and plumbing fixtures whichleak water into carefully positioned buckets.

Officers say there is no hot water in thelocker room shower facility, that no one has usedit in years, and that it is so filthy that it isunlikely anyone will ever use it again.

"I wouldn't wash my dog in the shower," saysKotowski. "It's disgusting, nasty. They refuse tofix that."

"We've stated a number of different reasons whywe need to have an adequate shower, nothing fancy:If an officer got in a struggle in a street, wereexposed to someone filthy, or bodyfluids--something more serious--someone thatreally stunk, or if someone worked a twelve-hourshift and would like to take a quick shower inbetween shifts, it would be nice to have a placeto freshen up," Kotowski said. "If you get in afight with a filthy homeless person, there shouldbe some specific strong soaps."

"There are very few police departments that donot even have adequate shower facilities," theunion president added. "We've asked and asked andasked and been told it's not in the real estatebudget."

In the men's locker room, holes larger than afoot in circumference perforate the ceiling. Waterdrips slowly, continuously into two large bucketsin the middle of the floor. Throughout thebuilding, wires and pipes protrude through openholes.

Kotowski said that on occasion the locker roomfloods with as much as an inch of water, and thatofficers must put their uniforms on while standingon a bench.

"It was more important to do the renovationsthat were more important to them. They put therenovations in front of the safety of theemployees," Kotowski said. "They did improvementsupstairs for upper management--the conferenceroom, offices, they redid bathroom upstairs. Nowthey went downstairs and they didn't touch thelocker room."

Adjacent to the men's locker room is the men'sbathroom, which also has large holes in itsceiling. The ceiling tile is flaking above theurinals, which officers complain leak, causingfloor tiling to buckle.

A vent located directly above the two bathroomstalls is covered with a gray, soot-like filth. Asimilar substance can be found in gratesthroughout the police department.

A green garden hose projects from a cabinetbeneath the women's bathroom sinks. Two womenofficers said this exposed hose used to carry rawsewage.

Kotowski and other officers said they haverepeatedly brought their concerns to policedepartment management. Yet each time, they say,officers are told Harvard does not have thefinancial wherewithal to bankroll improvements inthe locker rooms, bathrooms and other locations.

Kotowski said he has appealed to Brian D.Sinclair '62, assistant director for finance andadministration for the police department,describing officers' concern about workingconditions within the building.

"We repeatedly approached them...I'm veryserious about what people in my union deserve,"Kotowski said. "We've pointed out to them the factthat we need showers, that we need cleanerbathrooms." Kotowski said he proposed that ifrenovating the showers was too expensive, thedepartment should consider purchasing aself-contained shower at a lower cost.

Sinclair did not return repeated telephonecalls yesterday.

Police Lt. Lawrence J. Murphy, the actingchief, said yesterday that the maintenanceproblems were temporary inconveniences stemmingfrom the installation of a handicapped rampoutside the station. He said the tile in the men'sand women's bathrooms was replaced a month ago,and that the new tile does not contain asbestos.

Photographs of the women's room, however, showthe tiles there to be almost identical to the tilein the locker room, which has been in place foryears. Asked about the deteriorating condition ofthe bathroom tile in the women's room, Murphysaid, "it gets beat up real fast." The actingchief also said that the locker room tile willsoon be replaced.

In the women's bathrooms, asbestos-containingfloor tile and mastic, a resin-like cement oftenused with such tiles, shows heavy damage. Sometiles are cracked and buckling, others are dustyand flaking.

Tiles are visibly decaying. Some are brokeninto pieces. And according to Harvard's ownasbestos report of the building, such crumblingmay make the asbestos in the tile "friable,"releasing it into the air and making it moredangerous.

Says the report: "The floor tile must betreated as asbestos-contaminated."

Although the upstairs communications area hasbeen newly renovated--complete with recessedlighting and a more open, spacious receptionarea--there is asbestos debris in the basementelectrical room as well as in pipes which runthroughout the building, according to Harvard'sown investigation of the building, a copy of whichwas obtained by The Crimson.

Officers say three separate asbestos removalprojects have taken place at the station thisyear, but that little has been done in the lockerroom or bathrooms. A few months ago, workersinstalled new tiles in part of the men's room sothat an electrical conduit could run through thefloor.

During at least one asbestos removal project,officers were on duty while asbestos was beingripped from the ceiling directly above them, fourofficers have told The Crimson independently.Asbestos air-quality tests were also routinelyperformed while officers were working in thestation, they said.

Ralph G. Vetters '85, an organizer for theHarvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers,says dispatchers and communications personnel onduty during the asbestos removal were paidovertime wages to compensate for the "headache."

"It wasn't a pay-off or an attempt to hushanybody up," Vetters says. "It was a highlyrespectful thing to do."

But Murphy, the acting chief of the Harvardpolice, said last night that department employeeswere not paid overtime wages during the asbestosremoval. They received the extra pay, he said,during a later period when contractors inspectingthe building were "banging at the walls."

Health experts consulted by The Crimson saythat removal while on duty increases the healthrisk posed by the asbestos. The overall riskdepends on the precautions taken as well as theamount of asbestos removed.

"There were some studies conducted by theEnvironmental Protection Agency of asbestos intile or lucite," says John D. Spengler, professorof Environmental Health at the School of PublicHealth. "It was found that these processesproduced pretty big clumps--big particles--ofasbestos. They don't stay in the air very long,and don't tend to be a major health problem."

Officials at Harvard's Environmental Health andSafety office and Harvard Real Estate who arefamiliar with the process have referred allquestions to the University's news office. Thenews office has been unable to provide details andevidence of University safeguards and testing.

Both sides in the growing dispute over workconditions in the police department seem tosupport further renovations and asbestos removal.

And the health experts say there's nothingwrong with further investigation. "We're about tolaunch a big study on asbestos," says Spengler."We actually have to do some pilot studying, andmaybe this is a good place to do some testing."

Of course, removal and study cost money. Thereport says removing contaminated asbestos fromthe building would cost more than $51,000. That'sa lot of money, but still less than the reported$55,000 spent by one of Harvard's river houses tobuy new furniture.

"You've been there. You've seen it," says onedepartment source. "That place is not in greatshape."CrimsonEdward H. WuThe University says this leaking hole in thepolice department's basement ceiling will be fixednext week.