November 7 – More than two months have passed since Michael Remke set foot in the Ivan Hilton Science and Technology Building at New Mexico Highlands University, where he teaches forestry.
He still feels the consequences of that visit in early September: persistent abdominal cramps, especially on the left side of his body. He said he was concerned that the pain could be a harbinger of poor kidney function.
“I’m still experiencing strange symptoms,” Remke said.
Highlands President Neil Woolf this week released a new report from the New Mexico Environment Department cataloging nearly 500 pounds of “presumed hazardous waste” — much of it flammable, toxic, corrosive or all three — that had been stored at the bottom for years . floor of the now closed Ivan Hilton Building.
The report also cites 16 “potential violations” by the University of Las Vegas, NM, related to its handling of hazardous materials.
Woolf’s campus-wide email provides the clearest description yet of the potentially harmful chemicals stored in the science building, which has been the subject of a weeks-long chemical cleanup, a public health advisory and an investigation following custodian’s death Martin Lujan, September 54. .
Possible violations listed in the report include failure to properly label and store hazardous waste, to provide adequate hazardous waste training to employees, to develop an emergency response plan, and to maintain emergency equipment. All violations required corrective action, although the university has already resolved six of the issues.
“As you can see from the NMED report, this case is the result of all parties at the institution not meeting standards,” Woolf wrote in an email to The New Mexican. “Our students deserve the very best, which is why we take a shared responsibility approach to our improvement.”
Environment Department investigators found that much of the waste in the Ivan Hilton building – which contained tens of kilos of potentially harmful substances such as mercuric nitrate, bromine and salt and chlorosulfonic acids – had been “not stored in accordance with regulations.”
According to the report, chemical hygiene and waste management throughout the building were ‘substandard’.
“In some laboratories, hazardous waste containers were found to be open and much of the contents appeared to have evaporated over time,” the report said. “Some labs had entire cabinets and shelves of chemicals where the waste status could not be accounted for.”
This isn’t the first time Highlands has been accused of violating hazardous waste storage protocols. The Environment Department report shows previous violations involving hazardous waste after inspections in 2016, 2015 and 2007.
The storage of hazardous substances has long been a problem in Highlands, said Remke, assistant professor of forestry.
“The faculty, the people working on this issue at the university, we all want to provide a safe and meaningful place for students, but this is really an old problem,” he said.
Although faculty and union officials also raised concerns in September about the potential for chemical contamination at the recycling center on Highlands’ campus after cleanup began, the Environment Department report notes that “no hazardous waste was discovered or observed there.”
Highland administrators have taken some steps to right the ship.
“I have taken immediate action to resolve the issues at the Ivan Hilton Science Building and review safety protocols at NMHU,” Woolf wrote in an email to The New Mexican.
He added: “We will continue to follow the direction of government agencies such as NMED to the letter as we remediate our situation and ensure we exceed all safety standards in the future.”
In addition to fixing six of the problems the Environment Department has already discovered, university administrators have developed a corrective action plan, shared Wednesday in Woolf’s campus-wide email, to address the remaining 10. The plan lists specific timelines for improvement.
Remke said the level of transparency is admirable.
“The new president shows that he values transparency. He believes it is important to address these issues and make the university not only a functional place, but also a safe place,” he said.
Administrators have also taken some steps to address concerns from faculty and staff unions, said Mary Parr-Sánchez, president of the New Mexico chapter of the National Education Association, which represents Highland workers in partnership with the American Federation of Teachers-New Mexico.
Reporting by The New Mexican drew Woolf’s attention to a complaint filed by Highlands unions that ended up in his junk mail, Parr-Sánchez said.
She added that parties on two sides of the issue – union representatives and administrators – have since entered into a memorandum of understanding to move forward in jointly resolving the dispute without the intervention of arbitration.
“These are very solvable problems if they work together – and I believe they are capable of doing so,” Parr-Sánchez said. “But it’s going to take a culture change, and it’s going to take some trust on both sides.”
The unions have demanded that three university facilities officers be placed on paid administrative leave pending the resolution of all investigations into the matter. Parr-Sánchez noted that the university has not yet taken that step.
“We are not accusing them of guilt, but we are saying that they are part of this investigative process and they must be removed from it so that a fair investigation can be conducted,” she said.
Remke said he would like to see Highland administrators do more to help those who believe they have been affected by chemical exposure find and pay for treatment from medical specialists.
“I’ve been trying to get into doctors’ offices, but it’s really challenging to get into doctors’ offices here in rural Las Vegas,” he said.
Remke had a doctor’s appointment scheduled for Thursday, but with a snowstorm hitting northern New Mexico, he said it would likely be canceled.
“I still haven’t been able to get medical support from the university to address my concerns,” Remke said.
He added: “I am absolutely concerned about the health and well-being of people who have been exposed to some of these materials.”
