NTEU Chapter 280 and AFGE Local 3331 completed their final of three safety checks of the recently-flooded Reagan building offices. We wrote about the flood in a recent post. The office spaces have been cleared by the unions and facilities to re-open, and should be fully open to employees on Monday, April 16. (editor's note: revised from original Friday date)
GSA replaced wet carpeting and wet ceiling tiles. They also steam cleaned the fabric cube walls of flooded cubes, wiped down all desk surfaces, and stripped affected wallpaper. Employees returned to the 5th floor last week, the 4th floor earlier this week, and will re-occupy the still-closed 3rd floor tomorrow.
During its safety walk-through, NTEU did note a faint chemical odor likely emanating from either the new carpet or the glue holding it down. NTEU encouraged management to increase fresh airflow to the affected areas and allow employees who experience adverse effects from the chemical smell to telework until the off-gassing has finished.
At NTEU's request, management provided us a material safety data sheet for the glue, which you can download by clicking the image on the right. Keep in mind, however, that the off-gassing may be coming from either the glue, the carpet components, and/or the fresh paint.
Anyone affected by the smells and having difficulty getting management to acknowledge the problem should contact NTEU 280 at info@nteu280.org. And as always, your membership helps. Click here to learn more.