1 15 6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange Description An account of the resource <p style="margin-top: -1em; line-height: 1.2em;">The Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange comprises 120 linear feet and spans the late 1800s to 2005; however, the bulk of the coverage is from the 1960s to the 1980s and there are many undated items. The collection was donated to Special Collections of the National Agricultural Library in 1985 by Dr. Alvin L. Young (1942- ). Dr. Young developed the collection as he conducted extensive research on the military defoliant Agent Orange. The collection is in good condition and includes letters, memoranda, books, reports, press releases, journal and newspaper clippings, field logs and notebooks, newsletters, maps, booklets and pamphlets, photographs, memorabilia, and audiotapes of an interview with Dr. Young.</p> <p>For more about this collection, <a href="/exhibits/speccoll/exhibits/show/alvin-l--young-collection-on-a">view the Agent Orange Exhibit.</a></p> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Box The box containing the original item. 089 Folder The folder containing the original item. 2262 Series The series number of the original item. Series IV Subseries II Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Huffaker, Robert H. Title A name given to the resource Letter: from Robert H. Huffaker to Alvin L. Young, July 8, 1985 Subject The topic of the resource BSOB citizen action group laboratory protocol ambient air sampling Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange Description An account of the resource <p style="margin-top: -1em; line-height: 1.2em;">The Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange comprises 120 linear feet and spans the late 1800s to 2005; however, the bulk of the coverage is from the 1960s to the 1980s and there are many undated items. The collection was donated to Special Collections of the National Agricultural Library in 1985 by Dr. Alvin L. Young (1942- ). Dr. Young developed the collection as he conducted extensive research on the military defoliant Agent Orange. The collection is in good condition and includes letters, memoranda, books, reports, press releases, journal and newspaper clippings, field logs and notebooks, newsletters, maps, booklets and pamphlets, photographs, memorabilia, and audiotapes of an interview with Dr. Young.</p> <p>For more about this collection, <a href="/exhibits/speccoll/exhibits/show/alvin-l--young-collection-on-a">view the Agent Orange Exhibit.</a></p> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Box The box containing the original item. 089 Folder The folder containing the original item. 2265 Series The series number of the original item. Series IV Subseries II Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Huffaker, Robert H. Title A name given to the resource Letter: from Robert H. Huffaker to Alvin L. Young, July 25, 1985 Subject The topic of the resource BSOB citizen action group health monitoring ambient air sampling https://www.nal.usda.gov/exhibits/speccoll/files/original/ec91ee0f8addbbb28aa066f839b4f6cc.pdf 9fc3a260350efa3ab3b937be610e13dd PDF Text Text Item D Number 02217 Author Corporate Author RODOrt/ArtiClB TttlB Typescript: Meeting Notice, Citizens Committee on the State Office Building, January 17,1983 Journal/Book Title Year Month/Day Color Number of Images D 4 Thursday, September 20, 2001 Page 2217 of 2293 �M&ttCB THE ST&TS OPPSCS D&TBs January 17* 1-9*3 : TIMES 7s.3tJ - PLAcSs Opportunities for Broome^ tnc* 5$ Whitney Avenue Blnghamton, Hew York 13901 AGSHDft ITSMS 1, Plan an activity to coincide with the anniversary of the fire at the State Office BuiMing, The fire otccurred on Fefo, 5th* Suggestions* to date, are to have; A* A awaas demonstration at noon time on Feb. 4t-h? B. A mass demonstration on Saturday, the 5th. » 2, Follow tip on the demand* made as .a result of the Dec. 9th meeting Which was attended by approximately 120 persona. {A copy of those demands are attached*) It is .necessary to follow Tip .on the successful meeting «rf Dec, 9tlu If there IB an interest In this health posed by re-opjenitig the State Office Building, must show it, For further information call; Hike McGalra T97-«9M - evenings Kelly Lynch 723«$4S3 - days Me isa 723-7B42, �C1TI*EB>& COI4R1TTBE OI9 THE Bll*GffAWT0J& STATE OFFICE ^ ^ » . PRESS BBLE&SE PQLfcOW W OW fm PUBLIC F0K0K Off THE KHSGHftRTOJ* STATE* OFFICE HELD OK DECEMBER 9th, BIRGBBWJOR BEW YX)ftK He almond immediate transfer of the medical surveillance to> anappropriate academic groo? with, expertise in the area. The committee £* concerned witfe the conflict of Interest created by the State which is the polluter and defendant and in. charge of medical surveillance, in addition, the surveillance as developed by the defend cuts is unacceptable, Medical surveillance of exposed persons should be life long, jtrst a* would be indicated after aft&estos exp0*wre or expo&ure- to- other chemic&lsj w&icb. remain. f» the bodfyv Fat Mopsjr for f uj-aost PCB^&> biphcnylenee , and dioxrinu , and other special tests should be perforated on exposed persons who it, ThiF «-ho«ld inc-luaSe persons working*" in or part*: of the Srtate Office Bvildi»g> the parking° City H«^l» or Coimty Of fi.ce B^iMinf * 2* The first priority of the State imi»t be to the health of those exposed. To date, many more dollar* have been allocated and pendted by the state on the bwildin? than on- person* exposed to the deadly cheitdcalR found within the State Off fee !fu tiding^ and al«o in the parking garage and in City H&11, which, as indicated last night by the City*& consultant Dr. VerMt> was contaminated by the explosion* 3» We accept the invitation of tlte State- to. have the Citizen* committee appoint a- representative on the State panel. We appoint Ellen Silberseld of the Environmental Defense fund to be our•»•represent*tive at this time. The unions which, represent the workers- affected should appoint representatives to the State's expert panel., One of these representatives must be an expert «fio can accurately * assess the psychological probleme that h&ve and shall arise-, 4* David Kings* Office of General Services, said last night that the State is in, the process of developing psychiatric tneanfF to prepare tfte* workers for re-entry to the barildi»?r Wt reject tfeir position and are affronted by R^ngr^s efforts at roauipulation, ,< worker ssliowlsS not 'be forced to enter the barildin^ ai the threat / of the lose of their �6. indicate* ttet the Stat^ i, t»tot*«* " f tor. ^ are allied *w*rei* *tte^t& on tte. f**t crfT the State «,d Bros** cttmty H»*2tk W*r**UF tte *erio^ft«twreof »* State MMtm: erf *e*»> r^«rfed to them, ^hi,, c*owmftt^ «» of teftltft. r to 6t*te ce tte �___ .*- *& not iwwre of me#le#l proW^ms that, are related? to the fire. H5p *rc appalled £>JF apparent attempts oi» the part of tfir State »n<$ ftroorae Coimtjr jfe«ltfe Departwwitt to> tlwr teriouE ftftture of toxic etaKfevJ* and- thef r *&*• state r*f&*«* to AcknowJetfge- the «Mjfjitcae» . effects which hAve> i^c-fl reported to theru., TWs- conmiif tee is awnrf of £ue«lt& prDlOrms- w&ich, occuretf to persons wh<x were tire Bingftamton. State Of ££c* StrJMJnf tlnce tike St»te- jnuet a^X^owJ^ff^ t&*t there ifr IJftJc fnfcnnationi ei» tfte ef f ectB of most of the c&cmic-«J» found Jt» the £t*te Office. tbe pwk/r^ g-wage. City H*Ji. Midi the County Office 1'hc Con^.f ttc-e demimd* a» expantJe* Wftccsmeut of ri&fc «JJ the *«oim effect* ceE tjto** chemicaifir If th« re-opened the»efrtwirfardK.mtmt fre- «rati«f.f The cownittee on the St^te Off-fee BoJldiny freJfew* thet there a£» w»y t^*t tftc bttildlft^ c*n.^frc clcimed «md rc-opcn««3t ff the starter fiojd* to Bar* K* Kim"*, *^ficswnent. Kr. Rfngt »g»ift riigJxt t&e St*tefs committment to cie«n »J1 we«r of to- the sftfnr I«veJ» &* iii otAejr JNzlJdfffgsr*. Tftc Committer agrees wf tft Mr, Rings «nd 4%fn»nd« th*t tbl& cononlttroent mu^t alec be The Commfttec on the STatt? Office BuiJdinjgr i* eupported byt Local ^94r county redcratfon of Lsfcor Forte PtrMie J&tere*t R0f,e«rc& Group for Brocmjc-^ Xxtc»$ Bfjj^antfero Civijt Service &n& Later CoeJiticc;;; IBM Worker* Uteit*df West Fide Council f &ingli«»ton. Fireffg^ter* Sowtfc Sfdfe COCTjeiJ? CSEfe toe»J (W^y w&o- work ir> the Government Complex For farrtfter faforaifttJott* contact: Cftwrlotte Koran, Bella Sroitfe ?2>-7$5D^ Ki*e ®P(Siir« 7»T»fff t � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange Description An account of the resource <p style="margin-top: -1em; line-height: 1.2em;">The Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange comprises 120 linear feet and spans the late 1800s to 2005; however, the bulk of the coverage is from the 1960s to the 1980s and there are many undated items. The collection was donated to Special Collections of the National Agricultural Library in 1985 by Dr. Alvin L. Young (1942- ). Dr. Young developed the collection as he conducted extensive research on the military defoliant Agent Orange. The collection is in good condition and includes letters, memoranda, books, reports, press releases, journal and newspaper clippings, field logs and notebooks, newsletters, maps, booklets and pamphlets, photographs, memorabilia, and audiotapes of an interview with Dr. Young.</p> <p>For more about this collection, <a href="/exhibits/speccoll/exhibits/show/alvin-l--young-collection-on-a">view the Agent Orange Exhibit.</a></p> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Box The box containing the original item. 088 Folder The folder containing the original item. 2217 Series The series number of the original item. Series IV Subseries II Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Typescript: Meeting Notice, Citizens Committee on the State Office Building, January 17, 1983 Subject The topic of the resource BSOB public opinion citizen action group https://www.nal.usda.gov/exhibits/speccoll/files/original/79523c65d7b708254c79ce2d6d814b3a.pdf f7cbd85dfd9a35bf2a1da19e87b5d710 PDF Text Text Item D Number 02219 Author Corporate Author RBport/ArtlCiO Title Clippings: various newspaper articles, January 30 to Februarys, 1983 Journal/Book Title Year Month/Day Color Number of Images D 22 Desoripton Notes Thursday, September 20, 2001 Page 2219 of 2293 �^F'tfv* - — • , . • M fMt, _ _ . :. |VV'' '- •' I'iiiui^JTf-'^- :-.-s'. *#9. •• I-.'''"-' '*•'•• • i . - « 4HR«sg£jfci^ ^ ded Jl'SWiSsIsm^*----* I 22IE.5"! **fc «• JPAw»«»toJt stttrofnct r Binghamton State Office Buildi* !! . Jonj^car, the city streets and sidewalks were de- , her lastroundsbefore calllof her jobs was to monitor the (d «he bad record! that it was ,'vt Stationary ^sigin&f1 Michael Dear the control board in the base,;!.'. 'V''^; •' 'i .•li^;rt>'VV"*!".-l'' " -• ..~ jiugut had been routine. Decker and Whittemore had had the building M themselves since 1 to a.ra4whei)tbea^htdeanmg' '' 7 "ftboutaJB***-^" '--^ ;... ^ffi',0"? floor beJ | ':' WSF^^nitothat .' neatina n;pr» «„!_.. L^- • - SS!w^**B r; »«nr«jSHl<'*»£1^-i &A'ft£*&&SSt --'SSSBBs^— \\-ap*K!^Sw«s*5fta off in the, tusiance'huf ^.— / j —-»• «iu«ucr «mes. SmokSmTbl^tt ^Veral huodr^ *e thuds, and Iw hWe8S,g308e5°nds^r Whittemore knows xthat in those few seconds, the t quiet of the night turned into, chaos: elevators on the main floor, refused to. move. Cars on upper floors moved with hesitation, thea stopped. Lights on the main floor began to dim. 4 "All the electricity was going spaoo," Whitteraoresaid. : ' . ? - . . Decker ran up from the basement 'as Whittemore ran fonan office to check out the alarms. Pecker 'told her: "The machine room is on fire." * .Decker's face reflected horror, Whittemore recalls. His eyes were bluging ; his face was white. Next door to the State .Office Building, a warning light'blinked on the alarm panel of the Binghamton Fife Bureau. At first, off icials thought little of the alarm; the 10-year-old building occasionally had a ' malfunctioning alarm system. .• 4 few seconds later, though, Whittemore called the tity add told them there was a fiwin iritfF -»•}'• ' • . ,, ' - !'\Jit| Fire Chief Donald E. Faughnan heardlhe thuds Whittemore heard as he walked down a ramp at the rear of the building to answer the alarm. But to him they mere explosions the likes trf which he ' hafl never heard before, nor since. At least three explosions made the building quiver. After a few minutes, the explosions ended. UUP blast ripped a large hole in the circuit board. To Faughnan, it looked like an artillery shell had been f irea through the panel. _,_ ^_; _ u,i ____ K **-* ^ ttLttara tu ^Jtei^^tt.?*^' ™^ £te?^^gBr,a*! �^he pungent odor of vinyl'chloride filled the base meat where the firefighters waited. Faughnan knew the smell came front binning electrical insulation, He ordered his men to suit up with special breathing equipment. New York-State Electric & Gas Corp., the power company, was called by .the fire bureau at 5:49,. afyut 13 minutes after the alarms. Power was shut off at 6:20. , JSp, for almost 50 minutes, the electrical arcing ' continued in the mechanical room as two dozen Binghamton firefighters stood outside, waiting for the power to be turned off.. ' 'Temperatures began rising as the fire burned. In the middle of the switch gear, temperatures probably reached 3,000 degrees Farenheit, Faughnan said. In other parts of the room, it was well over 200 degrees, he said. The fire didn't amount to much, Faughnan said later. But the heat caused by the electrical malfunction continued to build as the firefighters waited for thepower to be shut off. The heat, was so intense a porcelain insulator cracked a few inches' from the top of a General Electric Co. transformer at one side of the electrics' The Sunday Press _JaaJO._1jM33_» Binghamton, N.V. Lois Whittemore . . . security guard panel. The transformer was not in use at the time. The crack allowed about 180 gallons of 1,100 gallons of Askarel cooling fluid in the transformer to leak onto the floor and over the super-hot electrical circuits. The oil contained polychlorinated biphenyls, & chemical compound used for 40 years to Keep transformers cool. PCBs, as they are called, don't burn, and were used in large quantities for electrical equipment. In 1979, the use of PCB oil as transformer coolant was banned by the federal government but the ban did not apply to transformers already in use, such as the one in the State Office Building. The Askeral oil did its job Feb. 5,1981: it didn't burn. It did something far worse; it vaporized, or pyrolysized. Pyrolysis is a chemical process that takes place in the presence of extreme heat or electricity, converting one chemical into another substance. , In this case, the new'substance was an amalgam of chemicals which included several varieties of dioxin and furan compounds, including the version considered the most toxic substance made by man -r tetrachlorodibenzodioxin or, in the chemist's lingo, TCDD, Officials didn't know until a .week later that the chemicals were-formed in the fire. They didn't reveal the fact until three weeks after the fire. The fire also turned the plastic insulation around the cables and wires on the switching gear into a black soot which mixed with the vaporizing oil. The result was a greasy, black film of soot that turned into a black cloud in the mechanical room. Tucked in a corner of the room was a small ventilation shaft with an opening 2 feet by 5 feet wide. It stretched from the basement to the roof .passing through the men's restroom on each floor. The cloud of toxic chemicals was sucked into this shaft by air currents as the hot air in the room tried torise. • ••; • The soot cloud entered the shaft and rose through the building, passing through the open ducts in the restrooms and ceiling crac'^, A fine mist of soot slipped through the oathrc ' doors .into the hallways and offices. Faughnan said he found something unusual when the doors were first opened. Instead of smoke pouring out through the opening, it appeared to be pulled back into the building. . "This is contrary to the way smoke usually behaves," Faughnan said. The ventilation shaft working in concert with the two rooftop smoke hatches on top of stairwells created a draft in the building, like a chimmney. The open hatches, leading to the cold night air, sucked the warmer air upwards. «, , Once outside, the escaping toxic cloud was caught in a low-level temperature inversion, a weather phenomenon that traps air close to the ground, that meant that the cloud hung relatively close to the building and when it did disperse later in the morning, it probably stayed in the lower atmosphere and fell closer to the building, in the downtown area. Crews wearing protective garb entered the room and quickly put out the lingering fires, then waited for the molten metal to cool down. Within a hour, the electrical chaos and the chemical production process was over. By sunrise, a new • crisis was just beginning. �l>rcss Questions on open shaft linger along with toxins Questions about th6 construction of the 18-story State Office Building persist two years after the fire. Most questions center on the ventilation shaft near the mens1 restrooms, Which served as the main es, cape route for the soot contaminated with with dioxins.furansandPCBs. • Was that shaft supposed to be open? Fire investigators and a building construction expert said it was unusual for such an opening to provide access from the .machine room directly to every floor in the building, ','Ive never seen a shaft that hasn't been blocked near a mechanical room," said Steven L. Biegel, director of program planning, National Institute of Building Sciences, based in Washington. Biegel said construction practices require me,'chemical rooms to be sealed off with cinder block w$fs that can withstand two hours of fire. ' 'Donald E. Faughnan, deputy chief of the Binghamton Fire Bureau, and Philip Lomax, a fire ini vtestigator for the state Department of State, said such* a shaft should be sealed near a mechanical robin. *If that shaft had been closed, we would only have had a basement fire," Faughnan said. jftew York's current building code requires such protection, although the code does not apply to public buildings. However, most state buildings con- form to the code where possible, said Francis A. McGarry, state fire administrator. Officials of the agency in charge of state buildings have'not provided evidence on exact plans for the Binghamton building. "We don't believe there was any code requirenent to have the (shaft) closed at the bottom," said Harry S. Stevens Jr., director of design and construction for the Office of General Services. ^Stevens said he has not seen the plans or checked the codes in effect when the tower was constructed. 'Other officials demur when asked for details on the accident, which occurred two years ago this Saturday. "It was just a series of circumstances," said David K. Seiffert, principal mechanical construction engineer, Office of General Services. Seiffert said the original plans are not detailed enough to show whether that vent should have been blocked. Seiffert and Stevens said the equipment was inspected at least once a year. The previous examination was in Sept. 1980. However, neither man has checked the report since the fire. . To make any determination more complicated,the electrical panels were ripped from the building a few days after the fire and discarded in a secure landfill near Niagara Fall*. -STEVE GEIMANN �!fl>'- t';..'lj;;! ) • • : • • f ':/. . -•' <|| « major hazard Ms *e«t, Preif fi9 ftueise (his utay. hot .**^ to <i* SMtriom hatitb .turf egritmmeattfuimfftmn/ ttat rwwto, Totiay's.&rs, tbe tecamlte » series, review* tbe gfteatiOe litentoe M dbxio, deadly obemictliaowe topuu. . . . . - -;j <••••&..i"f ,~-***m ««Kun«,niitl • V '; . . ' , i . A chemical called dioxfcj Ms become America's environment*] #vi! of the '«te, eclipsing harmful pesticides s»rfj as DDT or deadly poisons such as arsenicwsadangertfrhumtahealtb. i^^-<^ Scientists now think dioxin is a far greater villian • than polychlorinated biphenyls, which acted as tbe catalyst in the two-year-old Bingharoton Stale Office "Second,*dk>ans :hive;Bo use. The chemical is an unwanted ingredient in 'the manufacture of pesticides and is also formed when other chemicals are exposed to!extremely high temperatures or electricity."' " * ' . . . . : , Although unwanted and unused, the .cheroJcal exists ia the'nooks and crannies of the 18-story state office building, creating anxiety.for workers, uncertainty for the community and a monument to technology gone awry. .—"-<ln his budget to be presented to the state legislature today Gov. Mario M. Cuomo is expected to ask for the re-appropriation of , $5.6 million for the decontamination and reconstruction of. the Bmgbamton State, Office Building. .. No new money J> expected to be soagfit for the clean-up in Cuomo's budget. ~t ,,:The fears in Binghamton are not lintque. Homeowners in Times Beach, ty., at .Love Canal in Niagara Fills ih"' Slcveso, Italy, have first-hand experience with dioxins. The presence of dioxin in the soil forced many residents from then-homes. , . Vietnam,veterans were exposed to the defoliant, Agent Orange, which contained traces of dioxin as a contaminat• ing ingredient, A recent film on Agent Orange underscored the uncertainty about dioxin: "Doubts are more cruel .than the worst truth." , -,i,In Binghamton, officials believe only trace amounts of dioxini escaped from 'the state off ice tower after an early Ktonung fire and explosion almost two ,jrears ago. The bulk of the deadly chemical is inside the building at about, •'1^3 parts per minion.' i . ; , : Despite several industrial accidents with extensive biological testing and frequent scientific papers in journals, the exact dangers of dioxin remain unclear. :. -- — \ .. .. , , . ; . /.; malf mfff Building chemical crisis. < . •,• First, dioxins are deadly. A litUe bit can kill an animal and cause an array of biological problems, from abortions to crippling tbe immunity system. The effects in humans are less documented. Researchers recently claimed three workers at a chemical factory exposed to dioxin died of a rare, • «nft.H««H»-«aiw«w»>« «" — — -* - " i~iji_ organs together.' tu :, See DIOXIN, Back Page _ «n«<7 man two years ago, when the combination of 3,000-degree heat and transformer oil cooled with PCBs formed significant amounts of dioxin in the soot tower. bat has fouled the 18-story —For example, scientists know a 2S micrograra dose can kill a two-pound chicken. A mlcrp-^- " . , f r m e n t s on animals using dioxin . tp its pure form have failed to produce conclusions accepted by other scien• tjStS. : " •*> i ^urift IWJV exhibn less id^S results. ffita1ySitTsevere unxMweu, chief, chemibranch, National Instl, »™=wnwuai in North CaroUna. - • -I*His view is disputed by Dr. Bertram I>arnow, occupational health consultant £«$id adviser to Dlinois railroad workers >>i» recently won a large settlement ;J«tfter being exposed to dioxin. -,: i*tjCarnow examined 47 men exposed to l J jJlioxin -• .'i'V-— • in soil at 80 tattt nw »«> �• IUJIUW, .-. heard from people suffering psycnowgteal problems, with a corresponding in crease in alcohol and drug use. New York state denies BMkine « . -—u.ji^tt« those claims and has been rebuuea m «»» more information from the citizens. H-i McConnell said the best evidence of -i nell e likely to come from r ' effect in humans is ent uiseveso,«*»j, ' utrial accident in Seveso, Italy; munity **P. °f • '•fen from the Ty ScWbol-aa< wr by a Wisconsin researcner. ; Dr. Alan Poland of the University of Wisconsin's iMcArdle Laboratory for „ Cancer Research, reported the most 1 poaionous diotin, 13,7,8 tetrachlorodi; benxo-parjhdioxki, or TCDD, promotes ; cancer tumors in mice. '^Poland applied TCDD to the skin of treatea wiin uua-icw.. amounts »«. •. mice treated "•with a non-letal1 rases. • - -»-i—— I« •Mknat . , . , --"Hairless mice repeatedly administered high doses of (dioyin) have skin /.' which is easily damaged and may det 'vetop absceeees 'tbout the lace," Po; land wrote in tte Nov. 18,1862; inue of Nature, a British scientific journal. ' "V "The animali assume a humped slat, ure,'with the back arched above the • shoulders,,and they move about poorly,"Poland added. --:• Poland'said his tests may apply to humans because the effects seen on the skin of mice is similar to the effects on human skin during one-time exposure. ^ A U.S. scientist at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences found TCDD fed to rats caused a decrease hi the absorption of nutrients from food, but no cancer or death. Dr. Louise M. Ball working with four others reported the rat's intestines were unable to absorb simple sugar amino acids, a basic nutrient, and glucose. A Dow Chemical Co. scientist reported in the Journal of TOJHC Environmental Health in June 1981. a majority of the laboratory animals died 26 days to 46 days after & massive dose of TCDD was applied. , As for PCBs, information on its lack of toxicity is becomming clear. A major posionine in Yusho, Japan, in 1968, and a similar incident in Taiwan, in 1979, involved more than 1,000 who cooked with rice oil cont high levels of PCBs. Most suff • cbloracne. :• ' . - . - - . • ' . ; , .,'•-. •-"' - - • ' - >• At first PCBs were thought to be the principal pbsion. Tests reported in Dec. 1961 and Feb. 1982 found that polychlorinated dibeuzofurans, similar to the compounds found in the Binghamton soot, were responsible for toe prob-, lems.' -.• ;•' • ' .. - . /•'-"•• '•':.'•'.' General Electric Co., which made the . state office building transformer, questions the role of PCBs in causing (11ness. • • •- '•••*••, ' ..;..Robert S. Friedman, manaeer, environmental issues affairs, said tests on GE workers exposed to PCB» in transformer factories show no/•Hie• • • • - ---A_iui-«M«i*i*». "'i rsszss*^""* ** sas?i35ri*v5 iJssssassrfiMjt • •s±sr'atta?s Tomorrow! State buaglet heatth mottHorinK program' for worker*, - — - i -«•«_- .u._i..| �reed quickly to admit the analysis was faulty ana «ded more research and study before a conclusion Monument in the making Official? now concede the swift analysis was degned to allay nubile concern. Instead, it fueled Iblicdiitrust. < "We were under pressure to get some information it/' said Dr. Susan J. Standfast, a state epidemic!gst assigned to the health surveillance program. Each person now will be studied in light of the me they spent in the building. The 'first analysis raped people exposed for a few minutes with peoe who spent more, than 23 hours inside the lower. •aai mixture, the etate admits,: threw off the final suits. • • • •••-••• . The new analysis wot not begin until late FebruEDITOR'S NOTE: This is the third in a series of stoy,iww«ver. .. ' . ' -•• .'•>•• '" • •-ries re-examining the 1981 tire in (lie Bingbaiatoo At least one expert claims everything the state State Office Building, Today, /Importer Steve is done is insufficient to tell what's .'happening to Geiutano looks at what steps the stale look to monitople exposed to the chemicals. ',. , tor workers exposed to chemicals after the bluzc "No one seems to know what constitutes medical broke out. rveillance," said Dr. Ellen K. Silbergeld, chief xicologist for the Environmental Defense Fund By STEVE GEIMANN id chief spokesman for the citizens xommtttee on It's like trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle without s state building."It's very vague." J knowing the shape of the pieces or the design of the SUbergeld fear* time has run out .for the state. picture. lemlcal levels in those exposed nave probably decIn scientific terms, toxic chemicals are a vast uuled dramatically, from the days after the fire, she known. Each new medical or laboratory discovery id.:,:.. .'„• •-. *,:,.'.:.„. .,-,, ;v .. .': adds a little more to the portrait scientists are trying "There is some urgency for the state to make up to make of the biological effects of such chemicals mind," she said,, ; , .... . •., as dioxin and poly chlorinated biphenyls. .1 October 1981, Dr, Richard Oka, former deputy Especially important, scientists agree, are tests rector !of the state Division, of Laboratories and - from humans exposed to the chemicals. Those studjsearch, quit his job to protest the. way the state ies are the only way to make conclusions about a as handling the testing. ., ..... •..", J .\ ',.• chemical's health and environmental effects. Medical surveillance is the only way epidemioloFuture scientists may have problems, however, in $ts can judge the toxic effects of unknown cbemidetermining the effects of dioxin contamination in Is^jke dioxins, dibenzofurans and PCBs. Those the Binghamtoii State Office Building. Private sts results 'are the same as laboratory experir health experts said the state's health monitoring snts on animals,,,,, ; . , . . , . : ,, program for state workers exposed to toxic chemiiduals exposed to dioxin and ojs related toxic cals has been bungled several times. ' often survive the initial exposure without For example, blood taken from exposed workers Bungled tests added to toxic tower delays Chose tests often tegin within a few months of exsure and can continue for months or, hi some ses, years. Chemical worker* exposed to high levi of dioxin at a Monsanto Co. chemical plant in jst Virginia 50 years ago are stilt being studied., 5e.wraT fiingharoton residents, notably former unty Health Commissioner Dr. Arnold J. aecter, have insisted on lifetime tests for those «t seriously exposed hi the building, citing the ig waiting tune to see signs of contamination. ',... UK medical surveillance program, a key element any effort to reopen the state office building, mjlly involved only .those people who volunteered tp tested. Later, the state actively sought individiit knew were exposed. , tUbergeld, who is also involved hi the dioxin coioination incident in Times Beach, Mo., said tie untary approach was wrong. ,: : ,, . . . • "he state had a responsibility, 'she said, to trade I anyone who was .exposed and tj> take a bloijd ~nple. .' ./•-•, .* .'-.I,-. ., .. . . ;.•.. , lie state collected blood from SIS persons wo nt inside the state building and SOS persons who rked in the county and city buildings. A portiih, )ut 185 persons, spent more than 15 hours inside s tower. ..,.-_- ...... : : .,.. • ' . ; _ .. : The state's handling of the cleanup) 1 ' after the Feb. 5,1981, fire was lost or broken and stored alongside lunches and soft drinks in a com! munity referigerator in the state Health Depart ment. Some blood samples collected by Broome County in the first week after the fire were sent to a New Jersey laboratory that was not certified to analyze PCBs, state officials said. • People who may have been exposed were not, in every instance, tested and irregularities were detected in the first samples from a Wisconsin laboratory, further delaying final analysis. Several months after the fire, a state Health Department physician assigned to work on the chemical crisis quit to protest the state's handling of the health monitoring program. "It's a lousy deal," says Lois Whittemore, a state security guard who was on duty when the fire and explosions occurred. Whittemore and 480 persons who went into the 18story building after the fire or thought they were exposed became part of the surveillance program in late 1981. A single blood sample from each was taken. . One year later, on Dec. 9, the state reported the results, concluding the tests showed "no evidence of any PCB-related health effects." Challenged by a citizens' group, the state was See TESTS, 6A *M EDITION FINAL �••Fab. 1,19831 money is same -' 'V'.V. - • ' By STEVE GEIMANN Gov. Mario M. Cuomo will not seek an increase in money to clean the chemically*contaminated Bingharaton State Office Building this year. ' ,; Cuomo asked the legislature today for $3 million in 1983-84 for the cleaning, & reallocation of money appropriated last year and the year before, out not spent .;•••» "I'm told we need $3*million," Cuomo said at a briefing in Albany yesterday. "That is all we need for the moment «,. '. "It's not a Cutback, we're going forward,' Cuomo stressed. "We'll spend whatever it takes." The state has appropriated $11.1 million since the Feh, 5,1961, fire and explosion which closed tiie office tower. All but $3 million has been spent or is under contract. ' . • Officials working on the cleaning predicted last week the office building will remain closed for two years while contractors rebuild substantial portions of the inside. ,,-Cuomo daid the cleaning and decontamination remains a top priority of his administration and he said he wanted positive proof the building is «afA l\af/u^ tu/v**lrA(*e Mifitpffi in ttuktl* i/tKe "We'll do what we have to do," Cuomo said. "We're talking here about life and health." Cuomo said he .will be "assiduous" in asking Health Commissioner Dr. David Axelrod to assess health risks before deciding whether the building will be reopened and reoccupied by the state workers. Cuomo'said based on information from the 12person expert panel and the health department, the cleaning "is going well." Cuomo told The Evening Press the health of the workers will be his primary concern: "I have to be sure no one is going to get hurt. I nave to be sure no one is going to get sick." Cuomo aides said the state will have spent or contracted to spend $8,6 million by April 1, the start of the fiscal year. „ Former Gov. Hugh L. Carey asked for $7 mil- < lion last year and $4.1 million in 1981-82. Cuomo needs Legislature approval to spend the remainder in the next fiscal year. �Four Sections FINAL EDITION C leaniipTIeavesltower| shell of its former sell EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the fourth fa • MS tkf off lories re-examining the 1981 fire in the Binghamtoa State Office Building. Today Reporter Steve Geimaiu looks at the state's huh dlingo/the cleanup. By STEVE GEIMANN ' What was mice a typical office building of offices, desks, potted plants and water coolers now resembles a stage set from a Samuel Beckett play. Since the disastrous fire at the Binghamton State Office Building two years ago, every piece of furniture, every decorative feature has been removed. Huge holes have been made in the walls to facilitate cleaning. The floor tiles have been ripped up. The only workers who come out of the elevators each morning wear white body suits and air masks. The sound of typewriters and office chatter has been replaced by the whirr of vacuums. The workers are in the demolition business, but without the dust and noise normally associated with tearing down a building. They're slowly demolishing the Inside of the state office building to remove soot with toxic chemicals, including deadly dioxins, which has kept the building closed for two years. The job has kept 60 men busy for a year and cost New York taxpayers $8.6 million, with another $3 million to be spent this year and untold millions more in the future. "We'll spend whatever it takes," Gov. Mario M. Cuomo said this week as he unveiled his 1983 84 state budget. Since the fire on Feb. 5,1961, the state agency in charge of the building — the Office of General Services—has had one aim: to clean an unprecedentedly dirty building. That aim has at times brought OGS into Monument in the conflict with the state Health Department; whose charge is to protect the public nealth. -N The cleanup, though controversial, has. given scientists a rare chance to experimeol; with techniques to clean up wastes and check for deadly chemicals like dfantuu and dibemofurans. . • > N For example, a new method to collect air; was developed to measure for dioxins and dfe benzofurans, the two most poisonous cbemR cals found in the building. '•' A revolutionary new test to duplicate the bit of human skin 15 being devised to see bow much soot is absorbed by the skin from desk*tops and floors. Conventional measures either fail to collect enough soot, or too much nut* rial. . . - . . - . - • •• :-,-.,;. Each day, the cleanup crews use paper towels and push special vacuum cleaners to trap" particles of contaminated soot from the flooTj wall and exposed ceilings on every floor/ '. Workers also use paper swabs dipped in an industrial detergent known as Triton X-100. a cleaner resembling a super-strong FantastikVto wash down every exposed surface, from the non-asbestos insulation above the rippedout ceilings to the floor and walls. The paper "cloth"' is discarded at the first sign of soot and is not dipped back into the soi lution. •; Robert A. Westin, senior chemical engineer of Versar New York Inc., a private firm hired to oversee the cleanup, said the work has been w successful, except on the floors. * See CLEANUP, Back Page/ ' �Cleanup. Four Sections Continued from 1A Tests last year showed up to 396 micrograms of polychlorinated biphenyls per square meter on waxcovered vinyl tiles, The wax apparently absorbs the PCBs and makes it impossible to wash, Westin said. Vinyl-covered walls are 10 times less contaminated with up to 36.8 micrograms per square meter while desk tops showed 46 micrograms per square meter, Westin said. A test in January showed measurable levels of PCBs in the insulation. "We're getting loose soot," Westin said in an interview. A report submitted by Versar last year concluded: "Repeated efforts to clean the ceramic and vinyl floor tile with detergent solution have not been successful." Other chemicals are not being measured. Officials have devised a ratio to keep track of the dioxins as the PCBs are measured. High PCB levels on the floors recently prompted the state to abandon the tiles on all 18 floors. It's less expensive to replace the tile now than spend more money to clean it, especially since the worn-out tile would have to be replaced in several years anyway. The tedious cleaning, which began in February 1982, has cost about $1.5 million, with each floor taking about 10 days to two weeks to vacuum and clean., Allwash Inc. of Syracuse has been hired to provide the crews, the equipment and materials for the cleaning. As of yesterday, the firm had vacuumed and washed from the 18th or top floor down to the 9th floor and vacuumed between the 9th floor and 3rd floor. The cleaning is slated to end April 1. Versar received $2.1 million for developing cleaning plans, monitoring the cleaners and providing a dozen security guards, and for air tests in the baseDuring the cleaning, workers moved 930 desks, 1,950 chairs, 850 file cabinets, 522 tables, 200 typewriters, 325 bookcases, 50 couches, 40 adding machines, 20 postage scales, 15 copier machines, 15 computer terminals and 100 lockers to the underground garage. Hundreds of thousands of records and files with even miniscule amounts of black soot were discarded in a special landfill. The state is reconstructing those records. "It's just like a warehouse," said David L. Mummert, Versar health and safety officer. The 60 workmen (for health reasons, women of child-bearing age are not allowed) spend a normal day inside the building, although their job is anything but normal. Drinking, eating and smoking must be done outside the building. Each worker must strip and shower after removing his white spacesuit and then pass through a special trailer in the basement before returning to the normal world. The state's biggest expense was,right after the fire when it employed emergency methods to do an immediate cleanup. A temporary power system was installed, a toxic clean-up crew from Connecticut mopped up spilled PCB oil and maintenance workers more accustomed to dirty floors and overflowing waste baskets swept up the soot. Those emergency contracts cost just over $1 mil-. lion. The state also spent $113,000 to renovate the former Columbus School on Hawley Street, which was turned into the new home for the displaced workers. The state pays $5,000 a month in rent. : • •', In the first, frantic days after the fire; the state's ' rush to clean and reopen the building resulted in mistakes, some of which may have allowed contamination from the tower to be tracked into downtown Binghamton. After the fire, state officials ordered workers into the building to begin vacuuming to reopen the tower "within a few days." State crews from Watertown, Buffalo and Albany went into the building wearing only thin protective suits while some locaTofficals began worrying about the toxicity of the chemicals. The state admitted only that PCBs were in the soot, while local health officials like Dr. Arnold J. Schecter, then county health commissioner, privately warned more dangerous dioxins and dibenzof urans might be found. State documents reveal the state, too, knew highly toxic chemicals might be in the soot, but did not say so publicly or stop the cleaning. "There was no reason to stop as long as the safety plan was being followed," Dr. David Axelrod, stale health commissioner, said a month after the fire. Admitting other chemicals were jpresent might have caused unnecessary alarm, officials said. Before the dioxin was found, state officials said, the cleanup workers walked through Binghamton City Hall in their work suits and toilets containing toxic soot were flushed. , , There were also subsequent admissions that the health and safety plan developed for cleaning PCBs was violated as cleanup workers walked around downtown still suited up. John F. Hudacs, executive deputy commissioner of OGS, concedes the cleanup got out of hand; but he insists the response wan annrrmriate eiven the information in hand. Tomorrow: The tttte tries to rebuild to Image tudtbe building. �- "A* „ &*&: t. 'l . 2.1383. op • Binghamton.N.Y. "A . -,- ,"*•/ State still ducks issue chemicals the opportunity to voice your opinion, as was suggested after the CBS report. I have read with interest the articles Now you have no excuse; we're au lisrelated to the contamination of the tening. State Office Building at Binghamton The <• facts speak for themselves. with dioxins and PCBs, and the reac- These chemicals are silent killers, tion of the state to the CBS report ,con- known to harm exposed persons and |,ceroing this issue. I read a lot about ; "doom and gloom" for Binghamton,. road. How many people have to develbut nothing about the real issue: cur- op cancer, skin disease, neurological ;. rent and long-term healthJbazard for at problems, leukemia, etc., before any; least 500 persons exposed to the chemicals. ; '. • *•• •• "• > •••-• Woen a similar incident occurred in i Hie state accusations of, nonprofes- The Netherlands, officials encased the sional journaligm seem dim in light of building in concrete and dropped it into • the apathy exhibited by officials of New the North Sea. The State of New York .Yorlc state concerning certain ques- appears to have encased the dirty SOB tions that remain unanswered for at in a shroud of political propaganda, ! least one taxpayer—me. and dropped it into the lap of John Q. ±-,:New. Yorlf, here's -your chance to Taxpayer.;. • clear up rumors circulating in my , ...,„!' LYNNR. TERRELL neighborhood. Perhaps you haven't had. Harpursville �Monument in the making Tough state taskRestoring faith EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the Btt* put in * aeries tatrkiag Ote second aaulveiwyofthc mi On that contaminated the Bujgbamtoo State Office BtdUiag. Today's ttory exunion bow information about the potential daggers- was aaadled by tite state. New .York has two jobs to do before it reopens the contaminated Binghamton State Office Building: rebuild the structure from basement to roof and rebuild its own tainted image. Both tasks can be expected to take .months, even years. State officials predict 'that reconstructing the building, piece by piece, will take another 2 to 2% years. Regaining credibility, which will play an even bigger role in determining whether the building ever reopens, may take longer. "It will be the people (of 'the community) who will make the decision on whether it's acceptable (to return to the building,)1' said John L. Buckley, Broome County's consultant on the cleanup. Or. Robert H. Huffaker, director of the state Office of Public Health, has acknowledged a credibility gap and recent statements indicate he is taking steps to build bridges with the community. ;•• GOT. Mario M. Cuomo, who assumed responsibility from a somewhat flippant predecessor, Gov. Hugh L. Carey, said the decision to reopen will be his and his alone. "I have to be sure no one is going to be hurt," Cuomo said in Albany this week. "I have to be sure no one is going to get sick." e decision to reopen, he said, will not be made until he has "solid Four Sections proof the chemicals are at levels deemed safe by the expert panel. However, there are still some public-relations rough spots. The state has, in recent weeks, appeared to time release of new information to blunt criticism from citizens.' For example, the first blood test results were distributed on the same day last December that a Broome County ad hoc, citizens committee met to discuss the crisis with outside experts. The group had criticized the state for delaying the release of information. Several weeks later, officials issued a press release on a new air test in which they were optimistic the building could be cleaned and reopened. The release came several hours after a CBS News report cast the cleanup in an unfavorable light. State officials describe the two incidents as coincidental. Huffaker tried to treat the wounds last month by arranging an informal meeting with representatives of the citizens group and appearing before a joint meeting of the editorial boards of The Evening Press and TheSun-BuDetin. However, such wounds take time to heal. The state's credibility suffered initial damage in July 1981 when the state withheld information on tests showing chicken embryos died or were deformed when injected with soot from the building. Though it was apparently known soon after the fire that the soot contained highly toxic chemicals, the I state did not release the information until three weeks after th? fire. Broome County officials, who suspected the soot was contaminated See IMAGE, Back Page FINAL EDITION THURSDAY I Feb. 3,1983i �Image— Continued from 1A with more than poiychlorinated hipbenyls or PCBs, urged the state to discontinue the cleaning until tests were done. The state kept the cleaning crews working. -Problems with the medical surveillance program, which has taken more than a year to set up, further weakened the state's position. The s, at first understated if not minimized by the state, have now been recognized to the extent that a psychological program is being considered to ease the Tears of workers. Then there was Carey's famous offer, when asked about the dangers posed by the building, to "swallow an entire glass of PCBs." That, to the state image-builders, was like a wrecker's ball turning a ramshackle house into a nimble of splinters. It instantly undid what little good work had been done. In addition, leaders of'a citizens committee formed six months after the fire charged the state had a conflict of interest because the agency running the cleanup was in charge of the building. The state is both regulator and regulated, they claimed. The state, while not acknowledging any conflict, formed an advisory panel composed of scientists not employed by thestate. , Part of the state's reaction appears linked to the past, when a public relations debacle at the dioxin contamination crisis at Love Canal in summer 1978 stirred national at."Some of the same health department officials reacted skittishly in Binghamton, trying to avoid public trances and statements which t arouse a worried populace. problem frustrates both the citizens and the state workers, and the officials involved in the cleaning: the lack of clear understanding .about the chemicals in the tower. "This is one of the most diificut things to overcome/' admitted John F. Hudacs, executive deputy director, Office of General Services. "I never get any real answers that I wanted," said Patricia A. Zemanek, a local union official. "I didn't get any answers I understood." To win back public confidence, the state is planning a series of informal meetings with small groups of employees to answer individual concerns. Those meetings have begun and their frequency will increase, Hudacs said. As the state tries to win the minds of workers, the 18-story building will be rebuilt as slowly as it was dismantled. "Rehabilitation of the building is in the discussion stage as to what kind of repairs will be needed," said David K. Seiffert, principal building engineer, Office of General Services. The state may use the opportunity to give the building a new look inside, using modular office furniture, for instance, if the original furniture cannot be cleaned. Also under consideration is a complete overhaul of the ventilation system to cut energy However, the state cannot do anything inside the tower yet. The 198384 state budget has only enough money to complete the cleaning, not the rebuilding. Semantics also plays a pan when the state's informational role is discussed. For example, Hudacs and David R. Rings, executive coordinator of Office of General Services, stress the building will be "refurbished". The dictionary defines refurbish as "brighten or freshen." State officials now estimate the rebuilding will take 18 months to two years beginning in the late spring. Such a timetable would push the reopening into early 1985 Tomorrow: The citizens got aagry 2.23 �. state the people^ ^,f...... cons hasn't given that information people. .-.»•:• ;•;••, test is, as-has been reported,,a ical "procedure done under BOildingln them more information about fat -anesthesia, What is'perhaps less well . __^_ _. "'*no»nis that it!can involve theremovave Been a topic of debate> :of as much as 100 grams — roughly" ~4>f acup—offati '". since.a dt|zeias' committeem from'the risks inherent in the of anesthesia there is also a risk of after the surgery. One The" ^aaSS^f& S ^I^^y ^iderablldisc^forL, the stAe,ditflast year are mvalid*. Most troubling, though, is the.:fact ~e PCBtiwould, by now, have;1; *bat no matter what level of PCBs is from the blood into the fatty tis- found in the fat, there is no treatment ojrae~t)6dyTThiB"state says the for it. The state can do no more .than ' tests are valid. ' •" recommend that those with hightevels . We have urged the state to pay for 'of the chemical in their fat avoid furle group of those ther jexposure to PCBs: As if- they need- > „ -^ •-.»«. f - . - ? • - ' ' at the office building ed to be told.'* ^rhe^iciais said they wHi try to ac-' _„. ^believed Jo: have <|spmmodate sany vof .those 479; people' • srant^nek ;;;;; * 4«bQ;w;aflt toiave the testdone. That's ' ttiinkfjthe^tate should4jick ..*** enough. |The-state shoulcl make tffc fop fix ilat ^biopsies, but available to v: them information about ' ed by some information^Jitbe-pros anti;cons of the test.-And the" that was made available :i.jState^fc-infonhatiou should be accom1^- ^^"- ^^5*intmeet-i panied.by: a statement on the subject •tfot^eSun-l from;)an^jtpert selected by|the "'" left wondering why f zenS'.commlttee. > | �5WE OFFICE LETS GET aivce. 5:00 P.M SQUARE Usr Thsy ALL INVITED V ' HORS -S.O.B.C4K6 '5 coMMiiree OM SIATF OFFICE �Feb.4,1983 tower flowing' an oiniversary, state-officials involved with the building's cleaning acknowledged that they have a major public relations camttttvSecobd^anniversai? of the paign ahead of them. They seem, as jfire lh«U»ntominated the StateOffice weuVto be learning that they can do ifalpbghamton, a fire that more to restore public confidence in prompted oiw of the first state of ficials the state by meeting the public's quesfcjio" arrive {Wf!l;be....8cene to say that it tions head-on than they can by avoid; might be seviaral days before the buUd__i it intensifies its effort to clean the I 't^eraH&^'1 has turned into two building, the state must also intensify .syears. Now;,$reiare told it will be two its effort to keep information flowing to more;yearewforejhe building can re- , the people of this community. Any reti* ~ "* uarantee f Even then; -Oiere's DO guarante cence on the state's part to answer the peojae will want to go back into it public's questions will, justifiably, be In a rpoent meeting with the editori- taken as a sign that it has something to al board; <1 ffce Sun-Buflefin,lsoine hide^ t; *' �VOL. XXXVI, NO. i SER VING BINGHAMTQN'S UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1983 SOB One Year Later: The Debate Continues By Fred Handle 'Tommorrow marks the second anniversary of the transformer fire that left the 'Binghamton Slate Office Building the largest contaminated building in the world. After two years no one knows how dangerous it is. no one knows if it will ever he safe and no one knows how many have been hurt already. On February 5. 1981. an unknown electrical malfunction caused a fire in the transformer room of the SOB that raged for fitty minutes before service was shut down. T h e lire caused the transformer's c<-.<>iant, u n oif heavily laden with pulyehlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), to leak out of the machine. The oil leaked across switching gear that, according to firelighters, reached temperatures as high as 3.000 degrees Farenheit. 1'CB oil \vas used in transformers until i's prohibition in IV79 because it dues not burn What PC B's can do. howexer. when exposed to intense heat is vaporixe. I hi-, is w h a t happened in the SOB. When PCB's vapun/e. they break down into: •a series of other chemicals. In the SOB some of these chemicals were: • PCB's themselves, known carcinogens banned in w o r k p l a c e s by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in any quantity exceeding trace amounts. •dibenzofurans. one of the most deadly chemicals known to man. •2,3,7,8, tetrachlorodiben/.o-para-dioxin (TCDD) the most deadly chemical known. The building has been closed since the fire, and many scientists and citizens have questioned the wisdom of ever reopening the building again. Former Broome County Health Commissioner Dr. Arnold Schectoi, commissioner at the time of the fire, said that residents of Times Beach, Missouri, were told recently by the US Center for Disease Control to abandon property contaminated with dioxins in concentrations of 1 part per billion or more, but that after the fire the SOB showed contamination levels of 10,000 parts per billion. In other cases where buildings have been contaminated by dioxins. said Schector, the - buildings have been abandoned. "This would be a reasonable solution from a health standpoint," he said. The SOB is the largest building in the world contaminated with toxic chemicals. Broome County consultant on the SOB Dr. John Buckley is optimistic about plans to open the building. Buckley SPH! test results ha 1 , e shown great improvement over t he past year ;is state crews have cleaned the building and solution from a health standpoint," he said. The SOB is the largest building in the w o r l d c o n t a m i n a t e d with toxic chemicals. Broome County consultant on the SOB Dr. John Buckley is optimistic about plans to open the building. Buckley said test result ha\e shown great improvement o\ r the past \ear as state crews have cleaned the building and removed contaminated furniture and building materials. Moreover, Buckley said that the tests have shown that acceptable levels of dioxins are w i t h i n tin. measureable range so that the buildisij. 1 can be checked alter the clean-up i.completed. Buckley said the standard that the state is using for the reopening of the building is ! 500 of the highest conceni'ation that luis noser K e n -r-.ov.ii < o caii-c fie!! mvnM: hf.:!!'i •.•"eels IP limr.. ..-. •.•: .mi m;iis Buck'.'*, \\as h u e d by the ( • u n u u> m o n i i c r lor Stale Cican-ii)- Piocedurev (I'tiiii'd on page 211 �< CK SOB fti. mf" ,^: r.'Rs >^.\ m? ;&$**4- r^l irr M 55 (Cont'd from page 1) Clean-up - Almost immediately after the fire, initial .clean-up efforts began. At this time health officials believed that the building was merely contaminated with low levels of PCBs. On February 25, two weeks after the , presence of dioxins and furans were discovered, said Schector, the county and state released this information, and. clean-up efforts were halted. The building was then left empty until April 19 when the clean-up resumed; this time with the intent to totally gut the building of all furniture, artifacts, and removable building materials, including floor coverings, ceiling .tiles, wallcoverings, and partitions. This, clean-up is still going on, . combined with sophisticated methods of cleaning and vacuuming techniques designed to minimize the quantities of dioxins and other chemicals; some of which have penetrated as far as six inches into the basic concrete of the structure. The cost of the. effort to date is $8.6 million. Governor Mario Cuomo has asked for an additional $3 million in ^clean-up funds for his 1983-84 budget. Cuomo said that the state will spend whatever is necessary to • make the building safe. The original cost.of the building in 1973 was $16.8 miHion. The total cost of the fire will not be figured until the price . of rebuilding the gutted structure is added in. Buckley said he considers the clean-up to be progressing "satifactorally." "As number of d e v e l o p m e n t s seem promising"he said. "The air tests are promising, the PCB levels are much lower than they were in the beginning and approaching those that would allow the building to reopen" said Buckley. . A member of the Citizens Committee x o'n the SOB said, however, that she was concerned about the fact that the tests the state has used recently are taken from air samples, not smear tests. She said "the air in the building is stil! because the ventilating system is shut down. Dioxins and the other chemicals in the building are heavy and would tend to show up in smaller quantities in still air." Buckley countered that the tests so far have been preliminary and that air te^ts with the ventilation system on would betaken soon. He also said that a new form of wipe test was being developed for the SOB to mimic the actual rubbing of skin against surfaces. He said this te.st is desirable because dry wipe tests pick up less material than the skin and wipe tests using solvents pick up much more. Public Health L a r r y Rosen, of the C i t i z e n s Committee said his main concern is for more comprehensive medical surveillance. "The state has assured us that if the building is ever reopened it will be safe. That won't be another two years anyway; the question now is what happen to the people who have been exposed already?" said Rosen. The cleaning workers and carpenters who were sent . into the building immediately after the lire were exposed to large doses of the chemicals and were given blood tests and medical care on demand. Now the state has followed up the original blood te^ts with a second set. On the. basis of greatly .lowered concentration of PCBs in ,the blood samples and the absence of any physical illnesses directly attributable to the fire, the state plans to discontinue tests and surveillance. "It puzzles me that first stage surveillance has ended" said Schector. "The idea that if you don't have health problems you don't have to continue surveillance flies in the face of everything we know about the study of carcinogens," he said. The Citizens Committee on the SOB has asked for: •More blood tests, which test for PCBs • Fat biopsies, which test for dioxins • Urine tests, also helpful in determining levels of toxicity. �Binghamton. N.Y A *v«--j citizens second-guess and sue state EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the sixth part tat series muting the second anniversary of the transformer fire Out contaminated the Binghamtoa State Ofttce Building. Today's story examines citoca reaction to teestate'thandlingoftnectisn, By STEVE GEIMANN It's a peculiarly American confrontation — a small band of citizens locked in a David-and-Goliath battle with government over an issue of public health. • . ; . . . "^ The adversaries, in one case, are the Citizens Committee on the Binghamton State Office Building and the State of New York. The issue is the threat posed by the contaminated building in the heart of downtown Binghamton. Every so often, the group aims a roct at the heart of the bureaucracy. More than once, that rock has scored a hit, convincing the state it should change its position. . . . ... '".,' . . . ,, ; Monument in the making Another group of people chose a different battlefield, aiming instead at the state's pocketbook. Their battle is waged in the courtroom with more than $930 million hanging in the balance. ' "• *The citizens'> committee — alarmed at what they consider an inadequate response by the state to the health hazards — has taken on the role of watchdog. They have not been reticent in their criticisms. "People on the committee are alarmed," Charlotte Moran, a member of the committee, told a group of state officials last mouth. The committee, for the most part, has been a quiet force. Although a string of spctkesmen have criticized the state about some decisions, the group of state employees has shunned publicity, fearing reprisials by the state. . < Tonight, the members and others will gather at The Markert Place to observe the secona anniversary, complete with a birthday cake shaped like the " J ! g , right down to the windows; See CITIZENS, Back Page �Four Sections itizens. • • " ' " ' Continued froni 1A I The committee was formed late in 1981 to begin nolding the state accountable for its actions. Several meetings were held, but the group's criticisms soon became little more than background noise. * Last year, the committee appealed for help from 'Dr.JSllen K. Silbergeld, chief toxicologist for the En;vffpnmental Defense.Fund in Washington. Silbergeld stays in contact with the citizens and has been 'named to the t2-member expert panel formed by the state to study the cleaning and decontamination, another smaJJ victory for the citizens. .Silbergeld appeared at one meeting of the citizens' group, and this week asked the state to schedule an-, other meeting of the expert panel to discuss the . medical surveillance , UK program has failedprogram, Silbergeld claims ir to monitor the health of 480 people exposed to the toxic chemicals. .~. .She committee has also turned to Dr. Arnold J. »t; Schecter, former Broome County health commissioner, who, in his persistent questioning of the state's actions, has become something of a folk hero to committee proponents. . • ficbeeter describes the state's risk assessment program, which set levels for safe reoccupancy, as a ''black art" and has demanded a more thorough surveillance of health effects from exposure to the building's toxic chemicals. J'l guess as long as Amie Schecter is around, we don't have anything to worry about." said one state worker who did not wish to be named. : i Schecter was not always so well liked. In the first weeks after the fire, Schecter was at first supportive of .the state and issued statements minimizing the health dangers.,. •Twelve days after the fire and explosions, Scbecter joined the state to remind residents that f"njrthing is completely safe." ^-Schecter, who has become the leading critic of the itnedteal surveillance programs, once said the pro; gram was "just a precaution." JP However, Scbecter's troubles with his boss, County Executive Carl S. Young, and his removal as -health commissioner turned his loyalty into opposition. ,7. :••'..:•..... . •' •-'A recent meeting between state Health Departme& officials was dominated by Schecter, who Fed Official* with wwnmoirfe' «~l -..-•*« al panel d i s o n on rans and polychloribipnenyls as an expert on the Binghamton ac;^u o' •...•' ' •' -•VlUWIV.i"'." '• ' •„ ;5:Scbeeter will be in Helsinki, Finland, next Septemrjltor to discuss the occupational hazards created by y PClBs.dioxinsandfurans. : •• '*>"tast year, Schecter went to Severn, Italy, to dis;«»>4ne.W7» chemical-acddent in that community, faqd has participated in several panels in the U.S. on jytiwfo';.- -. • " . . • '—•-- FINAL EDITION i Feb. A. 1983 r Perhaps a more central concern to the state are the civil lawsuits spawned by the accident. . T h e state has been named as a defendant in law- suits totaling about $938 million. The litigants in" elude a cross-section of state workers, city employees, people sent into the building to make emergency repairs as well as businesses which suffered Most state workers claim negligence by the state • for ordering workers into the building without warning of potential health risks. City employees claim _ their health is in jeopardy because the state allowed > cleanup crews to track the toxic material into City • Hall. • Yesterday, Broome County sued the state for ^$55,445.11 to recover $28,653 in wages lost while the : 'county office building was closed plus $21,852 in lost • revenue from parking. "**• In a similar suit, the City of Binghamton sued the '"state earlier this week for $200,000 for damages caused by the fire. The claim includes workdays lost •and other costs related to the city's role in the days •after the incident. In December, New York Telephone Co. filed suit seeking $218,308 for equipment lost after the fire. *; Less significant but perhaps representative of the problem is a suit filed by a group of city and county workers who lost prime parking space. They have filed a class action suit, seeking refunds of $300 and $400 for workers forced to find other parking. The biggest claims were filed shortly after the accident by four maintenance workers for the Office of General Services who were directed to re-enter the building. They're seeking $480 million from the -A^L*. •Michele E. Weidman, a city worker who was pregnant at the time of the accident, is suing for $310 million. In the original suit, Weidman sought $80 million ' -for her unborn child. The state has already settled $50,000 in personal • claims for personal property owned by state workers and lost after the fire. • The state, however, claims it is not planning to file any lawsuits on its own seeking to recover damages. "There is still too little evidence to determine the cause of the fire," said Nathan Rile-y, a spokesman lor the state Attorney General's Office. "No litiga, jtion is planned at this time, and it's even less likely I we'll file charges." .,'. The state hired two electrical engineers as con'sultants after the fire to help defend itself from near, ly $1 billion in lawsuits and to prepare any lawsuits ' .on behalf of the state. Tomorrow: An uncertain future looms. �Four Sections FINAL EDITION Feb. 5,1983' Tower's fate adds to enigma rrTtrw^iivin ...~t,__ . . EDITOR'S VOTE: ThiF is the last p»ri in a serief marking the second anniversary of the transformer fire that contaminated the Bingbamton State Office Building. Today's storr looks to the future. By STEVE GEIMANN Two years is a long time. It takes just under two years for an elephant to ive birth, for a community college student to earn a egrce and for Mars to circle the sun. It ,-ilso has taken two years to clean half the floors in Binghamton's contaminated state office building. Two years ago today, the 18-story office tower was contaminated with highly toxic chemicals after a fire and explosion in basement electrical equipment. Today, its future as a downtown office building remains uncertain; officials are only sure they will continue the cleaning process. Instead of being the home for state'government in S ower. 1 '*<» ' *•• * Monument in the making *; ?^ ** /%••'.- '^''-'.;i ' Broome County, the office tower is a Iandiuuirt0> :. chemical foul-up, a monument in the making: £••£•<? " It's still not certain what triggered the series W . electrical malfunctions that began shortly be&ire . dawn two years ago today. The only evidence'was nastily discarded during the initial cleaning. • „•:- ;"• „* Officials still don't know why an airshaft nearlb* ,men's bathroom was open in the room with the eke- ?trical transformer. ', ';i^' -: S*e TOWER, Back Page 1-1* . . Continued from 1A after the fire, officials issued an interim evacuation ; Binghamton architect John B. Cummings, chief policy that is designed to avoid repeating mistakes : architect of the project, said the shaft was not open made in Binghamton. . ' -• '-+>&} in any plans he approved. His firm did not inspect The policy, issued by, the Office o! General Ser€* the building after it was constructed. vices, requires full tests and consultation with the' Questions also surround the future of the building, which once was the landmark of a new downtown Department of Health before a building is reopened., > ; "It (the Binghamton accident) was a learning ex-f Binghamton: perience," said Officials have not said how clean floors and desks director, Office John F. Hudacs, executive deputy .of General Services; "If'this hapmust, be before workers will be allowed to return. pened again, we would do this differently.", *•'& A citizens watchdog committee is worried that a The state health department slip-shod medical surveillance program will serious- tests on the building and people.has spent $886,200 for'•v Of that total, 189,000' ly hamper efforts to monitor their health. was spent to analyze blood samples for polychlort* 'j State officials recently estimated the building will nated not be clean until this summer, and will be not be re- SOOt. biphenyls, the main chemical- foundf. in the • . , : , , ., . .••.->:,3 built and ready to open until early 1985, four years New York's lesson has not been ignored by other v after the fire. states and State workers and city residents exposed to the face the countries, or by firefighters Avho might • chemicals face an uncertain future, wondering erfire. same hazard in another building transform- '; ' about their own health, and the health of their famiDeputy Binghamton Fire Chief Donald A. Faugh-* >' lies. nan, who-was in command two years ago today, nas-r- '• received calls from around the-country asking for-; fl; In two years, doctors and scientists have been unadvice. Faughnan has provided such help more than . able tp answer questions about the effects of the deadly chemicals produced when oil from an electrionce. . , *• •./.-.'-: Officials of Versar Inc., the consultant hired by cs! transformer was vaporized into dioxin and dithe state for the decontamination, have received in- v. benzofuran, two of the deadliest chemicals known to man. quiries from as far away as Finland. . Robert A. Westin, chemical engineer, said a rep-'" One costly lesson has been learned in two years; resentative of the Soviet Union, working through a •-.. the state and its taxpayers have spent at least $8.6 million to test air and surfaces. third party, has sought information about Binghamton. Attempts to learn more about the Soviets' interThe lesson was not lost on the slate. One month est have j* "•n unsuccessful. '-*/£*£* *...=jtiti s'rT;^'f*'¥,. ;-"Cll : !9Ste �I Bingharnton, N.Y. '' ""' t - r* - Employees mark l shutdown of tower By STEVE GEIMANN A downtown Binghamton bar turned into a smoky party room last night when a large crowd marked the second anniversary of the Binghamton State Off ice Building contamination crisis. The crowd of about 125 persons, including many government workers, sang a song written by a critic of the state's work and ate a cake shaped like KBTHHITCWNS ice building. Government workers prepare to cut the cake while marking the second anniversary of the the state off of the 18-story tower domiThe fate shutdown of the State Office Building yesterday. . nated conversations at the party, held at The Markert Place, 81 State St. By STEVE GEIMANN There were no speeches, just a song It's been 723 days since the Binghamton State Off- written by Patricia A. Zemenak, an acice Building was fast open for business. It's likely to tive member of the citizens committee remain closed for at least another IS months. Here on the cleanup, who criticized the are some significant dates in the downtown toxic state's work and Gov. Hugh L Carey, chemical crisis: who once offered to drink a glass of PCBs. 1981 In a related development, Zemenak and Lois Whitternore, the security Feb. 5: A predawn n're in equipment which distributes power in the guard on duty the night of the fire, critistate of'ice towpi damages a transformer coe'ed with pofychlorinated biphenyis, causing about 180 gallons of liquid to spatter on the floor, cized the state's cleaning effort during walls and ceilings of the building. The tire ti first detected at S;35 a.m., an appearance on WSKG last night. and the two workers 'n«de art evacuated. By 7 a.m,, thp state, county and city buildings are closed. Zemenak said the state's assertion Feb. 9: City Hafl reopens. The county building reopen the following that at least 100 grams of fat tissue is day. The cleaning inside the office tower begin* with state maintenance workers. required for a biopsy of dioxin contamiSeePCBS, 2B nation is 'misleading." Tainted tower's cleanup calendar Zemenak said Dr. Mary Wolff, environmental health expert at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York, claimed only 10 grams is needed for such an analysis. However, Wolff told The Evening Press a 100-gram fat tissue sample was not unreasonable. Whittemore said the state had spent too much money cleaning and not enough money to check people's health. _ "1 think those people are a little more" important than a building," she said. As for the song, former radio person ality Phil Markert, the bar's proprieter, led the group to the tune of "On the Sunny Side of the Street" with the following words: "Grab your coat and get your hat Leave your PCBs on the doorstep Just direct your feet To the cleaner side of the street We used to walk in that place Before it was such a disgrace Now we'll never show our face They blew it! They knew it! If we never ha ve a cent We won't drink with Governor Carey No soot on our feet On the cleaner side of the street. �Pcbs. - CaatfaraedfroralB rW 14: Tests reveal soot and ash on every surface of the building contains 10 percent PCBs. The cleanup continues. Feb. 17: Binghamton firefighters are called to The Fairbank* Co. on Glemvoud Ave. to extinguish a fire in a PCScooted transformer on the roof. Feb. IS: The intense cleanup starts after the fire is halted after tests confirm the presence in the soot and ash of two highly toxic and potentially letal chemicals, dicxins and dibenxofurans. Modi S: Gov. Hugh I. Carey earns himself a reputation by offering to "swallow an entire glass of PCBs" and help dean the building with a few willing hands. Man* IB: U.S. Environmental Protection Administration fly to Singnamlon to inspect building. However, federal budget cuts prevent more active involvement. ', Mart* It: State spends the first $1 million. April I: Versa? Inc. of Virginia hired as special conslutan:. April 3: Thirteen experts in dioxin contamination and PCBs meet at UGuardia Airport in New York City to discuss the crisis and suggest solutions, they suggest more tests. April 27: Fire in a capacitor at City Hall spills a minute amount of PCBs, forcing the building to be dosed. May 7: First of two dozen lawsuits filed against the slate claiming negligence and seeking $900 million. hme 24: Broome County Executive Carl S. Young decides not to reappoint Health Commissioner Dr. Arnold I. Schecter, but will retain Schecter as special consultant. Av}. 10: Slate and local government leaders meet in Binghamton for the first time since the fire to discuss the crisis. Sept B: Special air fitters are lifted by helicopter 10 the top of the onke building. pet 1: Broome County legislature votes 11-7 against hiring Schecter as $12,000-a-vear special consultant on the contamination. Two weeks utter. Young appoints John I. Buckley, an environmentalist, as S30U-a-day consultant. Oct. 7: AHwasli of Syracuse Inc. it hind by the Art to', remove soot and ash and to decontaminate tower. -:"• Oct»: Or. Richard Ilka, state health department analyst, quits claiming the state has boggled the cleaning and health monitoring. . . Oct 22: Carey makes his tint trip to Binghamton in almost a vear and indirectly apologizes for flippant remarks. Carey declares: "We win not do this on a bargain basement basis." Oct 2fc Citizens Committee on the Binthamton State Office Building, an ad hoc group, holds its firet meeting to keep tabs on the cleaning. Oct 34: Slate begins medical surveillance program for 475 people exposeo to chemicals inside the building. The first results are mailed more than a year later. Nov. 4: State KeaHh Commissioner Or: David Axdrod promises second citizens committee meeting the office tower will be cleaned and workers will face no greater health risks than workers in any other buikling, Dec. 7: Broome County parking garage reopens for the second time after extensive cleaning. 19S2 Ian. fc Green icicles form from the slow leakage pi fluid from the floors ot th« building are noticed outside the tower. The same day, 13,000 is reported missing front a Mat* safe. Feb. 1: Air is released from the ouilding using a complex filleniw system. March 17: Hundreds of thousands of records are buried after stale decided (he pipers cannot be decontaminated. . March 19: City officials report finding PCBs of the type used in state office tower transformer. March 29: Experts reconvene in Binghamton to discuss the progress of hearth tests and to consider reentry guidelines devised by the stale. Some experts criticize state for not beginning animal tests promised a year ago. May: Workers involved in the cleaning report incidents of crabs and Ik? from using the same protective-gear. Mtter-'of respirator masks lefts MM the wrong kind of material!* being used. pat Ifc leaden of labor unions representing state workers oils for an independent federal acency. National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety, to assume control of hearth monitoring. .(aty 14: State reverses position and begins releasing test and other information about the success of the cleaning. Jury 22: City fcids two small leaks in the subbasement of City HaB near the connection with the state office building. The leaks allowed PCBs to flow into City Hall. Aug. 10: Two workers fall from a scaffold while working inside the building. Both are decontaminated before being taken to Our lady of lourdes Hospital. Sept 14: First of more than 1,200 barrels of toxic waste leave the office tower for a' secure landfill in Niagara > aiis, Oct. 21: State releases preliminary analysis of blood samples showing no adverse health effects from exposure to PCBs. No tests on dioxin and dibertzofuran. Oct. 23: Citizens committee sharply criticizes state and its plans tor health testing, calls for fat tissue biopsies to detects PCBs and other toxic chemicals. Dec. I labor union leaders, a gublic interest group and the ad hoc citizens committee denouce the panel of experts as biased in favor of the stale. Dec. *: State issues final report on blood samples, claims no ill effects. A Washington lexicologists vtwllenges state results, claims the- analysis is invalid. 1983 tan. *: First tests of air from deadest floor in the building show signs of deadly chemicals. State declares thr cleaning is working and predicts the building will reorj*n. 1*1. 10: State officials decide to rip out i to ifoor tiles no all icials 18 floors of the :ower. PCBs cannot he removed, despite repeated washing with m industrial solvent. Jan. 12: CBS News broadcast account of Hiotin contamination in Binghamton — first national publicity since the fire. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange Description An account of the resource <p style="margin-top: -1em; line-height: 1.2em;">The Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange comprises 120 linear feet and spans the late 1800s to 2005; however, the bulk of the coverage is from the 1960s to the 1980s and there are many undated items. The collection was donated to Special Collections of the National Agricultural Library in 1985 by Dr. Alvin L. Young (1942- ). Dr. Young developed the collection as he conducted extensive research on the military defoliant Agent Orange. The collection is in good condition and includes letters, memoranda, books, reports, press releases, journal and newspaper clippings, field logs and notebooks, newsletters, maps, booklets and pamphlets, photographs, memorabilia, and audiotapes of an interview with Dr. Young.</p> <p>For more about this collection, <a href="/exhibits/speccoll/exhibits/show/alvin-l--young-collection-on-a">view the Agent Orange Exhibit.</a></p> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Box The box containing the original item. 088 Folder The folder containing the original item. 2219 Series The series number of the original item. Series IV Subseries II Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Clippings: various newspaper articles, January 30 to February 5, 1983 Subject The topic of the resource BSOB popular press public opinion citizen action group Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange Description An account of the resource <p style="margin-top: -1em; line-height: 1.2em;">The Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange comprises 120 linear feet and spans the late 1800s to 2005; however, the bulk of the coverage is from the 1960s to the 1980s and there are many undated items. The collection was donated to Special Collections of the National Agricultural Library in 1985 by Dr. Alvin L. Young (1942- ). Dr. Young developed the collection as he conducted extensive research on the military defoliant Agent Orange. The collection is in good condition and includes letters, memoranda, books, reports, press releases, journal and newspaper clippings, field logs and notebooks, newsletters, maps, booklets and pamphlets, photographs, memorabilia, and audiotapes of an interview with Dr. Young.</p> <p>For more about this collection, <a href="/exhibits/speccoll/exhibits/show/alvin-l--young-collection-on-a">view the Agent Orange Exhibit.</a></p> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Box The box containing the original item. 088 Folder The folder containing the original item. 2235 Series The series number of the original item. Series IV Subseries II Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Binghamton New York, 6-7 June 1983 Subject The topic of the resource BSOB citizen action group building remediation health monitoring Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange Description An account of the resource <p style="margin-top: -1em; line-height: 1.2em;">The Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange comprises 120 linear feet and spans the late 1800s to 2005; however, the bulk of the coverage is from the 1960s to the 1980s and there are many undated items. The collection was donated to Special Collections of the National Agricultural Library in 1985 by Dr. Alvin L. Young (1942- ). Dr. Young developed the collection as he conducted extensive research on the military defoliant Agent Orange. The collection is in good condition and includes letters, memoranda, books, reports, press releases, journal and newspaper clippings, field logs and notebooks, newsletters, maps, booklets and pamphlets, photographs, memorabilia, and audiotapes of an interview with Dr. Young.</p> <p>For more about this collection, <a href="/exhibits/speccoll/exhibits/show/alvin-l--young-collection-on-a">view the Agent Orange Exhibit.</a></p> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Box The box containing the original item. 088 Folder The folder containing the original item. 2236 Series The series number of the original item. Series IV Subseries II Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Public Response to Binghamton State Office Building Clean-Up, June 1983 Subject The topic of the resource BSOB health monitoring citizen action group popular press