ByAndrew Del GrecoStaff Writer
The university will have to pay up to $3 million to fix problemsin the newly opened Chemical Sciences Laboratory building.
About 10 percent of the $30 million building is incomplete, saidJohn Ferguson, University Senate Campus Development Committee member.Cabinetries, additional fume hoods and electrical wiring forunconnected power sockets and gas and water lines need to be fullyinstalled.
Some concrete floors are not covered with tiling. Complete tilingwas one of several items removed from the contract to save moneyduring construction, Ferguson said. Partial tiling cost $50,000;untiled floors are vulnerable to contamination since chemical spillscan still seep through the grouting and be absorbed by the unsealedconcrete.
Money for the fixtures will come mostly from project funds, whichare generated by capital bonds, said Anthony Fulton, Director ofFacilities Planning and Management. However, Ferguson said some moneymay be needed from the general fund.
Building the new science lab was problematic. Construction on thebuilding was initially scheduled to begin in May 1997, but startedDecember of that year, in the rain. Then, First Mechanical, one ofthe subcontractors, was terminated from the job for poor performance,resulting in another four months of delay. The completion date wasthen set for August 2000, but it was not finished.
Last semester, questions about the building led the UniversitySenate to charge the committee to investigate. In their report,committee members outlined some of the recent problems the buildinghas faced.
During the winter of 2000, construction was halted for six weeksbecause of fear of black mold — the fungus that caused the presentclosure of Chapultepec Hall.
Mold concerns surfaced after the south wing of the geology sectionwas flooded when a water pipe in the area broke. The water hadnowhere to go because contractors opted not to have drains foremergency showers so hazardous waste could not leave the building.
Blake Contracting — accountable for Chapultepec’s closure — andthe Environmental Health and Safety Office, already involved inprocedural monitoring of the flood, contacted the city fire marshal.Various biologists stated that black mold could not have had time tobecome a problem, but the fire marshall ordered construction to bestopped.
The circumstance further tightened the time constraints. Becauseof contractual deadlines, the project’s contract was signed off toget the ball rolling again, even though not all the details had beenfinished, Ferguson said.
If the authorized money payment passed its deadline, it would nothave been possible to pay the contractor
without an indeterminate delay, he said.
Many wonder why San Diego State selected the same contractor thatis responsible for the shutdown of Chapultepec.
“There were several bidders for this project,” Ferguson said.”State law mandates that the lowest bidder be chosen, even though thedifference was about $1 million.”
New federal standards have limited the amount of research spaceavailable in the new building. The American Disabilities Act hascalled for more space in which to move, including lab areas, and EHSOhas ruled that chemicals in the open need to be moved into fumehoods, which take up space.
The state was not willing to fund what was really needed for alarger CSL building, so the money was only sufficient for a newbuilding that met new standards, Ferguson said.
Aside from construction of the new building, the Chemical Geologybuilding is being remodeled. Various professors from the CG buildingare using lab space in the CSL building for offices and some rooms inthe CSL are doubling as classrooms and labs.
