What a long, strange week it's been....

Wow, what a crazy week.

They decided to remove the lead paint from all four stair wells in the building where I work. I work for West Chester University of PA. Mostly they probably decided to do this because the EPA wouldn't let them get away with the falling lead paint chips in each of the 4 stair wells.

So, as usual, the lowest bid gets the job. Let's just say that this bid was less than half of the next closest bidder. They started taping off the two main stair wells last Friday afternoon. They decided to do it this week because this is Spring Break Week (yes, I know, we are still in winter).

This whole week, I keep saying to everyone, "There's no way it's going to be done by next Monday, when classes start again." By the end of Tuesday, it looked like they had finished two of the 4 floors in one of the stair wells. So, come Wednesday morning, all of a sudden there are 10 people in the hallway trying to figure out how they can get this done by next Monday. Phone calls are being made to get extra people on the job "I'll pay them $40 an hour," I heard one of the contractors say over the phone.

Ever since they started, there's been a wacky smell in our hallway. I took a small whiff near one of the dumpsters that they had outside. It was the same smell, the smell from the chemicals that they are using to remove the lead paint.

This morning, before I got there (I had a dentist apt so I didn't get there until 10:30) apparently there was a plume of smoke that came out of the work area and filled the hallway (mind you they have everything supposedly sealed off and a nice decontamination shower in our hallway). After lunch the decision was made to send us home due to air quality issues. Mostly because the realization was made that the air quality meters were only checking for lead in the air and not the caustic chemicals that they are using.

Long live the lowest bid!