Summer heat waves — just like frigid temperatures in winter — have a way of exposing problems with HVAC systems in institutional and commercial facilities. For occupants of one high-profile Washington, D.C., facility, chiller problems are just the beginning of their facility problems.
Issues with the air conditioning at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headquarters in recent weeks have sent indoor temperatures well above 80 degrees, according to CBS News. Staff members have received emails explaining that repair efforts were underway and that the administration is trying to reduce energy consumption.
The facility problems don’t end there. Multiple elevators in the building have malfunctioned in recent weeks, leaving EPA employees at times stuck between floors. One group of employees was relocated to a basement area next to a firing range where federal law enforcement officials practice shooting. EPA staff, experts in environmental hazards, have expressed wariness about lead levels in the air.
Career staffers have wondered among themselves whether the workplace issues are another mechanism to induce resignations and further shrink the federal workforce, according to multiple people who requested anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak to the media.
Several longtime EPA staff told CBS News the steamy conditions at their desks have made workplace life uncomfortable, especially during a stretch of extreme weather with the heat index reaching above 100 degrees.
Dan Hounsell is senior editor for the facilities market. He has more than 30 years of experience writing about facilities maintenance, engineering and management.?
