IMR: Places: Bilger Hall

Bilger Hall 2545 The Mall University of Hawai`i–Manoa Web: http://www.uhm.hawaii.edu

Bilger Hall is the home of the Chemistry Department. Built in 1946, it sits atop one of the larger nuclear fallout shelters on the campus (or at least, one of the larger shelters Nate and I were able to get into). In 1998, the building made headlines as government inspectors found violations within ranging from the illegal storage of laboratory wastes to the mismanagement of hazardous chemicals. The university was ultimately slapped with a $1.3 million fine. According to the state Department of Health: DOH investigators conducting inspections in Bilger Hall last fall found significant amounts of waste laboratory chemicals in a fallout shelter below lecture rooms. The University did not have a permit to store any hazardous wastes at Bilger Hall. The chemicals were not in the proper containers and lacked the required labels indicating what kind of chemicals were present and how long they had been in storage. This type of labeling is required by state hazardous waste laws. Of course, years before, Nate and I had climbed over and around that stuff for weeks. Whether or not that explains anything is a matter of interpretation.

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