Science Wing closed indefinitely, source of odor still unknown

Posted May 30, 2023

By Reed Mulkey and Ivan Garz 

Opinions Editor and Staff Reporter

Students have been curious about the recent closure of the science wing. The odor responsible for the closure has not yet been identified, which means the wing will probably remain closed for the remainder of the school year. This relocation has proved to be an inconvenience to all science teachers and students in the past month. Science teachers, however, do not have adequate resources to conduct their classes and experiments due to the relocations. 

The procedures of science classes have been changed substantially because of this and students pursuing lab sciences can not do good work to further or continue their pursuits. Basic safety equipment is no longer available.

  “Being in a new room without science equipment can be challenging as a science teacher,” Science Department Chair Scott Dossa said. “ Some science classes have been sharing rooms. These situations can be tough. However, I will say it again - everyone has done a great job and kept positive attitudes. This alone has helped to minimize any problems.” 

The relocation will most likely last until the end of the school year as tests have not yielded any results as to if the cause of the odor is hazardous or not.  The science wing may have its own ventilation and pipes due to being built as an addition to the North Building by the same company, Rommel Architectural Partnership. 

RAP also built the Social Studies building and Ron Russell Middle School approximately 20 years ago. Barbara Rommel is the wife of RAP owner Terry Rommel. She was also the David Douglas Superintendent at the time, which caused a controversy concerning a conflict of interest as to whose bid she should have accepted. 

"Here's the problem: Barbara Rommel is the district's most powerful and highest-paid employee, making $133,740 a year," Portland's Willamette Week reported in 2007. "She's also as far as she and school board chair Annette Mattson know, the only one married to somebody who enjoys lucrative contact with David Douglas."

Many science teachers have described the odor, some describing it as a “sour-y vinegar” smell, and other times like a “burnt old person attic,” and sometimes no smell at all. The teachers believe that the smell was more noticeable when the weather was warm and in the evening.

On the morning of April 28, the science teachers noticed that the odor was stronger than normal. They reported it to administration as “concerning.” PBS Engineering and Environmental, an environmental testing company, has been working in the science wing and has conducted tests, some using SUMMA Canisters to sample the air. Not only have they not discovered the source of the odor, they have not discovered any toxins. The boilers and water heaters have been ruled out as the possible cause of the odor. The odor and the source of the odor are both still unidentified at this time. 

Science teachers say they don’t think the science wing will be reopened this school year as the cause has to be discovered and fixed in the amount of time left in the school year.

“At this point, the odor can be categorized as unidentified,” said Dossa. “An environmental testing company has performed a series of tests and nothing toxic has been discovered thus far. Further testing will continue to be done to attempt to identify the odor, whether or not it is hazardous, and its origin.”