Feb. 5, 2003
• Cleaning of sidewalks in the Venable neighborhood continues.
• The Office of Risk Management is continuing to take calls from Venable residents at
924-3850. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday
Feb. 4, 2003
• With the approval of the City of Charlottesville, and with sustained warm temperatures,
the University began cleaning sidewalks in the Venable neighborhood.
• U.Va. representatives worked with Venable Neighborhood Association President Bobbie
Bruner to map out the proper coverage area.
Feb. 1 & 2, 2003
• U.Va. hired crews to power wash at Venable Elementary School and Martha Jefferson
House. This work has been completed.

*************************
Jan. 20, 2003
• On Monday, Jan. 20, the University was informed by a Venable resident that as the snow
melted it left behind what appeared to be large doses of soot on sidewalks, driveways and
streets.

• By 10 a.m., Leonard W. Sandridge, executive vice president and chief operating officer,
called together a meeting of University administrators to begin to assess the situation and
understand what had happened and what needed to be done to address neighborhood
concerns.
• On Wednesday, Jan. 15, one of the University's two primary boilers went down at its
main heating plant. The following day, a second boiler went down, leaving the University
with only two operating boilers to heat the entire University, including the Hospital.
(There is a fifth boiler that is rarely used.)
• The temperatures dipped into the teens on Thursday, and it snowed until about 9 p.m.
Of immediate concern was patient safety and continuing to get enough heat to the
Hospital.
• For almost 12 hours heat to administrative buildings was cut off so that concentrated
steam and heat could be focused on the Hospital. About 40 people worked throughout the
night to redirect the steam while others worked to repair one of the boilers. Repairs were
completed at about 3:30 a.m. and, although it was a close call, the university avoided a
crisis with the hospital until it could bring a third boiler back on line.
• This is the first time that the University has had two of its primary boilers go down at one
time, and all efforts were focused on keeping heat to the hospital.
• During this emergency period, two boilers -- one gas and one coal -- were worked hard.
While there was no explosion at the heating plant, as some people have reported, it is
believed that the coal-burning boiler working extra hard was the cause of that heavy soot
output that night.
• The University did not believe it had violated EPA rules, which allow for occasional
emergencies; however it did alert the Department of Environmental Quality to the
situation on Monday, Jan. 20.
• A great deal of soot was deposited on Venable neighborhood, appearing to be heaviest in
blocks adjacent to 14th Street and the Gordon Avenue Library.
• The University was concerned about this situation and its effects on the residents of the
Venable neighborhood and their homes. To that end, the University designated a phone
line that was up and running by Tuesday, Jan. 21, in the Office of Risk Management to
take residents calls and assess the situation.
• Calls continue to be directed to Barbara Palmore at 924-3850.
Since that time, Ms. Palmore and her colleague in the Office of Risk Management,
Debbie Hinton, have talked with more than 60 residents and visited more than 30 homes
to work one-on-one with neighbors to asses their cleanup needs. That process is ongoing.
• By the end of the day Monday, January 20, the Office of Community Relations e-mailed
the neighborhood listserv alerting them to the problem and informing them of the
resources in the Office of Risk Management.

Jan. 21, 2003
• Because there were a number of health questions related to the soot, Ralph Allen, director
of Environmental Health and Safety and a University chemistry professor, met with the
Venable Neighborhood Association board to address these issues. He said that the coal
dust was not hazardous and likened it to soot from a wood- or coal-burning stove or
fireplace.
• Normally, the coal dust particles would have been carried away by the air, he said, but
the heavy moisture from the snow that night caused much of the dust to settle in the
nearby Venable neighborhood.
Jan. 23
• On Jan. 23 another e-mail was sent to Venable neighbors updating them on the situation.
The next day, January 24, University representatives met with representatives of the
Charlottesville school system to outline plans on how best to aid in the cleaning of
playground equipment and surrounding areas at Venable Elementary School. Some
cleaning of the sidewalks was accomplished, but it appeared that they needed to be power
washed. Unfortunately, power washing below 40 degrees is not recommended, in part
due to problems resulting from water freezing, and the work was put on hold until the
cold spell broke - which it did this past weekend. The work on Venable Elementary
School was completed over the Feb. 1-2 weekend.
• University representatives also met with administrators of Martha Jefferson House, and
plans were to help them with exterior cleaning. This work was on hold due to weather
conditions as well, but was completed this past weekend. Both representatives of Venable
Elementary School and Martha Jefferson House have said they are pleased with the
results.
• Snow and below-freezing temperatures during the week of Jan. 23 also made it
impossible to begin power washing. (That work was started Tuesday, Feb. 4 and will
continue until it is completed.)
• U.Va. officials contacted Vaughn C. Kowahl of the Office of Environmental Health and
Safety at the University about health concerns. Mr. Kowahl said that residents should not
see any long-term serious health effects from the exposure they get on a daily basis.
Health problems such as black lung disease and pneumoconiosis are caused by inhaling
coal dust for prolonged periods of time. Coal miners, firefighters, horticulturists, and
chimney sweeps are examples of occupations with potential risk because of the burning
of organic materials. Dr. Chris Holstege, medical director of the Blue Ridge Poison
Center, said the soot that fell in the Venable area should not cause any serious health
problems.
• Some of the neighbors also have expressed concern about the University's long-term plan
for the heating plant.
• The University has been working closely with the Department of Environmental Quality
since last spring to develop a plan for burning the fuel needed to heat University
buildings while reducing emissions from the plant. Preliminary planning, which is
underway, will be followed by a two-year design process. The University regularly
updates the Charlottesville city manager on this project.

Home