The San Matean

Issue date: 12/14/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Cecile Basnage Members of the McCarthy construction company lay out mulch to cover the herbicide beside building 16.

Media Credit: Cecile Basnage Ramiro Barajas, 32, sprays water on the mulch to dissipate the herbicide. Because the landscaping area was directly beside the air vents, some of the chemical granules accidentally fell in.

Media Credit: Cecile Basnage English 848 students were among those evacuated in building 16 when the source of the fumes was realized.

Fears of a gas leak Friday led to an evacuation of Building 16. But emergency crews determined the real culprit was fumes from herbicide.

The fumes spread through the building at about 1:30 p.m.

"It smelled exactly like gasoline, and when you walked into the building your eyes started watering," said John Wells, Chief Public Safety Officer. The building was evacuated while San Mateo firefighters investigated the source of the fumes. The number of those evacuated was not known immediately, but at least two classes and college employees were forced outdoors. Paramedics treated a couple of staff members for minor respiratory difficulties.

The herbicide, Ronstar, was spread as part of ongoing landscaping. Its granules were inadvertently spread near the building's intake vent "which, in essence, sucked the fumes into Building 16," said Jennifer Hughes, Vice President of Student Services.

Building vents were shut off and the filters changed once the source of the fumes was discovered said Moe Garza, Chief Engineer for Facilities.

Professor Tim Maxwell, 44, chose to bring his English 848 class out to one of the new outdoor classrooms nearby.

"It smelled like fresh paint," said Michael Filler, 42, one of Maxwell's students.

Ronstar is an herbicide used to control annual grasses and weeds in turf and landscaping.

McCarthy Building Company, the landscaping contractor, spread tanbark, a wood mulch, to contain the granules and their fumes, then hosed down the area.

"With the winds, it should be only a couple of hours for the fumes to dissipate with open doors and vents," said Hughes.

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