What I Didn't Know and How I Learned It.

Yesterday, one of the folks who works for the NAU Office of Regulatory Compliance came by my office to get a key to the old stockroom that is being used as storage by the Laboratory Manager. His mission was simple: to estimate the cost of cleaning it out for the room's next life as classrooms and offices. This was one of those things that make me go "Hmmmmmmm." You see, the lab manager intends to use this area as storage forever. It became obvious to me that the administration is not communicating with Chemistry. The Administration even has plans and drawings and people slated to move into these areas, including the offices that are OCCUPIED by personnel in Chemistry and Physics. The funny thing is that the administration has one room labeled as inaccessible - special key needed. I am the holder of that key. That is how I came to know what I didn't know. I decided to let the lab manager know what I learned, and although he knew nothing of the plans, he was less than surprised to know he knew nothing of these plans. Now we have the fun of letting the administration know what they didn't know. The administration also gets to learn that the old chemistry stockroom was used to stock and store things such as CHEMICALS used in chemistry. As a result there is residue of said chemicals from ~40 years of storing chemicals. Don't worry, I'm sure the spilled Hg in the very back room is vaporizing by now. That's not a problem, is it?