Duke

Kemel Dawkins, Duke University’s vice president for campus services, delivered the following statement to open the press briefing held near the LSRC today at 1 p.m.:

Thank you for joining us.

I want to start by expressing again our sorrow at the tragic death yesterday of Ray Cofer. He was an honored member of the Duke community, and our thoughts and prayers are with Ray’s wife and family, and with his colleagues and friends.

Duke will do everything possible to determine what caused this accident and to ensure a similar tragedy does not happen again. We intend to investigate the circumstances of what occurred yesterday in the LSRC, as well as any larger issues that may emerge.

Before I take your questions, let me give you a brief update about what’s occurred since I met with you yesterday.

The power was restored to much of the building at 11:30 p.m. yesterday, and the building was reopened to faculty, staff and students at 9:30 this morning. It will close at 5 p.m. today so we can continue to make repairs. We’ve advised people who work in the building to shut off their equipment before they depart for the day.

To the best of our knowledge at this point, all of the animals in the LSRC are safe.

The cleanup is well underway. Electricity and air conditioning have been restored to much of the building. However, there is no steam or hot water and, as a result, parts of the building may be colder or hotter than usual.

The building will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow. We will be updating our students and employees at 3 p.m. today regarding whether the building will be open this weekend. That briefing is for our students and employees only.

I’m now happy to take your questions.

[Posted at 2:05 p.m.]

There will be a press briefing at 1 p.m. Vice President for Campus Services Kemel Dawkins will provide an update and answer questions about Wednesday’s accident at the LSRC.

The briefing is for members of the news media. It will be held in front of the North Building, on Research Drive, next to the traffic circle and just north of the LSRC.

[Posted at 12:05 p.m.]

The website for Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment is live again. The site had been down as a result of Wednesday’s accident at the LSRC. During this time its traffic was redirected to the Duke emergency website.

The Nicholas School website is at http://www.nicholas.duke.edu.

[Posted at 11:55 a.m.]

The LSRC was reopened at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, May 15. The building will close at 5 p.m. and will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday. No decision has been made at this time whether the building will be open over the weekend. Crews are currently repairing the building’s systems.

There will be another briefing on the building status for students and employees at 3 p.m. May 15 outside the LSRC.

Lab personnel are asked to check the fume hoods in their labs, and to shut off all equipment when they leave at 5 p.m.

Normal sterilization procedures have been suspended and replaced with stericycle procedures. Autoclaves are not working, and biohazard boxes will be placed in the autoclave areas to dispose of waste.

The acid neutralization system is not working in the C and D wings of the building, so researchers may not use the lab sinks. Lab sinks are working in the A and B wings.

There is no steam in the building Thursday and Friday. The HVAC system is working, but the temperature can fluctuate because of the lack of steam.

Bathrooms are working, as are fire alarms, phones and computers.

Normal power is on in the upper floors of the building, and has been since about 11 p.m. Wednesday; some outlets may have been damaged, however. The emergency power system was activated, protecting the freezers and other systems on emergency power.

All of the animals in the basement are safe; researchers are checking on animals in individual labs today.

(Posted at 10:40 a.m., May 15, 2008)

All faculty, staff and students working in the Levine Science Research Center should assemble in the area just outside the building’s Blue Express cafe at 9 a.m. for an update on accessibility to the building. Some areas of the building may be cooler than others, so you might consider bringing a light sweater should the building be opened.

(Posted at 10:35 p.m., May 14, 2008)

The LSRC is now closed for the evening. Employees and students should check this website for updates about the accessibility of the building on Thursday.

(Posted 9:00 p.m., May 14, 2008)

Duke has identified the employee killed in the LSRC accident Wednesday as Rayford Cofer, 63, a master steam fitter and one of the most honored and respected employees in the Facilities Management Department.

For more about Cofer and today’s tragic accident, click here for a longer story.

(Posted 8:20 p.m., May 14, 2008)

Do you study or work at LSRC? Watch this site for updates about the building’s status and when you can return to your workplace.

(Posted 7:45 p.m., May 14, 2008)

The website for the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke University is temporarily out of service as a result of the accident at the LSRC building. The school’s site is being redirected to this Duke University emergency website until it is restored.

(Posted 7:05 p.m., May 14, 2008)

The following statement was read by Vice President Kemel Dawkins at a news conference Wednesday evening.

Good Afternoon. My name is Kemel Dawkins. I am Duke University’s vice president of campus services.

I am sad to report that an employee working in the mechanical room in the basement of the Levine Science Research Center has died in an accident. Pending notification of the next of kin, we will release the employee’s name.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the employee’s family at this time.

Employees were evacuated from the building after a steam line ruptured shortly before 3 p.m. The incident occurred in the building’s mechanical room. All building systems were shut down and there is a significant amount of water in the basement. The water will need to be tested and pumped out before power can be restarted in the building. We have no other reports of injuries. Employees are being permitted to return to the building to retrieve their belongings.

This is a major research facility, and it houses animals and scientific samples. Initial assessments show that no animals were injured.

(Posted 6 p.m., May 14, 2008)