The problems that universities an facing include asbestos and P.C.B. contamination, fire hazards, building-code violations, unsafe storage of chemicals, poorly controlled use and disposal of radioactive material, and dangerous laboratory practices. As a result of the problems, important research laboratories were closed and the construction of new facilities was blocked.
Few institutions can sustain such large losses and remain financially solvent.
Health and safety issues are of vital importance, and serious damage can result when an institution ignores real problems or handles them poorly. Sloppy laboratory practices can endanger researchers, students, and staff members. Poor communication with the local community and insensitivity to its concerns can polarize campus-town relations and result in citizens' overreacting to innocuous situations. Besides communication with the public, potential conflicts of interest, organizational clout for safety officials, and documentation of potential hazards are areas institutions should scrutinize more closely, primarily to insure safety bus also to prevent unnecessary problems, adverse publicity, and costly litigation. One of the most important issues is a conflict inherent in the organizational structure of many institutions, where the people responsible for health and safety report to the very departments they are supposed to monitor, such as physical-plant departments.