Once a leak is found, the steamfitters wear earplugs to work on repairs. There's more than just noise to deal with, though. There is heat, and there are tight spaces and vertical drops of up to 40 feet. Iowa's safety record is excellent. Nobody is permitted into the tunnels without notifying the mechanical distribution office.
Nobody goes in without a radio and flashlight.
None of the staff can recall a major injury, but minor ones are all in a day's work. Steamfitter Bob Sulzer consults blueprints in the mechanical distribution office for utility line locations. Photo by Rex Bavousett. From his desk at the Court Street Services Building, mechanical distribution manager Garry Creed can check the steam temperature and pressure at 133 points on campus. At the IMU, it's 370.