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Federal scientists responsible for monitoring the health of West Coast fisheries are cleaning office bathrooms and revising critical experiments after the Department of Commerce failed to renew lab contracts for hazardous waste disposal, cleaning services, IT and building maintenance.
The staff told Propovica. Ecologists, chemists and biologists at the Monlake Institute, the center’s headquarters in Seattle, are debating whether to create a sign-up sheet to transport garbage into the trash can and scrub the toilet.
Scientists who carry out genetic sampling of endangered salmon to check the stock status and survival of the species work routinely with chemicals that can burn the skin, spurt into flames and cause cancer. At least one person said mission-critical research should be delayed if the removal of dangerous waste does not recover.
Monlake’s worsening terms stem from a new policy in the commercial sector that requires Secretary Howard Lutnick to personally approve all contracts over $100,000. NPR reported that the bottleneck disrupts operations at many NOAA facilities.
Propublica spoke to three Monterike employees who explained what it would be like to work there as their service contracts expired and not renewed one by one. They said people are running around looking for compost bags and wondering who will empty the women’s sanitary waste containers in the bathroom. The floor is dirty and workers have no access to vacuums or mops. Some scientists buy their own soap and cleaning products.
Also, working from home means that people can’t escape. The Trump administration is increasingly ordering federal workers to return to their offices five days a week. At Montlake, that policy will apply to everyone by April 21st.
“It makes our work safe and unsanitary in any workplace,” said one Montlake researcher.
Press secretaries for the NOAA, the Commerce Department and the White House did not respond to requests for comment.
Montlake employees were informed last week that their safety services contract, including staff to move lab waste to designated disposal sites, expired after April 9, leaving only one person in charge of the task. Hazardous waste “catching from the lab may be delayed,” an employee was warned in a recent email.
The building’s maintenance team contract expired Wednesday, destroying staff who handled plumbing, HVAC and elevators. Other contacts expired in late March, leaving Seattle Lab with zero cleaning staff and an IT specialist skeleton crew.
During a massive staff meeting in Monlake on Wednesday, lab leaders said they had no updates on when the contract would be renewed. They also acknowledged that it was unfair that everyone should pitch to cleaning duties in addition to their actual work.
Nick Tolimieri, union representative of Montlake employees, said the issue is “all part of a massive bullying program” and pushing out federal workers. Every Friday, “You get a message that makes you feel like you can’t sleep throughout the weekend,” he said. Now, these lapsed contracts make them “increasingly small.”
Monlake’s big and small issues provide a case study of the chaos involving federal workers at many agencies as the Trump administration fired staff, dumped contracts and eliminated years of operational support. Yesterday, hundreds of NOAA workers who were fired in February were fired again.
Local management had a new service agreement that was ready to go years ago, Trimieri said. A delay from headquarters means employees have a hard time getting computer or basic building maintenance repairs. Trimieri joked, as Monlake’s aging elevators are already broken frequently.
The fishing centre employs more than 350 people, most of whom work in Monlake. The rest is scattered across several labs in Oregon and Washington.
Centre staff will conduct research and provide scientific advice on policies regarding sustainable fishing and endangered species. They test seafood after oil spills to ensure the fish are safe to eat. Their work will help restore native salmon populations and support local agriculture.
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NOAA is “very uncontroversial,” said Montlake researchers who are concerned about dangerous waste disposal. The employee “weather reporting and trying to give people good seafood.”
The researchers said that because laboratory workers are trained in basic laboratory safety, the chemicals are properly stored, handled and placed in appropriate waste containers after use. However, there is a limit to the amount of chemical waste that can be stored on-site. And the contractors who left were experts in handling emergencies such as large-scale chemical spills and severe toxic exposures.
If these contractors do not return soon, the researchers said the lab may need to delay or suspend important research.
This could include chemical-intensive lab work, such as testing killer whales and environmental pollutants in Alaska, Trimieri said.
“For the many people who are screaming about efficiency,” he said, referring to the administration’s efforts to reduce the federal government, “they did the most inefficient thing possible.”
