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| Major New Problems At Walter Reed |
| 2007-03-21 |
| There are allegations from a former inspector at Walter Reed of widespread and dangerous problems in nearly all the buildings at the Army's premier hospital. Burst steam pipes near electrical cables, rats, mold, and holes in floors and walls -- all of that extends far beyond the well-publicized problems at the notorious Building 18. And 9NEWS NOW has learned managers may have been slow to respond. A worried quality control inspector, Mark Cordell, finally quit last week in frustration, and brought his fears to 9NEWS NOW. "I won't sit back and watch someone get killed," he says while running through 81 pictures of the problems on a laptop computer. Cordell says the worst of it may be Building 40. The old research institute has been condemned, but last week, the private contractor now responsible for maintaining Walter Reed sent workers in to fix a leak. Cordell points to a picture showing the terrible decay inside the building and says, "The water is actually on the ground floor here. There is water halfway across the ground floor. And there's electricity too. There's high voltage that goes to this building. Two thirteen thousand volt transformers. Through the basement filled with water." Cordell took more pictures in Building 1, the old hospital, that's now the main administration building. Water damage in the walls; holes in the ceilings next to electric cables and computer servers; hazardous waste stored between occupied floors; and leaking pipes that are rotting floor joists. "The steam pipes below these buildings have burst, and it's making the rafters on the basement floor wet. People work on those floors," says Cordell. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #11 I spent two months at the old Fitzsimons Army Hospital in Denver in 1990, just before it went on the blocks in a BRAC round. I was one of 42 people on the neurological ward. The place was built in the late 1930's, early 1940's. All the improvements in the world can't adapt to 50 years of construction changes. The installation was given to the State of Colorado for the new University of Colorado Medical Center. The old building is still being used. At least most of the "temporary" buildings built in the 40's are scheduled to be demolished. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2007-03-21 23:29 |
| #10 This kind of crap is exactly why I don't want nuclear power plants. Equipment gets old, people get sloppy, managers pocket the funds and fudge the books, and before you know, KERBLAM, everybody within 25 miles needs bone marrow. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2007-03-21 20:27 |
| #9 The QA cynic in me wants to know how long Cordell 'worried' about the buildings and what did he do about it? if he worked agressively to have it fixed but got shot down by the top, then he can sleep at night, but if he is only a 15 minutes of fame grandstander, then i have absolutely no room for him. the BS meter is twitching towards option #2.... |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2007-03-21 14:01 |
| #8 P2K: Is it that difficult? It's still the Federal Government, so I fear the answer is "yes". |
| Posted by: eLarson 2007-03-21 13:58 |
| #7 Get around congress's 7 year build time with the 49Pan method. (sell it to the city for $1. The city lets out a bond for a new one the way you want it. Build the new one and congress has no problem paying a lease to the city.) |
| Posted by: 3dc 2007-03-21 13:19 |
| #6 The old research institute has been condemned... Just wrap the suckers in 'Condemned' tape, board up the doors and windows, and bulldoze it. Is it that difficult? |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2007-03-21 09:36 |
| #5 No, I PCSed at the end of 1980, profoundly greatful to be doing so. I always knew that old building was a death-trap, and was convinced that someday I would open a newspaper and read that it had burned to the ground with a couple of staffers in it. When I was alone on the night shift, you would not believe how careful I was about the security checks. The only exit route from the TV control room and the radio/TV studios led through the TV library (burning 16mm film) and the radio library (poisonous smoke from burning records) And yes, I bitched my head off about this at the time, to no noticeable effect. |
| Posted by: Sgt. Mom 2007-03-21 09:35 |
| #4 Sgt Mom, you didn't happen to be at Misawa when the AC unit on the roof of the TV studio exploded, did you? God, that place was a mess. The station spread between the old fire station buildings, the house with the admin unit, the shed with the maintenance shop and the station itself next to the water tower. I was on the install team that built the new broadcast station down at the bottom of the hill. For all it's faults, it was no where near as bad as the Iwakuni outlet. I'm surpried it still hasn't burned down. |
| Posted by: Steve 2007-03-21 08:56 |
| #3 13,000V transformers and water are a BAD, BAD, BAAAAAAAD combination. That's not asking to get someone killed, it's BEGGING for it. Back in my previous existence I saw a wiper hosing down the deck right next to an air-cooled 1600+V power transformer. From the way he was sweeping the hose I could see he was just about to wash that "box" down. I quickly went over and stopped him; then I explained just what he almost did to himself. I was pretty graphic--fireball, lightning bolts, equivalent to electric chair, etc. I think I scared him pretty good; up to that point in my life I'd never seen a black guy's face turn gray before. I wasn't surprised at his reaction--seeing him about to do that probably took six months off my own life. |
| Posted by: Mac 2007-03-21 08:46 |
| #2 Damn, sounds for all the world like the old FEN-Misawa building. The one which was lined with extremely flammable Japanese inslulation panels made from what looked like pressed seaweed. CE went up into the roof crawlspace once to see why we had leaks all over the place, and found pools of water on top of the cieling panels; this in a building simply stuffed with electronic gear. I'll always cherish the sight I had of our JN secretary Hanada-san, sitting at her desk and typing out something on the electric typwriter. She was typing one-handed, because she was holding an opened umbrella over herself and the typwriter because the roof was leaking so badly! |
| Posted by: Sgt. Mom 2007-03-21 07:51 |
| #1 Cordell says the worst of it may be Building 40 (which)... has been condemned... Ya think maybe that all those problems and the pending base closure is why the building was condemned. Mole hill meet mountain. |
| Posted by: GK 2007-03-21 03:15 |