Several AU students have developed strange physical deformities after prolonged exposure to mysterious steam that has been emanating from the side of the McKinley Building for years.
The Student Health Center has reported more than 15 cases in the past month of students who have changed color or grown extra body parts after walking through the steam every day on their way to class.
"I've never seen anything like it," said Jennifer Feelgood, a Health Center nurse. "Kids are coming in bright green and turquoise or with toes sprouting from their heads. And the only thing they have in common is an exposure to that steam."
According to a recent health report, the "steam" is really a vapor composed of phosgene and lewisite, two gases commonly used during chemical warfare. The vapor is leaking from a deposit of chemical weapons that were buried under McKinley after the end of World War I.
The Army Corps used McKinley and several other buildings on AU's campus as a testing site for chemical munitions, and many discarded weapons remain buried on the grounds, The Albatross previously reported.
Faith M. Lewis, a sophomore in the School of Pubic Affairs, said she went to the Health Center last week after discovering that she had grown a small tail. Lewis walked from her room on South side to the main quad for class every day for the past two years, which she said means she always walks right through the steam.
"My parents are suing the school for everything they are worth," Lewis said. "I'm so mad. Now I can't even wear tight pants anymore."
Eric Sniff, a junior in the School of Communications, said he has an ailment that he blames on the same cause.
"I guess I grew an extra nose on the back of my head," he said. "I mean, I can't see it myself, but that's what they told me. Now I mostly wear a lot of hats."
Members of AU's administration claim it has been about 10 years since professors first discovered small amounts of vapor seeping through the floor of a basement classroom in McKinley. Since then, the amount of vapor has turned into clouds that now fill the basement and are seeping into the air through cracks in the building's walls.
Mickey Gas, a the university's toxic fumes expert said the vapor got to be so thick that students could not see their PowerPoint lectures.
"We just moved some classes to the second floor," he said. "The steam doesn't smell bad and wasn't really bothering anyone, so we figured it was okay."
Lucy Green, a freshman in the Kogod School of Bizness, said she had always had her doubts about the steam's safety.
"If you look at the concrete around where it comes out, it's all corroded and brown," she said. "That just can't be good for us."
You can reach this staff writer at mmendel@thealbatrossonline.com.
