by Joe Harris
senior editor

A physics professor wants the University to seek guarantees that the noise from airplanes doesn't interfere with performances at the new Performing Arts Center and that the University is adequately insured in case of an aircraft-related tragedy.

Richard Schwartz proposed getting a written guarantee from Kirkegaard and Associates, a company consulting the University on construction of the center that the noise levels will be at the expected levels and that the University look into insurance protection in the event of an aircraft-related tragedy. The center is located directly under a flight pattern of Lambert International Airport.

Schwartz, chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at UM-St. Louis, has worked closely with engineers and construction superintendents on the building's noise attenuation since 1998. He said that even though adequate noise attenuation levels have been agreed upon, it is still important to get a written guarantee from Kirkegaard that the building will live up to expected levels.

"If it's an important issue in the construction of a building to achieve a certain end, one would hope that the contractors would come within some reasonable range of achieving that end," Schwartz said. "If it falls short of what was promised, then I think there should either be penalties or the contractors should fix it free of charge."

Schwartz said the insurance issue is another concern of his. A memo written by Schwartz to Donald Driemeier, deputy to the Chancellor, dated Dec. 7, 1999, outlines Schwartz's concern.

"An aircraft crashing into the building would be a terrible tragedy, potentially causing the death of a 1,000 or more people (I remind you that an Ozark airliner crashed about 200 yards from the proposed site in 1973 with the loss of 38 lives)," the memo said. "The building should be indemnified for just this circumstance, either by the University (State) or by a private insurance company. A liability figure of $100 million, large as it may sound, might cover only about 100 deaths in such an event."

Driemeier said he received the letter, but his response to it has been delayed because of the Christmas holidays. He said he is in the process of gathering feedback about the suggestions.

Driemeier said he has received some feedback and that Schwartz's first suggestion about getting a written guarantee from Kirkegaard about the noise levels is not commonplace in the construction industry and that such a request should have been made at the time the University originally hired the consultants.

"This doesn't mean that we don't have confidence in the construction because after all they have their professional reputation riding on this building just like we do," Driemeier said. "If we were to find out at a later date that they made a gross error in how they helped us design this building, I'm afraid that would have to be subject of a lawsuit rather than a guarantee."

Driemeier said that since the levels of noise attenuation in the Performing Arts Center are so important, UM-St. Louis officials have been following the center's construction closely. He said the University's construction superintendents and architects are monitoring the center's progress, making sure no short cuts are taken during the construction.

As for Schwartz's second suggestion about liability insurance, Driemeier said the University is self-insured.

"I do think it is an item that we have to be mindful of, just like we have to be mindful of how we treat hazardous chemicals in our laboratories or any time that we are exposing our students or the general public to a higher degree of risk," Driemeier said. "So the University has to keep this in mind when they look at the total risk management package, but the bulk of all risk management on all of the campuses is self-insurance."

Driemeier said that if a tragedy involving an airplane crash and the Performing Arts Center were to happen, relatives of the victims might seek financial relief from the airplane companies and manufacturers as well as the University. Driemeier said the University's resources might seem less significant compared to the resources of airplane companies and manufacturers when surviving victims are looking for compensation.