Paris-Saclay researchers kept out of labs for six months

More than six months after being shut down as a health precaution, some of the 1,000 staff affected still have no access to their labs and offices at the Paris-Saclay University’s flagship Henri Moissan building.

Immediately after the 74,000 square-metre building, which houses the pharmaceutical, chemistry and biology departments, opened in September 2022, some of the 3,300 students and other occupants started complaining of chemical, animal litter, and exhaust fume odours.

A few weeks later they also started complaining of headaches, asthma attacks, sore throats or irritated eyes, according to Louise (the name has been changed), spokesperson for a collective of some 200 staff and students.

“The authorities merely told us the products were not being stored properly and doors should be closed,” she told University World News.

It wasn’t until December 2024 that a subsidiary of the building contractor, Bouygues, carried out a first inspection, but it yielded nothing, she added. A second inspection by an independent firm, Air Flux Concept, a year later revealed a design flaw in the ventilation system in two of the six wings of the building, one devoted to research, the other to coursework.

The flaw meant that outgoing contaminated air was being pumped back inside. Two days after the inspection report landed, on September 16 the management announced it would shut down all six wings the next day until further notice as a precautionary measure.

Staff were allowed limited access to their labs to maintain equipment or collect what they needed to continue with their work, and many have returned since.

The Paris-Saclay management acknowledges odour alerts in 2023 and 2024, and said in an email to UWN that tests revealed no malfunctions. Due to “persistent alerts”, it confirmed that further tests were conducted in September 2025 and that these showed problems with “certain ventilation systems.”

Beyond those and other technical hitches, the collective is concerned about the health risks from months of exposure to chemical substances.

The list of products stored is known, but those to which staff and students were exposed and the dosage are not.

Some are carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic (CMR), such as formaldehyde and cyclohexane.

The management said at a meeting with the collective at the end of February that a report on personal exposure to the fumes, which was drawn up with the help of the anti-poisons centre of the Fernand-Widal hospital in Paris, was “reassuring”.

The collective has the report but says it is not particularly reassuring and means that further tests will be conducted in one of the wings, Louise said.

Meanwhile, management promised to offer the standard biennial medical exam for lab staff for 50 years to their administrative colleagues, leaving research agencies and security and cleaning subcontractors to look after their own employees, the collective said.

Students are invited to contact their university medical services if they worked on-site full-time for at least six months since the building opened or are worried about their health.

In its response to University World News’ questions, management said an “appropriate and personalised” medical follow-up had been introduced for “all the personnel concerned, and for some students having spent a significant time in the buildings involved.”

As a precautionary measure, all “staff work concerned since the building was opened have received a summons” for medical tests. Specialists are being called in to follow staff exposed to chemical substances, it added.

Management did not give UWN details on its promise to extend contracts for doctoral students whose lab work has been interrupted, but said that like during the COVID-19 pandemic “all doctoral contracts are extended wherever possible.”

Patrick Couvreur, pharmacology professor emeritus at Paris-Saclay, criticised the management for failing to find alternative premises.

“Everyone was left to their own devices,” he told UWN. “We thought the shutdown would last only a few weeks. It is incredible it has lasted so long for the largest building of France’s foremost university in the Shanghai rankings.” The institution came 13th last year.

“Some teams found accommodation on the campus,” said Louise. “Others had to go as far away as Montpellier,” near the south coast.

The management did not respond directly to UWN’s initial question about the criticisms, saying that lab relocation was possible “for a few particular cases” at the university or at other institutions, and expressed gratitude for the “solidarity” it was shown.

Many of the staff have returned to work. Most teachers were back at their posts by September 22, except for those working with toxic chemicals.

“All students have resumed their courses, including practical work,” management told University World News 26 March. But some teacher-researchers and researchers are still waiting for tests and repairs to be carried out before their lives can return to normal.

The cost of the shutdown is now being evaluated. The management confirmed it has budgeted for a deficit this year, partly because of “the crises” and “structural difficulties” facing all French universities. It did not give figures.