NOAA Scientists Are Cleaning Bathrooms and Reconsidering Lab Experiments After Contracts for Basic Services Expire

Federal scientists are cleaning office bathrooms and reconsidering critical experiments after the Department of Commerce failed to renew their lab’s contracts for hazardous waste disposal, janitorial services, IT and building maintenance.

The Northwest Fisheries Science Center , part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , has been hit by a new policy at the Commerce Department that says Secretary Howard Lutnick must approve all contracts over $100,000 .

The contractors who left were experts on handling emergencies like large chemical spills or serious toxic exposures.

If those contractors don’t return soon, the lab may need to delay or pause important research, researcher says.

That could include testing sea lions, killer whales and walruses from Alaska for environmental contaminants.