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Committee hears plan to fix VAIL autoclave and summer‑steam problems with summer boilers and local steam generators
Summary
Officials told the Senate Institutions Committee the Vermont Agriculture & Environmental Laboratory (VAIL) faces steam‑pressure limits that disrupt temperature‑sensitive testing; the design now calls for 1–3 summer boilers plus local steam generators to ensure autoclave operation, with initial pieces operating this year and full completion targeted by year’s end.
The Senate Institutions Committee heard an update on operations and repairs for the Vermont Agriculture & Environmental Laboratory (VAIL) on Thursday, when Joe Langen, director of design and construction with Building & General Services, described technical and operational fixes to recurring steam problems.
Langen said the laboratory, completed in 2019, was originally tied into the adjacent college’s central steam plant. Two problems emerged after construction: the lab’s large autoclave requires about 50 pounds per square inch of steam pressure — higher than the college routinely runs — and the college reduces or shuts off steam delivery during the summer, leaving the lab without reliable autoclave service. "The…
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