The Crimson provided University officials withseven photographs of conditions inside the policestation yesterday, including the pictures thataccompany this article. Almost immediately,officials at the University police department,Harvard Real Estate, Environmental Health andSafety, the Harvard News Office and the privateenvironmental services company that produced theHarvard-commissioned asbestos report were summonedfor a tour of police headquarters.

In a statement released shortly after that tourlate yesterday, the officials said unequivocallythat the building is safe. And Police Lt. LawrenceJ. Murphy and Harvard spokesperson Joe Wrinn saidlast night that "sealed, contained areas"protected police employees from exposure toasbestos during the recent removal.

"The photographs do not show environmentaldanger of any kind, nor the potential for anyunusual health-related concerns, other than thoseconnected with the normal debris and dustassociated with construction and remodeling," saysthe statement, which is signed by sevenofficials--including Michael F. Tibert, thedirector of the environmental company thatproduced the Harvard-commissioned report.

But the report prepared by Tibert's companyappears, in places, to contradict the officialstatement he signed. For example, while thestatement says that the only asbestos in thebuilding remains in floor tiles, Tibert's ownreport details three different locations ofasbestos in the department's pipe work.

And although the official statement says theasbestos tile would have to be "purposely grounddown" to pose any danger, Tibert's report saysasbestos may become hazardous during any one ofsix activities. Those activities include "routinecleaning," "moving furniture," "hanging plants"and "general deterioration."

The report recommends asbestos removal thatwould cost the University $51,054. Universityofficials indicate they will remove the asbestoswhen the building is fully renovated next summer.

Considerable portions of the 29 Garden St.police headquarters recently have been, orcurrently are being, renovated. Upstairs, there isa new dispatch and communications area.Downstairs, work is being completed on a newholding area, which will have two spacious"holding rooms" complete with glass observationwindows.

But large sections of the station--mostly thosenot readily visible to the general public, placeswhere officers spend a considerable amount oftheir time over the course of a year--remain in asqualid state.

Numerous maintenance problems, reportedlyignored for years, remain: large holes and mold inthe ceilings, asbestos tiling in the floors andpipes, exposed wiring and plumbing fixtures whichleak water into carefully positioned buckets.

Officers say there is no hot water in thelocker room shower facility, that no one has usedit in years, and that it is so filthy that it isunlikely anyone will ever use it again.

"I wouldn't wash my dog in the shower," saysKotowski. "It's disgusting, nasty. They refuse tofix that."

"We've stated a number of different reasons whywe need to have an adequate shower, nothing fancy:If an officer got in a struggle in a street, wereexposed to someone filthy, or bodyfluids--something more serious--someone thatreally stunk, or if someone worked a twelve-hourshift and would like to take a quick shower inbetween shifts, it would be nice to have a placeto freshen up," Kotowski said. "If you get in afight with a filthy homeless person, there shouldbe some specific strong soaps."

"There are very few police departments that donot even have adequate shower facilities," theunion president added. "We've asked and asked andasked and been told it's not in the real estatebudget."

In the men's locker room, holes larger than afoot in circumference perforate the ceiling. Waterdrips slowly, continuously into two large bucketsin the middle of the floor. Throughout thebuilding, wires and pipes protrude through openholes.

Kotowski said that on occasion the locker roomfloods with as much as an inch of water, and thatofficers must put their uniforms on while standingon a bench.