Educational efforts for proper chemical disposal have literally gone down the drain, say ISU officials.

Maintenance done in July 2002 revealed Iowa State was disposing acetone, chloroform, ethyl ether, methylene chloride and toluene by way of the Ames sanitary sewer system, said John Dunn, Ames assistant director of water and pollution control.

Dunn said they are positive Iowa State is responsible for the chemicals because they were detected in a pipe that only ISU buildings have access to.

“We are dismayed by this. All of our efforts have gone down the drain. We’re back at square one,” said David Inyang, director of environmental health and safety.

Inyang said it is difficult to determine the individuals behind the improper disposal because faculty, staff or students could be responsible.

“People have no incentive to dump. We provide free and legal disposal for them,” he said. “We spend thousands [of dollars] per year to dispose [chemicals] legally, yet people continue [to practice improper disposal].”

In an attempt to re-educate the ISU community, the Department of Environmental Health and Safety placed “Think at the Sink” decals in areas associated with chemical use on campus, Inyang said.

“All we can do is re-educate and re-emphasize [previous] training,” Inyang said.

A major concern is the repercussions the chemicals in the system could produce. With high enough concentrations, the chemicals could harm microorganisms used to clean waste water in the sewer systems, Inyang said.

The microorganisms would need more oxygen to break down the excess chemicals which would require more energy, resulting in more money, he said.

Since the discovery of the chemicals, the city of Ames has been monitoring manholes on the ISU campus weekly, Dunn said.

Currently, Iowa State has not been fined for violating regulations set by the Environmental Protection Agency, Dunn said.

“Initially, we haven’t given any fines,” he said. “Iowa State has been picking up the expenses for the testing. If things were to continue to go on unabated, some fines could be imposed.”

The chemicals being disposed of in the sewer system will not affect Ames citizens or their drinking water, Inyang said.

“All waste water from the city, residential and industrial, go to the waste water treatment plant. After we’ve cleaned the water it goes to the Skunk River,” Dunn said. “All drinking water comes from wells.”

Inyang said public officials are curious to find out if the absence of students from campus over winter break will make a difference in chemical levels. He said obtaining the results will take approximately two months to process.

“Who knows, maybe our efforts have gotten to the right source and the problems have already stopped,” Inyang said.