Although city administrators are reassuring citizens that the Ames electric power plant does not produce dioxin, student environmentalists said there is a need for more testing.

A professor from Queens College in New York released a report last week that named the Ames plant as the No. 1 producer of dioxin, a dangerous airborne toxin that may cause cancer.

However, city officials said the claim is unfounded.

“Ames Lab tested our plant and found that it doesn’t produce dioxins,” assistant city manager Bob Kindred said. “This is why we were surprised that this research group found these results.”

Members of the ISU Student Environmental Council, however, said tests results are outdated. More tests are needed to assure the public that the plant is safe, according to SEC President Katie Theisen.

“An outside third party should do testing on the [Ames power] plant to see what is in our air,” said Theisen, senior in environmental science.

Kindred said the city is upset the researchers didn’t contact the city first.

He said the research team also would not back down on their allegations.

“If the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was concerned about our levels of dioxin, they would have contacted us,” Kindred said. “We do everything that the EPA requires of us.”

The Ames plant is unique in that it burns both coal and garbage to produce more reusable sources of power for the city, Kindred said.

Al Joensen, ISU professor emeritus, said the Ames plant could not possibly produce dioxins because the coal and garbage burn at a level where dioxins are not produced.

He said the plant burns at 2,800 degrees Fahrenheit, but dioxins are normally produced at lower temperatures of 1,200 to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit.

He gave the examples of cigarettes and some kinds of paper as dioxin producers.

“We’re right because our testing was done recently,” Joensen said. “Previous tests were valid. If there was concern, the EPA would have come in.”

Kindred said city staff has recommended the next step be for the council to direct staff to investigate the testing of the power plant for dioxins. He said at this time there is no reason to order more testing on the facility until more is understood about the complications of the tests.