http://www.themercury.com/News/article.aspx?articleId=f4e5af73a7744e509d121e23a8f1ad5eEPA says University of Kansas is a repeat offender
Associated Press
LAWRENCE, Kan. The University of Kansas has violated Environmental Protection Agency regulations for the second time in three years, the federal agency says.
Now, the EPA says it may fine the university.
"When you find the same things, it shows there is a pattern," said David Bryan, a spokesman for the EPA's regional office serving Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. "It shows there really haven't been institutional things done to correct the problem."
According to a 321-page report obtained by the Lawrence Journal-World through an open-records request, multiple possible violations were found at various university labs during a Dec. 12, 2007, inspection. The potential violations include failing to determine if some wastes produced by the school were hazardous; allowing incompatible chemicals to be stored on the same shelf; and operating as a hazardous waste treatment facility without a permit.
The report says that an EPA inspector found several open jugs of improperly labeled waste in a science building at the Lawrence campus. Inspectors also found chemicals being stored near each other that, if mixed, could lead to a fires and explosions, and a professor disposing of a couple of liters of 50 percent methanol cleaning solution into the city sewers. Methanol can be toxic to humans if ingested, according to the EPA.
University spokeswoman Lynn Bretz said university officials took the report seriously and were working with the EPA to fix any problems. However, Bretz said that the school would not comment on the specifics of the 2007 inspection report or the EPA's charge that the university is a repeat offender.
