Tests taken by the Ohio EPA have determined that the soil around Lot 4 contains no hazardous material.
While excavating soil at Lot 4 on Pike Street last week, a petroleum odor was detected coming form the soil. The odor was found to be coming from three underground storage tanks that were discovered during excavation for the parking lot. The University took action by hiring Toledo Testing Laboratories Associates and notified the Ohio EPA, the Wood County Emergency Management Services, the Wood county Healthy Department and the City of Bowling Green.
According to the Ohio EPA and Marketing and Communications for the University, the test results showed that the material is non-hazardous and that all the University has to do now is plan on the appropriate removal of the contamination.
“Bottom line is that the University is on top of it, and they are doing what they need to do to get it cleaned up,” said Dina Pierce, Public Information Officer for the Ohio EPA.
She also said that the University did a good job of handling the situation. According to Pierce, the University did what it should have by fencing off the area and calling the proper officials.
The Office of Marketing and Communications also acted quickly to inform the public that the odor was nothing to be alarmed about.
They sent out a detailed letter to the community explaining what had happened and providing details about what steps were being taken to secure the area.
Most of the material found in the tanks was diesel fuel. The EPA reported that there were no PCBs, but there was a small concentration of benzine and total petroleum hydro chlorides.
“That’s a good result,” said Pierce. “It was no surprise that these materials were found, but the good news is that the concentrations weren’t very high. It’s not a hazardous contamination at this time, which is good.”
The University is still in the process of deciding how to handle clean up of the site. They will continue to test and monitor the soil.
“They haven’t touched the soil at this point and it doesn’t look like they will have to treat it as hazardous,” said Pierce.
