While the University waits for a chemical waste disposal
facility to be built, conditions deteriorate at the present
storage site_ __
A radioactive and chemical
waste disposal facility will be a
welcome addition to the Umversi
ty s Office of Environmental Health
— one of these days
The facility can I be built a
moment too soon according to
chemist Craig Reece the man in
charge of disposal of all chemical
waste at the University
In fact Reece plans to send let
ters to the state Department of
Environmental Quality and the En
vironmental Protection Agency
citing potentially hazardous condi
tions of the University s current
chemical waste disposal area
Reece says he sent a memo
nearly eight months ago descnb
mg the conditions of the disposal
area — a loading dock tacrng
Franklin Boulevard behind
Science II — to Public Safety Di
rector Oakley Glenn He says he
never received a response
Nothing s ever been done and I
don t think anything ever will be
Reece says
I m complaining to agencies
because I don t have faith the
University wtH correct the problem
without pressure
The loading dock where Reece
prepares 55 to 70 gallons of
chemical wastes a month for
transfer to Arlington (Oregon s on
ly chemical waste disposal sitei. is
situated next to an intake vent that
supplies air directly to the teaching
labs and library in the basement of
Science II
Reece says he knows of at leas'
two instances in which fumes from
chemicals he was working with oh
the dock drifted into the research
labs causing people to evacuate
the building
if there were ever a fue smoke
will go right into the building
Reece says
A storm sewer drain lying in front
of a flimsy chemical storage cage
on the loading dock would cause
an immediate environmental
problem in the case o1 an ac
udentai fepiK. according to Reece
The drams lead directly into me
rmttrace he uryi
According to state regulations
Reece must allow empty bottles in
which chemicals have been stored
to ventilate tor tive to eight days
before feeding them to a glass
Crusher
Due to the tack of a proper
facility Reece must simply leave
the bottles unattended on the
loading dock
Sometimes he says people who
don t know better take the pottles
A large black drum labeled sui
tunc acid that is too large to tit in
the existing storage r age also sits
on the dock Reece ays he's never
received the add non at cages he
requested to cooer • the problem
At best Reece says me area is
an eyesore ft serves as a mato'
thoroughfare tor delivery trucks
and student1 who seek access to
Scienc e II
it smells bad and looks tern
pie he says
But Reece says he envisions
■.omethtng much more serious
if mere were an accident out
there it would be a disaster If some
tanatic dec ided to put a bul'et hole
through one of those drums
It someone a anted to they
touW cause a rest problem
chemical Stores Manager David
Senkovich agrees that the present
situation ts 'potentially danger
ous "
The (new building doesn *
seem to be getting built very tast
Senkovich says There needs to
be an adequate facility — and the
sooner the better
But Senkovich maintains that
University personrte in charge ot
wasle management face the most
danger and Reece couldn t agree
more
He complains that he gets little or
no response to requests for sup
plies he considers vital to his safe
fy For instance in working so
s closely with notious and some
I femes carcinogenic chemicals he
| says he often experiences nausea
| because of improper ventilating
! equipment
Fven less expensive items
\ such as gloves and spill control
Cloths — never get ordered
We don t have anything to
clean up a spill says Reece I
don t even have a water hose
available It someone spills
something it s tough As we can
do is lei it evaporate
But Safety Direr tor Glenn says
money is the main problem T he
waste disposal program s budqet
comes under his department and
Glenn says he has responded to
'' supply requests to the largest e«
tent possible
The things we haven t had
money to buy are relatively minor
he says Naturally those things
you re going to have to get along
without if you re going to take care
j ot the larger more important
things
Besides Glenn contends the
supplies Reece orders have never
been there before and no one s
ever come down with anything
I Glenn isn t willing to say the
* foadmg dock poses a potential
hazard
It s been there in the same way
i Since 1950 he says arid I don t
i remember incidents where any
thing occurred
I think the way (the waste dis
posai site) it set up now is the best
we can do at the present time arid
until the buildings are completed l
don t think it will be changed
As for Reece s claim that exist
•ng disposal conditions are dan
gerous Glenrt counters that
♦here s simply no way around the
tact that waste disposal is a hazar
dous business
Reece doesn t argue No mat
ter how you IOOt< at it it s risky stuff
that s why I don t like doing it on
the loading dock he says
I knew I was taking risks by
getting into waste disposal
Reece continues but I didn t
know it would be like this
According to University Planner
David Rowe the new radiation and
c hemical disposal facility has been
plagued with several delays over
the last five years
Although ii was supposed to be
built by November 1981 design
plans haven t even been approved
yet Construction won t begin until
tall at the earliest and the job
probably won t be finished until
late winter or early spring
With a budget of only $200,000
it s going to be tight Rowe says
But according to him The ex
tent of danger is not of scandalous
proportions It s present and it
needs to be dealt with but it will be
with this building
The proposed building is ex
cellent Reece says It will be one
of the best in the nation
He says he |ust wants it built
Story by Heidi Swllllnger
Photos by Bill Wack
1111 I I I 1
PHOTO SPECIAL!
Duplicate Color Slides
From standard size color slides
Good thru July 31
Textbooks 686-3520 • General Books 686-3510
Supplies 686-4331
On the main floor at the UO Bookstore
BUY 1
GET
2
FREE
(of equal value)
on shirts, skirls,
blouses andfiunts.
Lazars
Bazar
104 It' linta/lua\
OH" (jU'( 6X7 V 700
greyhound:
racing!
MAY 8TH|
thru;
AUG |
POST time!
730 PM|
I
I
I
I
Ii Hu J.iy !*■• . i' ’ ! ' v Hj
Nu Rycmg BunOfiysH
I octet At IH K11
Ia
Nf ;v3rd Hdlsny »t ■
At f yit view near Grt>sh,imH
_ UulO ( . _
|muunomah|
|K6NNe^UJTJ|
PHOTO SPECIAL!
iiii » i rmn i r
uo
BOOKSTORE
Slides Movie
Processing
Kodachrome and
Ektachrome 135, 126,
110*20 Exposure slide
film, Super & Regular 8
Movie film
36 Exposure . . . $2.49
IMITED TIME OFFER
Code 11
13th & Kincaid
Mon - Fri 8 30 - 5 30
Good thru July 31
Textbooks 686-3520 • General Books 686-3510
Supplies 686-4331
On the main floor at the UO Bookstore
^German
AUTO SERVICE
VW’S MERCEDES BMW’S
DATSUN TOYOTA
reliable service tor
your foreign car
2025 Franklin Blvd
Eugene. Ore 97403
Bus Ph 342-2912
c
/I1J4
I _ i
I
k
^ ACTIONWEAR
DESIGNED
FOR OREGONIANS
PATTERNS,
FABRICS AND
NOTIONS
GREEN PEPPER
FASHION CATALOG
$1.00
^ NYLONS,
CORDURA,
QUILTEDS,
INSULATIONS
AND HARDWARE
rk ROMAN
SHADE
PATTERN
HEADQUARTERS
•Jl OPEN EVENINGS
DURING
CAROUSEL
(TUES-FRI)
<\(5