The State Of Legal Salaries

SmellsSouth Dakota Law School Trying To Clear Stench

 
Have you ever seen fake fog or smoke at a concert? What about color dyes or additives on an ingredients label on food packaging? Or have you ever seen (or God forbid) worn a polyester suit? If so, you’ve been in close contact with propylene glycol. It is a synthetic liquid substance used to make fake fog, food coloring and polyester (as well as a few other things) and it is making the University of South Dakota School of Law smell like rotten onions.
Late last summer, students, faculty and staff began to notice a nauseating smell on the law school campus. Specifically, it was coming from the library. It was the worst on the warm days. With winter over, the warmth is bringing the stench back.
The culprit of the stench? University officials have pinpointed it as a propylene glycol-based fluid used in coolant that is leaking from pipes on the north and west sides of the building. The odor is being released as the coolant leaves the degrading pipes and enters ground water flowing to a slump hole.
Dean Tom Geu says the school is waiting until the end of the semester to replace the pipes. In the meantime, students, faculty and staff will have to suffer through some nasty smells on the warm days. However, the smell has gotten so bad at times, faculty members whose offices are in the building, have had to leave to relieve feelings of nausea. When they distance themselves from the smell for a while, the sick feelings diminish.
The smell of rotten onions isn’t the only thing the law school is dealing with. There have also been sewer gas smells in the building. They have not pinpointed the cause of those smells, but know it is not the same as the glycol leaks and air-quality tests have not revealed toxicity levels in the air. Talk about a small win!
In addition, there is an insect larvae issue on a second-story drinking fountain in the library. People have been “using this drinking fountain like a sink” and have been dumping sugary liquids down it. The result is an insect infestation. The water fountain has been closed until it can be cleaned and sanitized.
This is all coming at a time when the school is really trying to recruit future students and new faculty. The campus tour might want to avoid the library.
Source: Argus Leader
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