That punctured pipe was located and isolated the same day, within hours, officials said. The repair effort led to a glycol contamination and resulted in the water warning. The cross-connection was isolated to Biological Sciences and Health Sciences, but the entire water system was placed under a water warning as a precaution.
With Tuesday’s announcement, water in campus buildings can now be used for all purposes, the university said.
Ethylene glycol has many uses, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, including as antifreeze in cooling and heating systems, and in hydraulic brake fluids. Ingesting large quantities of ethylene glycol may cause vomiting, drowsiness, coma, respiratory failure, convulsions, metabolic changes, followed by cardiopulmonary effects and later renal damage, the U.S. EPA says.
The school collected 41 samples for testing, and they all had less than the detectable level of ethylene glycol — 5,000 micrograms per liter.
“We appreciate your patience as we awaited the results for samples collected from every building and specific tap locations that were found to show evidence of contamination,” the university’s Office of Environmental Health and Safety said in a statement.
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