The Chronicle of Higher Education
March 15, 2016
By Andrew Mytelka
Oregon State University was hit with a $275,000 fine on Monday for improper handling of hazardous wastes. According to a news release issued by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the wastes — nearly 2,000 containers of laboratory chemicals and other substances — were unsafely stored and inadequately identified, endangering students, faculty members, support-staff workers, emergency responders, truck drivers, and landfill employees. In a settlement announced by the EPA, the university also pledged to retrain people who work with the wastes on its campus and to comply with waste-management requirements.