Testing of air and water samples at Franklin College and another manufacturing site in the city show little to no indication of any contamination, two recent studies showed.
Earlier this month, the college paid for a company to collect air and water samples from multiple locations on the campus, including in dorms, classroom buildings and offices. The college voluntarily initiated the testing due to public concerns about contamination in the community.
And the owners of a facility at 400 Forsythe St., which formerly housed Franklin Power Products, also paid for testing to be done of the air both inside and outside the facility.
Of those samples, nearly all of them did not show any measurable level of volatile organic compounds, the studies said.
Three air samples at Franklin College found levels of Tetrachloroethylene, often used for cleaning and de-greasing, but were below the maximum amounts allowed in homes, according to the report from Franklin College.
College officials and the owners of the Forsythe Street property decided to do the testing in response to concerns raised by the community about possible contamination spreading from Amphenol, a former manufacturing facility, which is about a mile north of the campus and less than a half-mile north of the Forysthe Street location.
The testing marks at least four rounds of air sampling done locally since a report released earlier this summer by an environmental testing group showed levels of volatile organic compounds in some homes and near the former Amphenol site, which is under an ongoing order to clean-up contamination left behind from previous operations at the facility.
Since then, Franklin schools also did testing at two schools — Needham and Webb elementary schools — near the facility on Hurricane Road, and the state has required additional sampling around the facility. All testing so far has come back with no measurable amounts or amounts less than the allowable maximum standards.
The study at Franklin College by Indianapolis-based Patriot Engineering and Environmental took 39 air samples from inside buildings and the slabs underneath buildings, including the Alumni House, Andrew-Dietz House, Old Main and Shirk Hall, which are mainly used for staff offices; Johnson-Dietz, Elsey, Hoover and Cline halls and the Dietz Center, which are mainly dormitories; the Richardson Memorial Chapel, Napolitan Student Center and a house on Forsythe Street, according to the report.
In addition, three water samples were also collected from a sump pump in a basement on Forsythe Street and irrigation wells at the softball and baseball fields, which showed no measurable amounts of VOCs, the report said.
College officials shared the results of the study with students, staff and the community this week. With the data and comprehensive testing done, officials do not believe any further action is necessary, according to a statement from the college.
On Forsythe Street, the facility has been confused as being part of the cleanup at the former Amphenol facility. The property is not included in that clean-up, and was previously used as office space for Franklin Power Products in the 1990s, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Tenants of the facility had raised concerns to the owner about possible contamination, and Indianapolis-based KERAMIDA was hired to collect indoor and outdoor air samples, according to the report.
Eleven samples were collected, and the results showed no measurable amounts of VOCs in or around the facility, the report said.
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Here is a look at two recent studies in Franklin:
At Franklin College
Indianapolis-based Patriot Engineering and Environmental collected air samples from 39 locations and water samples from three locations on the campus to test for volatile organic compounds.
What the study found
No measurable amounts during 36 air sample results and three water sample results
Chemical detected: Tetrachloroethylene, often used for cleaning and de-greasing, at a level under the maximum allowed, at Old Main building and Andrew Dietz House
At 400 Forsythe St.
Indianapolis-based KERAMIDA collected 11 air samples in and around 400 Forsythe St., which has been confused as being part of the Amphenol clean-up, but is not related to that property.
Results: No measurable amounts found
SOURCE: Patriot Engineering and Environmental and KERAMIDA reports
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