"Purple Ooze" Report Received

September 2, 2005

On June 23, 2005, the Department of Toxics Substances Control was informed by a community member that a "purple ooze" was observed in front of a grassy area in front of the Building 484 Earthquake Engineering Laboratory. See attached photos.

In late June 2005 the material was sampled by staff from DTSC and the campus Office of Environment, Health & Safety (EH&S). DTSC's August 19, 2005 letter report summarizing the results of chemical analyses is attached..

The agency has concluded that concentrations of analyzed chemicals are consistent with typical background concentrations and are not harmful to human health. EH&S analytical results for metals and pH were consistent with the DTSC findings. EH&S also analyzed the samples for semi-volatile organics and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). No semi-volatile organics or PCBs were detected in the samples.

The cause for the purple coloration has yet to be determined. DTSC is not planning any further investigation unless new information becomes available that warrants additional investigation.