Boynton-Moton students returned to school Wednesday, one day after eight boxes of old science lab chemicals were removed from a bus garage.

Now, already faced with a tight budget, the district must pay for the chemicals’ removal.

School Superintendent Shelby Williams said boxes of old chemicals were found in an office while people were cleaning the bus barn earlier this week. She said the school called the Muskogee Fire Department. Classes were dismissed Tuesday while the Muskogee Fire Department Hazmat unit investigated the scene and inventoried the chemicals.

Muskogee Fire Chief Derek Tatum said the boxes, found in the bus barn’s office, contained bottles of chemicals used in school science labs and dated to the 1960s and 1970s.

The fire department contacted Sooner Emergency Services, a hazardous material removal company from Muskogee, to remove the chemicals.

The chemicals were removed by 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, said Bill Inhofe, president of Sooner Emergency Services.

“We were able to have a board meeting that night,” Williams said. Students were able to return to school the next day.

Williams said the district now must pay the fire department and Sooner more than $3,000 for the removal. She said the district cannot afford the cost.

“All the small schools throughout Oklahoma have the same problem,” she said. The district experienced a 4 percent cut in state funds last month and a 5 percent cut this month, she said.

“We’re looking at grants or donations,” she said. “Hopefully, someone will tap into some money somehow.”

Tatum said the fire department charged the district $1,600 to remove the chemicals. He said federal law and Muskogee city ordinance allows the department to charge for runs outside the city limits. Boynton is 20 miles west of Muskogee.

“But we wanted to keep it as cheap as possible,” he said. “We cut them a heck of a break because we charged for the hours worked, but not for the unit or the apparatus.”

Robert Adair, special operations officer for the hazmat unit, said the chemicals included small amounts of ammonias, alcohols, sulfates and sulfurs. However, because of their deteriorating condition, the chemicals could have caused reactions if they mixed together.

Inhofe said Sooner workers sorted the chemicals and packed them in over-sized drums.

He said the company still finds schools with aging lab chemicals from time to time.

“About eight or 10 years ago, a majority of schools got rid of them,” he said.



Reach Cathy Spaulding at 918-684-2928 or Click Here to Send Email