🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <2n7pqe$2lv@kursa.usc.edu>,
Matthew Silber <msilber@kursa.usc.edu> wrote:
>I'm going to be draining my waterbed soon and I'm concerned about what
>the conditioning chemicals (that I put in to keep stuff from growing
>inside) may do to the environment. Is draining the mattress on the
>lawn or down the drain ok?
>
>I called the company where I had originally gotten the chemical and
>they said the active ingredient was Benkal-something Chloride.
>
>Everyone I've talked to so far has found this to be a fairly trivial
>issue yet no definite statements about the environmental safety of the
>chemicals have surfaced (ie, waterbed salespeople and waterebed
>products companies have no clue). Any ideas?
>
>Thanks in advance,
>Matt Silber
>
>PS This is also an experiment in efficieny being that I called the EPA
>   from a number in the phone book several days ago and I still haven't
>   provided a solid answer yet.

some hints about how to figure out if this'll hurt the environment;

1.  Look at the original package and see if it has poison warnings.  If 
not, there is probably no problem.

2.  Figure out the dilution of the substance.  If it's below a certain
threshold, you probably aren't doing any harm.

Since people drain their waterbeds every day, my hunch is that there
is probably no problem.  If there were, lawsuits would have made the
companies very aware of the problem, and there would be regulations
on the disposal of waste water from waterbeds.

Just my 2 cents

bert