🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <2n7pqe$2lv@kursa.usc.edu> msilber@kursa.usc.edu (Matthew Silber) writes:
>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.

I'd use it to water my lawn.  After all you should conserve water.

The chemical is basically an algacide and I guess you could pour it down
the drain, although you may kill a whole lot of algea. :-)  After all
it can't be any worse than than the stuff that's in your tap water to
begin with.

If you're that worried about it call your local toxic waste dump (in some
communities it's incorporated into your city's recycling program) and ask
them.  The EPA is an agency full of bureaucrats whose purpose is to keep
themselves employed.  It'll take forever to an answer from them.

You might also try posting to sci.environment, sci.chem, or sci.bio.ecology,
but please don't cross post to general.  general is supposed to be a local
group, although it's not always set up that way.

----------
Greg Smejkal
greg%anl@netcom.com