October 26, 2009

Purdue audit finds proper procedures, recommends ways to improve

Peggy Fish, Purdue's director of audits, found that the university had correctly taken every action required by Indiana Department of Environmental Management and had more than met each of IDEM's deadlines.

"While we went beyond the letter of the law and met the deadlines, there were some problems," said Al Diaz, executive vice president for business and finance, treasurer, who had asked for the audit. "There was a delay in alerting university leadership. Also, it's clear that not every one of our building deputies forwarded the alert and educational materials as requested to building occupants, and some deputies may not have posted the materials. Consequently, many on campus were surprised to first hear about the lead through the news reports."

The audit recommended that the university enhance communication by creating a process to monitor and verify that critical announcements have been distributed and posted. The plan should include a list of those to be notified and standards for timeliness.

The report also noted that IDEM requires the university to inform the community when more than 10 percent of its samples exceed the state threshold. This means that test results could be higher than the state threshold for some buildings, yet the university would not be required to take any action or notify the campus. The auditor suggested that Purdue might want to consider taking such actions even when not required.

The report also found that the tests had been taken appropriately, but better recordkeeping was recommended. While staff knew which buildings the state and university had selected as test sites, there was no documentation of the rationale for that decision. The report suggests such documentation be developed and retained. The audit also recommended the university keep better records of which faucets are used in each building for the tests.

Diaz will forward the report to the leadership of the vice president for physical facilities for review and more specific recommendations for action.

Of the five buildings that tested above the lead threshold in September, the water in all but Lynn Hall is acceptable. The results of a third round of water tests at Lynn Hall were delivered last week and showed that the water from four of 14 sites tested in that building are still over the state threshold for lead. (The water from those four areas in Lynn was drawn in locker rooms or restrooms.) Water for additional tests was drawn last week from all 19 drinking fountains in Lynn Hall. The samples were then sent to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management for testing.

The university will continue to supply bottled water there until the problem is resolved.

The university also tested water in two sites not done recently: Child Development and Family Studies and Fowler House. No problems were found. Water from 60 of 160 major buildings on campus will be checked by June 30.

Writer: Jeanne V. Norberg, 765-494-2084, jnorberg@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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