The discovery of dangerous chemicals at Grinnell College had the town bracing for a big explosion for a time today. Authorities were called to where workers found a dangerous chemical last night. Spokesman Dan Hays says the chemical is not something newly brought to the school. Hays says the chemical’s been there for ten years or so, but during spring cleaning workers found this and figured it was potentially hazardous so officials are taking care of it as safely as possible. The chemical’s ammonium perchlorate, an unstable chemical used in making rocket fuel. Hays says police at first proposed to blow it up, the way Des Moines police did with over-aged chemicals found recently in a public-school science lab. Then, Grinnell spokesman Mickey Munley says, the experts changed their minds. They looked at it and decided given its state, it’d be safer not to blow it up, so they’ll dilute it with water instead. No evacuation was necessary since the school’s on spring break, but a building was closed for a time. The ammonium perchlorate was found by crews cleaning during spring break, in an area where research materials are stored at Grinnell College.
