If the Abilene Environmental Laboratory does not get new work benches, it could lose its accreditation, according to the national institute that evaluates laboratories.
The variegated blues of the rusted and peeling cabinets and countertops in the city of Abilene's Environmental Laboratory contrasted starkly against the gleaming white machines and sterilized glass beakers and test tubes used to evaluate the city's water supply.
The royal blue countertops where technicians test water and soil samples for possible contaminants that could harm people's health bore powder blue stains, some in the shape of rings left behind by a beaker or Erlenmeyer flask. Others were shapeless bright spots, like puffy cumulus clouds in an otherwise clear sky. Some countertops had faded to powder blue.