LEE COUNTY, Fla. - The hazardous material scare at East Lee County High School may have been a student prank, but that investigation uncovered another serious issue, a toxic chemical leaking into a nearby storm system.

The toxic chemical discovered is ethylene glycol, it's commonly used in air conditioners and anti-freeze.

The Department of Environmental Protection says there was a leak of ethylene glycol in the air conditioner room of East Lee County High School and the chemical went down the drain.

Spokesperson Eli Fleishaier says, "They think that drain is actually attached to the storm water system drain which accidentally happened instead of being hooked into the sanitary sewer where it should be."

He says the toxic substance made its way into a pond next to the chiller room, "When it got into that it got aspirated and how people could smell it. The pond turned pink and that's when it came to our attention."

Testing is now being done to see how much spilled into the groundwater and how much cleanup is required.

WINK News asked the district how the school could have been built this way, we're being told it's being reviewed by construction services.

We also wanted to know if this happened at the other two high schools with same construction, the district is now looking into it.

Board Member Bob Chilmonik says there needs to be more district oversight on construction projects, "I don't think anyone goes out and intentionally does something like this however you minimize these mistakes with professionalism proper inspection procedures."

The DEP says there are federal procedures when reporting this chemical and in this instance the district was not required to report it because the levels leaked weren't high enough.

But Fleishaier says the chemical should have been reported when it was released into the environment and the school district didn't.

However, the Dept. of Environmental Protection says the district didn't realize the drain sent the items to the storm water system and it was an honest mistake.

Health experts say ethylene glycol is considered toxic if you drink it or inhale large amounts so parents should not be concerned.