Two more lab safety events picked up by Google News: http://www.kelowna.com/2009/08/24/lab-accident-sends-ubco-student-to-hospi tal-with-acid-burns/ Lab accident sends UBCO student to hospital with acid burns Monday, August 24th, 2009 | 5:44 pm UCBO = University of British Columbia Okanagan By Joe Fries A UBCO student was sent to hospital this afternoon after she was burned with sulphuric acid. Bud Mortenson, the university=92s public affairs manager, said the incident happened around 12:43 p.m. when school security was notified of the spill in a lab on the third floor of the Fipke Centre, one of the newest buildings on campus. He was told the student received burns to her face and chest, and running water was used to flush the injuries while emergency workers made their way to the university. =93The student was taken to hospital - undetermined what the extent of the injuries were,=94 Mortenson told Kelowna.com =93It looks like the spill in the lab was sulphuric acid,=94 he said, but added he was uncertain =93what exactly created the spill or caused the spill.=94 =93I don=92t even really know whether it was the student was working with (the chemical), or it was something that got knocked over.=94 Kelowna Assistant Fire Chief Thomas Doherty said the department=92s hazardous materials team was put on standy when the call came in, but was not required because lab staff was able to take care of the small spill. He said his crew members told him the sulphuric acid =93splashed up=94 into the eyes of the student, who is in her early 20s. UBCO continues to investigate. joe**At_Symbol_Here**kelowna.com/(250)575-4303 === Another misleading headline - there was no actual "experiment gone wrong", but rather this was the scenario used for the drill. The story as a whole (excerpts below) is pretty interesting. The location is McCook, Nebraska. http://www.mccookgazette.com/story/1564796.html Lab experiment gone wrong triggers disaster drill Tuesday, August 25, 2009 Bille Cole A life-threatening situation Saturday in McCook was as real as possible. The mock disaster at the National Guard Armory in McCook included the Red Willow Western Rural Fire Department and Hazardous Materials Response team, Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department and the 72nd Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team of Lincoln, training for a disaster that in seconds could cause harm to students and families in any community. ... The disaster started at 6:30 a.m. Red Willow Western Rural firefighters and haz-mat response team received a call, reporting that a teacher and her students were working on a science project requiring baking soda and vinegar. Somehow the wrong chemicals had been used. The teacher actually used deadly chemicals, sodium sulfite, carburetor cleaner and muriatic acid in her mixture creating a toxic fume, that burned some students' skin, rendered some unconscious and killed one ... The cooperative efforts of the CST, Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department and Red Willow Western made the drill a learning experience for the new recruits to the fire department and a refresher course for those haz-mat technicians who will respond if the situation arises.
Previous post | Top of Page | Next post