Here's to follow -up to this story: First, you need to understand the word for the day: Synchronicity is the experience of two or more events, that are apparently causally unrelated or unlikely to occur together by chance, that are observed to occur together in a meaningful manner. A waste container with hydrochloric acid in the fume hood was not tightly closed. The fume hood alarm was out of calibration. The fume hood was turned off for the night. The electricity went out & then came back on a few minutes later from an electrical storm (resetting the alarm). It was record breaking heat & humidity last week. The police officers walked by the lab after the storm & heard the alarm and entered to investigate. No one was injured - the officers were checked out & released. There was no "leak". There was no chlorine (just the vapors in the room from the HCl, which quickly dissipated once the fume hood was turned back on). But the Level A Hazmat decon made really nice pictures in the paper on a slow day. Lots of other little things also added up (vacations for people who knew the lab, etc) to create an "EVENT". _________________________________________________ HAZMAT CREWS LEAVE STONY BROOK SOUTHAMPTON; SOURCE OF ODOR STILL UNDER INVESTIGATION http://www.27east.com/news/article.cfm/Southampton-Village-Surrounding-Areas/387041/HazMat-Crews-Respond-To-Marine-Science-Center-At-Stony-Brook-Southampton Tags: us_NY, laboratory, release, injury, unknown_chemical Hazardous material crews left the Marine Science Center at Stony Brook Southampton at around noon on Friday, eight hours after they were called to the scene to investigate the odor of leaking gas. Investigators still have not determined the source of the odor, or the type of gas that was detected, according to officials with the college and the Southampton Fire Department. "Everyone has cleared out," said Southampton Fire Department Captain Chris Brenner on Friday afternoon. "The road is reopen," he added, referring to Little Neck Road near the campus, which had been closed since early this morning. HazMat crews from Southampton Town, East Hampton Town and Brookhaven National Laboratory all responded to the Shinnecock Hills campus, which is owned by Stony Brook University, at around 3:30 a.m. after two campus police officers were "initially overcome by fumes" when investigating an alarm, according to Southampton Fire Department Chief Rodney Pierson. Firefighting crews from Southampton, Bridgehampton, North Sea and Hampton Bays responded to the call. Kim Auletta Lab Safety Specialist EH&S Z=6200 Stony Brook University kauletta**At_Symbol_Here**notes.cc.sunysb.edu 631-632-3032 FAX: 631-632-9683 EH&S Web site: http://www.stonybrook.edu/ehs/lab/ Remember to wash your hands!
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