USU
employees, students react quickly to chemical spill
By Jeremy Wilkins
February 1, 2005 | LOGAN --
A bottle of pyridine fell and
broke in a chemistry stockroom, causing the evacuation
of between 150 and 200 people from the Eccles
Science and Learning Center buildling at USU on
Jan. 24.
The bottle fell out the bottom
of a shipping box when lifted off a table, said
the chemistry store employee who picked up the
box. The employee, whose name has not been released,
is the only person who came in contact with the
500 ml. that spilled and received no injuries.
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PYRIDINE
SPILL: Members of the USU Police and Logan
Fire Department converse outside Widtsoe Hall
on Jan. 24 about a chemical spill. Two members
of Logan's hazmat team prepare to clean up the
bottle of pyridine that was dropped and broken
in the chemical stockroom. / Photo by Jeremy
Wilkins |
"This is something chemistry departments plan for,
we train for and we are prepared for. Within minutes
of when the spill happened, things were going as planned,"
said Dr. Lisa Berreau, a professor in the chemistry
department who recognized the smell of the pyridine
and started the evacuation of the building.
Pyridine is an organic chemical used routinely in
chemistry labs and has a very distinct smell, Berreau
said.
"There is a question as to whether it causes male
sterility," said USU Fire Marshal Steven Bell. It can
also be highly toxic if breathed in over a long period
of time and is flammable, Bell said.
When Bell arrived at the scene he said a material
safety data sheet was handed to him and he was able
to assess the severity of the spill right away and work
quickly. "That was a great action," Bell said.
Berreau said that she was unaware of who pulled the
alarm system in the building but said it was "absolutely
the right thing to do," and that the USU police acted
"extremely professional."
Austin Belcher, a USU sophomore, said he was in a
chemistry lab in the basement when the alarm began to
sound. "For all we knew there was a fire blazing on
the second floor," Belcher said.
Tosin Dada, Belcher's lab instructor, went upstairs
to see what was happening. When Dada returned he told
the remaining students to promptly leave, Belcher said.
The spill was cleaned up by two hazmat members of
the Logan City Fire Department from station 70.
"What we would like the public to know is we are prepared
for these kinds of incidents. The most important thing
to remember with any accident is just to take the steps
you're trained to do and that's what we did," Berreau
said.
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