Corrosive gas explodes in lab
January 29, 2003
A laboratory explosion in the UW Aerospace and Engineering Research Building exposed six lab technicians to harmful gas yesterday afternoon. Two of them were sent to Harborview Medical Center with symptoms of chest tightness, respiratory problems and eye irritation.
According to Helen Fitzpatrick, public-information officer for the Seattle Fire Department (SFD) the chemical in the bottle was acryloyl chloride, also known as acrylic acid chloride. It can be fatal if absorbed through the skin and can also be extremely destructive to the eyes and respiratory system.
"Apparently, the lab techs were testing the chemical to see if it was still reactive," said Rob Harrill, media-relations officer for engineering and related sciences.
According to Harrill, the lab technicians assumed the chemical was not reactive, placed a cap on the bottle and put it back in the correct cabinet. The chemical exploded 15 minutes later, blowing the cabinet doors open and breaking all of the bottles inside. Those bottles also contained acryloyl chloride.
No one was present for the actual explosion, but, according to Fitzpatrick, the lab technicians were exposed when they returned.
The SFD received the call to the explosion site at 2:25 p.m. and sent a total of 12 units, plus one additional medical unit, to campus, the standard for a hazardous-materials call.
More than 200 people were evacuated from the building in response to the explosion.
According to Fitzpatrick, the hazardous-materials response team wore full-body Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCEBA) suits as a precautionary measure. Using absorbent pads, they cleaned up the chemicals in the room. The UW will handle any future clean-up procedures.
"A couple firefighters received minor eye irritations while working, but nothing more serious than that," said Fitzpatrick.
Harrill said the building would most likely be reopened today, though he wasn't certain. He also didn't know what measures the UW would take in response to the explosion, but said the matter would be investigated thoroughly.
According to UW chemistry professor Niels Anderson acryloyl chloride reacts with water and mucous membranes, as was the case with the lab technicians.
"It's quite corrosive. It would certainly be an irritant," he said.
The combination of acryloyl chloride and tears could produce hydrchloric acid in the eye, he added.
"It is a somewhat dangerous chemical," said Anderson, "but it is not a particularly dangerous one."
Comments
Post a comment
You are not currently logged in. You must log in using your Facebook account to post a comment. It's fast, easy, and we don't store any of your personal information, except your first and last name when you post a comment.
Why?
Our old comment system was abused to leave racist, sexist, fradulent, or simply useless comments. We're hoping this verification step will improve the quality of our comments.
I don't have a Facebook account. I'd like to verify my identity using my MySpace/Google/Yahoo!/OpenID/SSN/주민등록번호/MasterCard.
Let us know. We're open to suggestions. Over the next few weeks, we'll be testing other authentication methods.
The FBI/CIA/TSA/CoS/Emmert is out to get me! I need to stay anonymous!
We're working on a way to allow this. If you have any ideas, email us.
I think this website is ugly.
It's going to be a work in progress all summer, so it may look and act differently from week to week. If you want to influence this process, email us. We read every email, and respond to most of them.