Wicked Local Waltham
WALTHAM — A Brandeis University graduate student sustained first- and second-degree burns and lacerations to his face in a chemical explosion at the school’s science building Thursday morning, said Fire Chief Richard Cardillo.
The student, a male who has not yet been identified, was rushed to Mass. General Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries following the explosion at 10:49 a.m., Cardillo said.
He was released at 5 p.m., said Brandeis spokesman Andrew Gully.
The student is a candidate for a Ph.D. in chemistry, said Gully, who declined to name him due to privacy issues.
“He was doing work for his graduate degree, and something obviously went wrong, because the chemicals he was using don’t normally cause
an explosion, but this time they did,’’ Cardillo said.
Deputy Fire Chief Roger Hebert said the two chemicals were tetrahydrofuran and calcium hydride.
"If mixed, you can get a gas that could be bad, but they use such a small quantity, it's not an issue,'' said Hebert.
Gully said, “Those two chemicals should not have created that kind of reaction.”
