Why Scary Lab Accidents Happen

About 10 to 50 times more lab accidents occur in schools and universities than in industry.

Enrico Uva, Science 2.0

If a chemist has never been in a lab accident, he has been lucky. Of course luck is more likely to come to those whose mentors have learned from bad experiences and to those who have taken preventive measures seriously, despite their anal nature. Chemical reactions create products with behaviors that differ from those of the ingredients. That's what makes them intriguing, and it's also what makes them potentially dangerous. No matter how simple and controllable a reaction seems on paper, when it's carried out in real life, the exact conditions determine its rate. And when gases or acids acquire too much kinetic energy, no one wants eyes, lungs and flesh in their way.

Building Evacuated - One Injured

From: The Daily Cardinal

www.chemicallabels.com/

Biochemistry building evacuated, one injured after chemical spill
A hazardous materials crew, police officers, ambulances and fire trucks responded to a chemical spill in a UW-Madison biochemistry laboratory after a graduate student spilled a highly flammable solvent, injuring one person.

According to a graduate student in the Biochemistry building, the student spilled about 40 liters of tetrahydrofuran (THF), a chemical that can dissolve a wide range of materials including latex gloves, flooring and other plastics, in the Ronald Raines laboratory between 10:15 and 10:45 a.m.

UCLA 2009 Incident - Felony Charges

Sangji's lab notebook reveals that she

planned to react vinyl bromide with

tert-butyllithium as the first step of a

larger synthesis. ACS

Below are articles reviewing the most recent information on the investigation.

Los Angeles Times

Felony charges filed against UC and a UCLA chemistry professor after fatal laboratory fire

A research assistant was fatally burned when chemicals burst into flame. Her death three years ago has focused attention on safety issues.

December 28, 2011

Lab Explosion Sends Student to Hopital

By: Nathan Crabbe; The Gainsville Sun

Doug Finger/Staff photographer

A University of Florida laboratory explosion last week caused chemical burns on a graduate student's face and lips, the skin to be torn from his fingertips, and glass to become embedded in his chest and abdomen, according to a police report released Wednesday.

Graduate student Khanh Ha, 27, was conducting research on cyclic peptides in the Sisler Hall laboratory of chemistry professor Alan Katritzky when the Jan. 11 accident happened. Ha told UF police that he was doing an experiment with sodium azide, a shock-sensitive compound, and an acid before the explosion.

4 Students Burned at Junior High

By: CBS Minnesota

My Fox 9

MAPLE GROVE, Minn. (WCCO) — Four students were transported to the Hennepin County Medical Center for burns after a methanol experiment blew up at Maple Grove Junior High. All the students, ninth graders, are currently in satisfactory condition. The experiment was being conducted by their ninth grade science teacher. Authorities say he was performing an experiment with a flammable liquid when the accident happened. It is not clear if the students suffered chemical burns or were burned by fire.

A fifteen-year-old got the worst of it and was still being treated at HCMC Thursday afternoon. “My face was actually on fire,” he said. 

Teen Hospitalized from Science Explosion

By: Meg Alexander KFOR-TV

KFOR-TV

DEL CITY, Okla. -- An eighth grader has burns on her face, neck and hands after a school scientific demonstration went wrong at Kerr Middle School. "We were watching and she put the chemicals in and it exploded and hit me. I remember seeing the fire and I went on the ground and my friends were putting me out."

She's worried about long-term scarring and discoloration. The pain, especially at night, is hard to withstand. Her parents say they don't understand how this happened. Ashley told them they weren't wearing goggles.

6 Students Injured in Chemistry Lab

By: Nancy McCleary

Staff photo by Amanda Berg

Six students were treated for injuries after a chemistry experiment at E.E. Smith High School went awry Tuesday afternoon, officials said. Three of the students were taken to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, said Theresa Perry, a school system spokeswoman. Two were being treated for minor burns, she said. The third student and three others who were tended to at the school had respiratory-related issues, said Ron Lewis, a battalion commander with the Fayetteville Fire Department.

Two Injured in University of Maryland Chemistry Lab Explosion

By: Andrea Noble
The Washington Times

Associated Press

Two University of Maryland students were injured Monday in the College Park campus’s Chemistry Building when a chemical reaction caused an explosion and small fire in the lab where they were working.

The two women were taken to a hospital with first-degree chemical burns and minor lacerations but were in good condition, Prince George’s County fire department spokesman Mark Brady said. The explosion occurred during an afternoon chemistry class as students were working with nitric and sulfuric acid.

Student Loses Eye in Chemistry Explosion

By: Michael Kaplan & Natalie Martinez
NBCChicago.com

A 16-year-old-boy lost his left eye Tuesday after a plastic bottle containing dry ice and water exploded during a chemistry class at a southwest suburban high school, a suit filed Friday claims.

Dillon Mantia was taking part in a chemistry experiment at Harold L. Richards High School in Oak Lawn when the teacher combined dry ice and water in a plastic water bottle and sealed it tightly with a cap, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Jewelry Studio Incident Sends Student to Hospital

LONGMONT, Colo. -- Authorities say a Front Range Community College student has been taken to a hospital after she suffered burns while diluting a chemical in a jewelry studio classroom.

Longmont emergency manager Dan Eamon tells the Daily Times-Call the woman was injured Saturday by a chemical reaction while she was diluting ferric chloride. The chemical is often used for water treatment and to etch metal.

Hazardous Chemical Misused in a School

By DAVID SEIFMAN City Hall Bureau Chief nypost.com
October 16, 2010

NY Post: G.N. Miller 

Two students created a scare at a middle school in Brooklyn by pouring a potentially dangerous chemical into the hands of unsuspecting classmates -- leading to a hazmat response that included cops and firefighters, officials disclosed yesterday.

Six students from Seth Low IS 96 in Bensonhurst were taken to Coney Island Hospital as a precaution.

Several others were taken to emergency rooms by their parents after Thursday's incident.