When science goes wrong
Between 150 and 200 people were evacuated from the Eccles Science and Learning Center complex Monday at about 4:20 p.m. when a bottle of pyridine was dropped and broken in a chemical storeroom.
“The alarm went off and we all thought it was a drill,” said Drake Kelley, a Utah State University freshman who was in a chemistry lab when the building was evacuated.
Only one person – an employee – came in contact with the chemical and did not receive injuries, said Steven Bell, USU’s fire marshall.
After responding to the call and detecting a strong odor, the fire department immediately activated a pull station to evacuate the building, said USU Deputy Fire Marshall Alan Nelson.
“It’s the fastest way to evacuate students,” he said. “The odor is like if you spilled gas on your clothes.”
Pyridine is toxic if breathed in over long periods of time, Bell said, and is highly flammable.
Two members of the Logan City Fire Department’s hazmat team were called in to clean up the spill, and fans were then placed throughout the building to dissipate the odor, Nelson said.
The building reopened at about 6 p.m.
Brady Firth, a sophomore majoring in biology, was present at the time of the evacuation.
Firth said many students left their belongings in class because they thought it was a drill.
Students were not allowed to retrieve their things until the building was secured and deemed safe.
The chemical spill is actually the second in the last week, Bell said.
“To have two in a week’s time is very unusual,” he said.
The previous substance spilled was a solid considered safe under the current temperatures, Bell said, and was easily cleaned up and contained by Hazmat.
“There was no need to evacuate the building,” he said.
Bell said he expects procedures for handling chemicals to be addressed in the next employee safety meeting.
-bnelson@cc.usu.edu