Exploding beaker injures student

Hazmat team called to Goldwater, finds substance is not harmful

 by Matt Culbertson and Andre Radzischewski
 published on Thursday, February 28, 2008

Tempe firefighters evacuated the basement of the Barry M. Goldwater Center for Science and Engineering Wednesday afternoon after an exploding beaker injured a female student and caused concerns about a possible contamination with toxic materials, ASU Police Cmdr. Jim Hardina said.

The University contacted the Tempe Fire Department at 3:46 p.m., ASU spokeswoman Leah Hardesty said.

"Because it was a lab, [the department] automatically sent their Hazmat unit out there," Hardina said about the 15 to 20 firefighters dispatched to the scene.

However, the materials used in the chemistry experiment that led to the burst bleaker were determined to be harmless, and the basement was cleared about an hour after the incident, Hardina added.

"It was nontoxic stuff," he said.

An ambulance transported the injured student, whose name was unknown at press time, to Tempe St. Luke's Hospital.

"We understand she's fine," said Robert Ott, the assistant director of ASU's Environmental Health and Safety unit.

The EHS team might also open an investigation into what led to the accident, Hardesty said.

Reach the reporters at: matt.culbertson@asu.edu and andre.radischewski@asu.edu.