July 1 Update, Associated Press BOSTON—A Boston College doctoral student suffered minor injuries at a lab Saturday when a chemical used in making mustard gas and methamphetamine exploded in her hand, a school spokesman said. The student, who was not identified, suffered cuts on her face after the small blast at the Merkert Chemistry Center in Boston, said school spokesman Jack Dunn. She then drove herself home.
Other students who later spotted evidence of an explosion called Boston police, Dunn said. Fire officials and hazmat crew evacuated the building.
The student told emergency workers that she was using a chemical called thionyl chloride alone in the lab. Thionyl chloride can be used to make mustard gas and nerve toxins, but it is also used in the manufacturing of batteries and herbicides, among other things. The fire department didn't know what kind of experiment she was conducting.
Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald said the student was decontaminated and transported to St. Elizabeth Hospital. She also suffered minor burns on one of her hands, he said.
MacDonald said the situation was complicated when the student left the building and went home. "We then had to decontaminate her car and her apartment," he said.
The Boston College building reopened Saturday afternoon.
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Newton Patch, June 25 update.
An explosion in a basement chemistry lab at Boston College injured one student and caused authorities to evacuate the building on Saturday morning.
The student, who was initially unaccounted for, was found off campus. Emergency decontamination teams are helping her and interviewing her. It could not immediately be confirmed the nature of the experiment she was doing at the time of the explosion.
Firefighters have cleared the scene of the explosion, 2995 Beacon St. There was no fire along with the explosion, according to Steve MacDonald of the Boston Fire Deparment.
Newton Patch, June 25.
An explosion in a lab at Boston College has caused the evacuation of the building.The situation has been declared a Level 3 Hazardous Materials incident. Initially, one student was unaccounted for, but she has been found. There was no fire as a result of the explosion.The incident took place in the basement of 2995 Beacon St.