Gateway

Issue date: 1/30/09 Section: News

James Carroll [Click to enlarge]

A UNO undergraduate student picked up a 10-pound bottle of sulfuric acid late Monday night as she prepared to dilute the acid for classroom laboratory experiments.

It was then that the bottom of the bottle broke off, perhaps due to an impurity in the container, and spilled the acid all over the counter where the student was working, said James Carroll, chair of the Department of Chemistry.

"She almost immediately realized the severity of the problem," Carroll said.

The student rushed across the hall to the classroom where Carroll was teaching a general chemistry laboratory section. She then clearly explained the problem, and Carroll took immediate action.

Sulfuric acid, H2SO4, is an extremely corrosive, colorless, odorless liquid commonly used in lead-acid car batteries among many other industrial applications.

After assessing the situation, Carroll took the student to an emergency shower in the laboratory and held her under the cold water while using sodium bicarbonate - baking soda - to neutralize the acid.

Campus Security arrived quickly, Carroll said, and a student in his class called emergency services. Minutes later, Omaha Fire and Rescue responded to the Durham Science Center.

After the student was safely in the hands of emergency medical technicians, Carroll said he began to clean up the acid spill out of concern that the sulfuric acid and the water from the emergency shower would find a hole in the floor and trickle downstairs.

Carroll's efforts to clean up the spill caused some initial tension with the firefighters, he said, because they didn't want him to make the situation worse. Once a hazardous materials team arrived, however, the cleanup process got finished quickly.

The damage to the chemical stockroom where the student was working was minimal, Carroll said. While there was a fair amount of corrosive damage, the counter where the spill occurred is in a fume hood designed to withstand harsh chemical spills and the floor is made of concrete.

The student was taken the Nebraska Medical Center, and she was released around 11 p.m. Monday, Carroll said. She has since returned to her work in the department.

"I went to the hospital after my class finished and I was there when she was released," Carroll said. "I've been told that she's in pretty good shape."

KETV Channel 7 News reported the student's name as Sandy Lemke, but the Omaha Fire and Rescue could not be reached to confirm the name. University spokeswoman Wendy Townley said she did not know the student's name.

While smaller accidents are somewhat common, Carroll said, accidents of this scale are unusual. Nevertheless, student workers receive additional safety training to prepare them for incidents like Monday's acid spill.

"An accident of this magnitude is very freaky," Carroll said. "It happens when you're present once or twice in your career."

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools