Wednesday, 5/28/97 Nitric acid spill forces South Campus
evacuations Chemicals: Leaky container creates fire, fumes;
hazardous materials team summoned
By Frances Lee Daily Bruin Staff A chemical spill and fire on
South Campus forced the evacuation of the Microbiology Institute
(MBI) and the Life Sciences building Tuesday afternoon. At
approximately 4 p.m., a nitric acid spill was reported by the
microbiology building manager to the campus police, summoning the
UCLA hazardous materials team to the scene. According to university
police Sgt. Jim Keuhn, "there was a one-gallon spill of nitric acid
on the third floor and the (hazardous materials team) responded.
"There was a small reaction," he added. "Apparently, the nitric
acid was contained in a cardboard box, and the acid reacted with
the cardboard and caused a small fire. There was (also) a small
vapor cloud that resulted from the fire." The container of acid
that was being delivered to the microbiology building was leaking,
said Christian Della Corte, an academic coordinator. Afraid that
the air-intake system in Life Sciences might distribute the fumes,
the neighboring building was evacuated as well, she added. Donna
Bryan, building manager for the MBI and the molecular biology wing
of the Life Sciences building, immediately ordered the evacuations
of the buildings after learning about the accident. The hazardous
materials team was immediately called to the scene and, after
evacuating the buildings’ occupants, university police cordoned off
the area as a precautionary measure. According to police, one
student injured his hand in the accident. The victim was taken to
the UCLA emergency room for decontamination, treated and released,
Keuhn said. There were no other reports of injuries. The hazardous
materials team worked quickly to take care of the acid in the MBI.
Sand was poured on the acid and crews wearing heavy blue suits went
in to clean it up. Workers had to be hosed down before removing
their protective gear. A small crowd of people – mostly graduate
students and research assistants – waited patiently outside Life
Sciences for several hours before officials gave them permission to
return to their labs, classrooms and offices. "I was a little
alarmed," said Steve Brown, a molecular cell division biology
graduate student. "Nobody knew why (we had to leave), but no, there
was no panic." Most of those cleared from Life Sciences were
anxious to return to their labs after reluctantly leaving their
work. "We don’t like to leave our labs; (we) couldn’t believe it
when they told us to leave," said Gustavo Miranda, a molecular cell
division biology graduate student. Most of the students remained
calm, standing outside and taking an unplanned break from their
work. "I think (people) were not happy because they had to leave
their experiments," said research assistant Eliane Lavergne. At
5:15 p.m., university police allowed occupants to re-enter Life
Sciences. Cleanup at the MBI took another several hours. The dollar
amount of the property damage has not yet been determined, Keuhn
said. PATRICK LAM/Daily Bruin Hazardous materials team hoses down
after cleanup. Previous Daily Bruin story: $45 million gift yields
new research center