[Press Release] : FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Fire Fighters Respond to Chemical Spill in Engineering Building on UM Campus

[Press Releases]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Battalion Chief Steven Sapp, Public Information Officer
(573)-874-7557  Office  M-F  8-5
(573)-499-7035  Media Pager (Enter number to call)

Fire Fighters Respond to Chemical Spill in Engineering Building on UM Campus

COLUMBIA, MO (August 17, 2011) - Columbia Fire Fighters were dispatched to a report of a hazardous materials spill at 416 South Sixth Street, Laffre Hall at 8:06 PM on Tuesday, August 17, 2011.
Fire fighters were told that a glass container in a lab had ruptured and spilled materials onto the floor. The caller reported that no one was in need of medical attention and that they had not come into contact with the materials. 
Fire fighters arrived and contacted the person who reported the incident and learned that a glass container in a cabinet had ruptured and spilled less then a half-gallon of materials onto the floor. The materials were contained to the lab space and were not producing any gasses. 
Fire fighters wearing protective clothing and air-packs, entered the lab space to confirm the spill and the size of the spill. In addition, fire fighters gathered the names of the materials used in the lab. 
University of Missouri Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) staff were contacted and arrived on the scene to assist. After gathering the information on the materials in the lab, the materials involved in the spill, and information from the students familiar with the lab, it was determined that the materials represented no immediate threat to safety. As a precautionary measure, before EH&S staff entered the room to clean up the spill, Columbia fire fighters again entered the room in protective gear to obtain readings on the level of oxygen (O2) to ensure it was within normal range. The readings indicated the O2 levels in the lab and the building were within normal range of 20.5 percent. 
EH&S staff entered the room in protective clothing and respirators and cleaned up the materials without incident. The lab will be closed off for the night and EH&S staff will conduct a secondary check of the lab on Thursday morning. The cause of the spill remains under investigation by EH&S staff
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