One person injured, UMD building and two others evacuated after chemical explosion
A University of Minnesota-Duluth building was evacuated after a reported chemical explosion around 9:20 a.m. Thursday morning. Campus officials say a graduate student who was working in the lab at the time of the explosion sustained minor injuries. UMD staff say nitric acid was involved; although, they are unclear what caused the reaction.
UMD Police responded with Duluth, Fire Mayo Ambulance and UMD’s Environmental Health and Safety team. Out of caution, officials evacuated Voss Kovach Hall and two neighboring buildings. The scene later secured and Duluth Fire Hazmat teams worked to neutralize the chemical and prevent its spread.
Incident Commander Fire Chief Chief Shawn Krizaj explained in a presser, “We taped off doorways and worked with UMD engineering staff and mechanical staff to use the HVAC system. What we did not want to do was potentially spread this throughout campus and create a more hazardous situation or area.”
As of 4:00 p.m., the school gave the “all clear,” and individuals who left items behind were allowed back into the buildings. The UMD SAFE-U Alert sent prior to 4 p.m. reads: Effective immediately, building evacuations are lifted and all campus buildings are open and safe to enter.
The University’s investigation is underway, according to Andrew Kimball from the Environmental Health and Safety Office, “We will write reports. We will involve research safety. We will involve our parent department down in the Twin Cities to help us with the investigation. And we’ll find out what caused this and, then, work out ways of preventing this in the future.”
There is no further danger to the students or the public.
Late Thursday morning, UMD sent an email with a statement about the incident:
Earlier this morning, UMD Police, Duluth Fire, and U of M Environmental Health and Safety responded to a minor chemical explosion incident with minor injuries. The graduate student, who was working in a lab setting, sustained minor injuries and was transported by personal vehicle to the hospital. The building of the incident and two neighboring buildings were evacuated due to an abundance of caution and related to ventilation. The scene has been secured and the University’s environmental health and safety and Duluth Fire Hazmat teams are on-site doing remediation work to allow the lab to safely reopen, which is expected later today. There is no danger to the students or the public.
Lynne Williams, Chief Marketing and Public Relations Officer
According to a SAFE-U alert that was sent out at 9:58 a.m., the UMD Police Department, Duluth Fire, and other authorities are on the scene of “a chemical explosion that occurred in a lab in Voss Kovach Hall.”
UMD followed this report Thursday morning saying “this was a minor incident with minor injuries and damage.” Campus officials say there were minimal impacts to the building and the evacuation was done out of an abundance of caution.