Sirrine Hall was evacuated Wednesday morning due to a non-hazardous chemical spill.
“Campus public and research safety officials responded” and shut down the building, according to Robin Denny, Director of Media Relations.
Boyce Woolbright, of Maitenance Services noted that Clemson University Fire Department (CUFD) took “extreme caution” in evacuating the building, identifying and isolating the spill. No students, civilians or personnel were injured.The spill was identified as Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), a non-hazardous chemical commonly used in experiments. The spill was cleaned and the building re-opened mid-afternoon, and classes will resume on a normal schedule today.
The spill was first reported when a materials science laboratory in the basement of Sirrine Hall noticed an intensified odor during the heating process of a controlled experiment which was using DMSO. The building was evacuated by CUFD as a measure of caution until the source of the odor could be contained.
The University haz-mat team arrived on the scene and confirmed that the spill was DMSO, a non-hazardous chemical that is known to cause headaches and dizziness following direct contact. While classes held in that building were canceled for the remainder of Wednesday, the building re-opened for normal operations mid-afternoon after a full inspection was completed. All classes and operations will resume as scheduled on Thursday.
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Chemical Spill closes Sirrine: Haz-mat team removes non-hazardous material
Madeline Hemmingsen, Contributor
February 11, 2016
![Sirrine Hall will resume classes Feb. 11.](https://thetigercu.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/a3bd57766ea97e64d3100b06fb1f02d2-1.jpg)
Nathan Pretorius
Sirrine Hall will resume classes Feb. 11.
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