Jaclyn Figg
Staff Writer
A gas leak threatened the Idaho State University community in the Lillibridge Engineering Building on Dec. 14, 2015.
A piece of equipment that is part of a neutron detecting system, which looks similar to a gas cylinder, containing the toxic gas, Boron trifluoride, began to leak while a lab technician and student were doing maintenance in the lab.
“It’s toxic. In the air it can form hydrogen fluoride gas,” said Peter Farina, the director of technical safety. “One of the dangerous things about it is a lot of times people won’t have symptoms initially so they think they’re okay.”
The unit was supposed to be completely sealed, but the two people in the lab saw white fumes coming from one of the electrical connectors and felt the equipment starting to get warm.
They took the leaking cylinder and immediately put it in the fume hood, an exhaust hood that encloses the object and ventilates the air.
Continuing to secure the area, the reactors, and the rest of the areas not involved, they proceeded to start the evacuation of the building.
“I think the key was the lady that called it in. She’s the hero because this could have been something dealt with locally, but she saw the need to call our office,” said Lewis Eakins, ISU director of campus security. “She did what she should have done.”
Ellen Combs, an administrative assistant in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering is the hero Eakins referred to.
It is protocol for technical safety officials to contact public safety, so they responded initially.
ISU sent officers over to the building to further evacuate it, and the fire department’s hazardous material unit was alerted of the situation.
“We practice these responses once a year because we have the reactor on campus,” Farina said. “The [technical safety office], the fire department, the police department and the nuclear engineering people all do annual emergency drills.”
Cameras throughout the building were checked to make sure no one was inside, and the building was then remotely locked down until officers and the fire department arrived.
As the two ISU members exited the building, public safety utilized the material-safety data sheet for the toxic gas, which provides information on what to do in an emergency as well as symptoms to look for after being exposed.
“We had the material safety data sheet and we saw it was a toxic gas so as part of our procedure, I had one of my guys drive them to the hospital,” Farina said.
The two ISU individuals were taken to the hospital for evaluation and kept for several hours before being released.
Procedures were followed after contacting Hazmat, and the chemistry department was asked to come up with a solution that would make the leaked gas non-toxic before neutralizing the piece of equipment.
The fire department then monitored the air to make sure it was safe to re-enter the building.
“It’s gratifying to see these things rehearsed and then when an incident occurs everything goes just the way you rehearsed it,” Farina said.
The whole ordeal was finished in approximately three and a half hours from the time the incident occurred and the building was cleared.
Final exams were not affected by the incident besides one person taking an online exam in the building at the time.
“The personnel, the faculty and staff there in the building were really responsive, they were very concerned for the welfare of people in the building,” Eakins said. “We really appreciate them calling us.”
