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Fumes close building at USF

A teaching assistant was preparing a chemical mixture when fumes sent him to the hospital.

By REBECCA CATALANELLO
Published October 19, 2006

TAMPA - A University of South Florida teaching assistant was preparing for a 1 p.m. class when the fumes from a chemical mixture sent him to the hospital Wednesday.

About 200 people were evacuated from Kopp Engineering Building after Brandon Berke, 23, breathed in fumes from the reaction of ethanol and nitric acid about 11:45 a.m.

Berke was preparing the mixture for Dr. Daniel Simkins' Mechanics of Materials Laboratory, USF spokeswoman Lara Wade said. Berke was treated and released from St. Joseph's Hospital.

People were ordered out of the building for more than two hours while Tampa Fire Rescue's hazmat unit checked the volatility of the chemical reaction and ventilated the laboratory.

USF police Sgt. Mike Klingebiel said the lab area where Berke was working did not have a hood or ventilation system, as is common with science labs.

"It's kind of amazing the kinds of chemicals they use out here," Klingebiel said. While he said the university takes numerous measures to try to ensure the chemicals are being used safely, it was not immediately clear what went awry on Wednesday. Police were investigating.

"The experiments, they have to go on for the educational process to continue," Klingebiel said.

In June, another student-initiated experiment resulted in an early-morning explosion and flash fire in USF's Natural Environmental Sciences building.

Gerald Rowland, 25, suffered second-degree burns to his right arm, abdomen and pelvic region from that experiment, which involved heat and chemicals dichloromethane and diethyl ether.

[Last modified October 19, 2006, 06:27:38]