Advisory: building evacuated, no injuries reported

Just before 11 a.m. today (Jan. 15) the Ann Arbor Fire Department (AAFD), the University of Michigan Department of Public Safety and the U-M Office of Occupational Safety and Environmental Health (OSEH) responded to an alarm at the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Building (EECS) on North Campus. A gas, believed to be boron trichloride, was released in the Solid State Electronics Lab (SSEL) on the first floor, spreading in the lab and the surrounding area. As a result of the alarm, the building was immediately evacuated.

Two graduate students working in the lab were exposed to the gas. They were taken to M-Works as a precautionary measure. As of 2 p.m. they showed no signs of injury.

Testing was conducted by SSEL and OSEH staff, and a member of the AAFD. At 1:30 p.m. the building was declared completely clear of the gas and re-opened for normal use.

Patricia Watt, acting director of OSEH, said: “All safety procedures we had in place, including involvement by the AAFD, worked effectively to achieve a cooperative and quick resolution to this emergency.”

An investigation to determine the cause of the leak is under way.