- A graduate student at MIT claimed to have synthesised dimethyl mercury in a campus lab
- MIT said the student was not authorised to work with the highly toxic chemical
- Building 18 was closed for testing and decontamination after the claim
A graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology triggered a major hazmat response after claiming to have synthesised dimethyl mercury, one of the world's most toxic chemical compounds, while working in a campus laboratory. The unidentified student went to a local emergency room on Wednesday and told medical staff that they had synthesised the highly hazardous compound in Building 18, also known as the Dreyfus Building, a chemistry facility on MIT's Cambridge campus, NBC Boston reported.
MIT officials said the student was not authorised to work with dimethyl mercury and that the chemical was not part of their research.
Dimethyl mercury is extremely toxic and can be absorbed through the skin. Even very small amounts can cause severe poisoning and potentially death. The US Environmental Protection Agency's Health and Environmental Research database describes the compound as a serious environmental and health hazard.
The dangers of dimethyl mercury became widely known after Dartmouth College chemistry professor Karen Wetterhahn died in 1997 following an accidental exposure. She had been wearing gloves when one or two drops of the chemical came into contact with her hand. The compound can penetrate certain types of protective gloves, making it particularly hazardous to handle.
Following the student's claim, MIT closed Building 18 and brought in emergency responders to assess the situation and begin precautionary decontamination. The building remained closed as testing and the investigation continued.
MIT officials said they believe the risk of exposure is low and contacted people who may have been in close proximity to the student or the laboratory. As an additional precaution, common areas in the student's residence hall were professionally cleaned, and the student's room was sealed off. The rest of the residence hall remained open and operational.
"Emerging information calls into question whether this compound was in fact synthesised. We are also able to disclose, with the student's permission, that while the student remains under medical supervision, their initial blood test result, which was received today, shows no sign of exposure to mercury," an MIT spokesperson wrote in an update to the school community on Saturday.
"As the chemistry department, industrial hygienists, MIT Health medical experts, and other resources consulted collect additional information, we continue to believe there is a very low risk of secondary or tertiary exposures," the school added.
