UTC math, engineering building evacuated for chemical spill

Fire engines arrive on UTC's campus after a confirmed chemical spill at the engineering building.
Fire engines arrive on UTC's campus after a confirmed chemical spill at the engineering building.

An accidental spill of a hazardous chemical in a lab Thursday morning shut down a UTC building for several hours while hazmat personnel worked to neutralize the problem.

Faculty and students evacuated the Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science building at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga shortly before noon after a quart of pyridine was spilled, Battalion Chief Rick Boatwright said.

Pyridine is highly flammable and can be an irritant to the skin and eyes, but fortunately, only two individuals had to be checked by paramedics and both declined to be transported to a hospital.

Boatwright said hazmat personnel were able to neutralize the chemical and an environmental cleanup company was called in to remove the substance and any trace of it in the lab.

The building also was ventilated while firefighters used gas monitoring devices to check for airborne contamination.

The lab remained sealed off for cleanup for several hours, but Chuck Cantrell, assistant vice chancellor of university relations, said the rest of the building would reopen at 5 p.m. Thursday.

Chattanooga police, UTC police, and UTC's Safety and Risk Management office worked closely with the fire department during this incident.

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