[56188] in Hotline Meeting
Gas Odor in Buildings 7, 9, 11, 13, and 31 on Thursday August 30
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Andrea Nichols)
Fri Aug 31 07:24:39 2001
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From: Andrea Nichols <andrea@PLANT.MIT.EDU>
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Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2001 07:19:53 -0400
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Today (August 30) at 4:30 pm, a very strong gas odor was detected in
Building 13 and the surrounding buildings (7, 9, 11, and 31). The odor was
very strong for 15 minutes and then dissipated over the course of an hour.
Individuals from Cambridge Fire Department, Boston Gas, Campus Police,
Facilities, and Environmental Programs Office responded. The odor was
traced to a research laboratory in Building 13 which was using a sulfur
compound as part of their experiment. Some of the compound exited into the
fume hood and through the fan on the roof and could be smelled in the
surrounding courtyard and buildings. This compound had an odor similar to
natural gas (which has a sulfur compound in it to act as a warning odor).
Sulfur compounds can be detected by the human nose at levels of 0.05 ppm.
Actual physical irritation of nose or throat does not occur until levels of
50 ppm. Nonetheless, the odor is extremely unpleasant and can cause nausea
and headache when detected.
The researchers have agreed to stop their experiment until a method can be
devised to collect the sulfur compound before it exits their apparatus.
If anyone has concerns about exposure to the odor, please feel free to
consult with the Medical Department (3-4481) or the Industrial Hygiene
Office (3-2596)
