WHAT TO DO

Once a spill has occurred, the response spreads from the laboratory to the surrounding community.

Each Harvard laboratory is equipped with a telephone that automatically calls the Harvard control center when the receiver is lifted. The control center then alerts the fire department, the police and other relevant agencies.

Lab personnel who have come into contact with the chemicals are rushed to eyewash stations, safety showers or first aid kits positioned throughout the laboratories, and Cambridge and Boston police and fire departments arrive on the scene immediately.

According to Harvard University Police Department spokesperson Peggy A. McNamara, the fire department and building administration first determine whether evacuation is necessary. If it is, the police clear out the building and the surrounding area.

The fire department and its specialized hazardous material response unit then enter the scene to decontaminate all people who have come into contact with the chemicals.

Captain Lawrence Ferazani, head of the hazardous materials response unit of the CFD, says, "[The firefighters] have to know about tactical priorities, defensive control, scene safety, decontamination and chemical protective clothing."

Protective measures vary, depending on the nature of the chemicals involved. When responding to vapor spills, firefighters must don Level A gear, which includes self-enclosed breathing apparatuses (SEBA) and fully encapsulated suits.

For Level B accidents, liquid spills in which no real toxins have been released, the workers are almost totally encapsulated and wear SEBA masks.

Situations in which flammable chemicals may be present receive Level C attention, which involves splash protection and shields against explosives. The workers wear flash suits, aluminum suits that guard the workers against fire and heat.

"Protocol says that if you can't identify the level of danger, you should go to the highest level of protection," Ferazani says.

All equipment that has come into contact with the laboratory is disposed. Outside agencies that specialize in hazardous waste disposal then move in to carry out the actual clean-up of the chemicals.

Ferazani says that the large number of spills in recent weeks is an anomaly for Harvard since the University follows very stringent safety guidelines.

"I do the investigations after the events, and I have found no...reason for why [these accidents] occur, other than the calculated roulette wheel," he says. "No one, I can assure you, no one works harder than Harvard University and MIT in trying to control these situations, and nobody is more embarrassed when they do take place because they work so hard to stem these things from happening."

ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT CHEMICAL SPILLS