CIRC Results   Incident Title Two Grad Students Injured in Lab Explosion at MIT     Location Date of Incident Cambridge, MA, United States 2/9/2000- 1:00 PM CSB Incident Number NRC Report Number Board Ref. Number 2000-4658 None Reported None Reported Current Status Date of Report Update No CSB Action 2/9/2000 - 6:34 PM Incident Types Location Types - Explosion Fixed Facility Evacuations Injuries Fatalities Yes - Number Unknown 2 None Chemicals Involved - Hydrochloric acid - Nitric acid Description or Latest Development ----- Information Added: Wednesday, February 9, 2000 - 6:38 PM ----- Two graduate students were injured today (Wed., 2/9/2000) when an explosion occurred when they were mixing two acids. The students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) were mixing nitric and hydrochloric acids in a glass container at the Memorial Drive building this afternoon when the chemicals exploded. University spokesman Bob Sales said the process was done regularly "and they should not explode when mixed."   Safety officials are investigating the possibility that another chemical may have been in the container. The students --- a man and a woman --- were treated for minor injuries at the Mass. General Hospital and later released. Sources ( * indicates the original source) Source Details Media - Associated Press * 02-09-2000 1709EST  Top   Disclaimer: The Chemical Incident Reports Center (CIRC) is an information service provided by the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB). Users of this service should note that the contents of the CIRC are not intended to be a comprehensive listing of all incidents that have occurred; many incidents go unreported or are not entered into the database. Therefore, it is not appropriate to use the CIRC database to perform statistical analysis that extends conclusions beyond the content of the CIRC. Also, although the CSB never knowingly posts inaccurate information, the CSB is unable to independently verify all information that it receives from its various sources, much of which is based on initial reports. CIRC users should also note that the CSB receives more comprehensive reports about incidents that occur in the U.S.; comparisons made between U.S. incidents and those in other nations should take this fact into consideration. Users of data from the CIRC are requested to attach this disclaimer to the data and cite http://www.chemsafety.gov/circ as the source.