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From: List Moderator <esf**At_Symbol_Here**UVM.EDU>
Subject: Chemical spill forces evacuation at Stanford research lab
Date: Feb 8, 2007 17:45 UTC
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The most interesting point here is the ambiguity of the phrase "research lab". In my mind, this is a facility incident rather than a lab incident... - Ralph Chemical spill forces evacuation at Stanford research lab The Associated Press Last Updated 4:20 pm PST Tuesday, February 6, 2007 STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - A chemical spill forced the temporary closure and evacuation of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center early Tuesday, officials said. A technician discovered that five to 10 gallons of diluted sulfuric acid had spilled at a cooling tower about 2 a.m., according to the center, a national laboratory that conducts research in high-energy physics. The center, which is run by Stanford University, evacuated five employees from a nearby building, cordoned off the cooling tower and notified Palo Alto Fire Department, which sent a hazardous materials unit to contain the spill. It took crews five hours to contain the leak at the cooling tower, one of seven that cools water used to absorb heat created by the high- speed atom smasher. Center officials said the spill caused no injuries and posed no environmental risk. The center is working with a private contractor to clean up the spill, repair the leak and investigate its cause.