Last night, at approximately 9:40 p.m., a container of trimethylsilyl phosphine (TMS) was reported to be reactive with the air from a glove box in Krieger 34, which eventually resulted in an emergency response team with nine to 11 trucks arriving on campus to monitor and resolve the situation.
The lab called the fire department for expert advice and the parties involved consulted with a Material Safety and Data Sheet (MSDS) for TMS to determine whether the material was "flammable, corrosive and whether the vapors rise or the vapors [fall]," according to Battalion Chief 6 Glenn Kukucka.
Engine 31 was the first to arrive on campus.
The entry team was wearing turnout gear (protective clothing) with a full internal breathing apparatus, according to Kukucka.
According to MSDS, TMS is spontaneously flammable in the air and causes serious irritation when it comes in contact with the body.
The MSDS for TMS dictates that fire-fighting measures include wearing a self-contained breathing apparatus in pressure-demand and full protective gear. Cautions that the response team had to take into consideration were that the vapors could have formed an explosive mixture with the air or could burn with an invisible flame.
At 10:51 p.m., the product was reported to be sealed, according to shift command Jeffrey Segal.
One cylinder was shut off by the team, but the container with the nitrogen was left on, which eventually stopped the reaction once the product had no oxygen to react with, according to Kukucka. The HAZMAT coordinator on campus was kept in contact with the Maryland Department of the Environment throughout the investigation.
Hopkins Security took over the situation once it was announced to be under control, and lab members returned to the room in the Krieger basement.
Chemical Engineering professor Herman Drazer, who was leaving for the day, said, "I did not hear anything and wasn't kicked out. I just left and saw the fire trucks."
Other students, who were working in the HAC Lab, said that they were asked to leave by men walking through the building.
One of the students, senior Raj Parikh, with junior Forum Shah, was trying to figure out how to leave campus since his car was within the caution tape boundaries. Another student expressed difficulty with the same situation of his vehicle being within the tape.
