On occasion incidents occur on campus, which can serve as a learning experience for others. Outlined below is one such incident:

A student was working alone in a laboratory using ferric chloride to etch copper. The copper plate was placed inside an aluminum dish and the ferric chloride was added to the dish. Once the ferric chloride was added the aluminum in the pan began to react with the ferric chloride. Ferric chloride is very reactive with metals, which is one reason it was used to etch the copper. Once the student saw that an uncontrolled reaction was taking place, she added water to the aluminum pan. When she added the water to the pan, the water also began to react with the ferric chloride probably producing hydrochloric acid gas.

At this point she decided to obtain some help by calling DEHS. She was instructed to leave the room at this point. When DEHS responded, the material was bubbling, reacting, smoking and giving off an odor. The pan was also extremely hot. DEHS responded with self-contained breathing apparatus and chemical resistant clothing and gloves to ensure no skin or inhalation exposure to the responders. DEHS quenched the reaction by using large quantities of water to stabilize the situation. After the room was ventilated, the area was once again safe to occupy.

This incident could have ended in tragedy. Taking the following precautions could have prevented it. The undergraduate student should not have been working without supervision. She should have reviewed a Material Safety Data Sheet to learn the risks of working with this material and to learn what proper personal protective equipment was needed. In addition, she admittedly varied from established protocol without checking with the instructor prior to making the change.