Gas leak investigation concluded: Chemical impurities deemed "most likely scenario"
Aarhus University has completed its investigation into the cause of the gas leak that led to the evacuation of a building and the closure of several roads in Katrinebjerg on Monday last week.
On Monday 25 March, students and staff had to be evacuated from the Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering's building on Hangøvej on Katrinebjerg in Aarhus. The incident occurred during a teaching session in one of the institute's laboratories, which led to the development of a strong odour. An alarm was raised, and the police, ambulance services and fire brigade arrived in force, closing off parts of Vestre Ringgade, Helsingforsvej and Jens Baggesens Vej. One lecturer was taken to the hospital for a check-up but was discharged later that day.
Building evacuated due to chemical spill at Aarhus University
Since then, the university has been working to determine the cause of the incident. The following day, after a debriefing with the students and staff involved, it became clear that two students, under the instructor's supervision, mixed two chemicals, which, despite all protocols being followed, caused a reaction.
All installations in the laboratory have been inspected, and no faults were found in the ventilation system or fume cupboards. This is stated in a news release from the Faculty of Technical Sciences, which the Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering belongs to.
As only tiny amounts of the substances are needed for a foul-smelling gas to form, even a small impurity could have triggered the incident. The most likely scenario is that this caused the incident on Monday.
"It cannot be ruled out that there may have been a small impurity in the chemicals used during the experiment. As only tiny amounts of the substances are needed for a foul-smelling gas to form, even a small impurity could have triggered the incident. The most likely scenario is that this caused the incident on Monday.
When asked why the investigation has now been ended without a clear conclusion on the cause of the incident, Department Head Lars Ditlev Mørck Ottosen responds:
"There can be different explanations for why strong odours develop in the laboratory. But since everything has been cleared from the fume cupboards during the clean-up, it's difficult to go back and reconstruct the incident completely. Given that, it would be irresponsible to make any assumptions about what exactly happened," says Lars Ditlev Mørck Ottosen, continuing:
"But we've been able to rule out the things that would normally raise concern. So, we are not worried."
The director further explains that the incident does not warrant any adjustments to the institute's protocols or guidelines.
“We have thoroughly reviewed our protocols to check if we missed any risks, and in this process, we have teamed up with the safety officers from the Department of Chemistry. There is nothing that gives us any reason to adjust the protocol, as there has been no irresponsible action taken."
This text is machine translated and post-edited by Cecillia Jensen.