At 0842 Tuesday, the Burlington Fire Department, the University of Vermont Police Department, and the University of Vermont Rescue Squad responded to a a report of a hazardous materials release in the basement of Torey Hall on the UVM campus.
A University employee was emptying the trash when she noticed several small vials in the bag. She tied up the bag and began carrying it away,when she suddenly felt ill. The woman dropped the bag where it was, left the building and called 911. She was transported to the Emergency Department at Fletcher Allen Health Care and was evaluated and later released, according to hopsital spokesman Mike Noble.
Firefighters activated the building fire alarm in order to ensure everyone was out of the building, and requested the State Hazmat Team respond to the scene. The University was able to account for all of
their people, and confirm that no one was left inside. The building was taped off, and a University Police Officer stood guard at each door.
With the incident now contained, and no lives were in danger, there was no reason for firefighters to enter the hazardous atmosphere immediately.
A second and then a third alarm was struck for the building, bringing a total of thirty five firefighters to the scene. Most of the City's on-duty shift remained available for other calls in the City, while off
duty firefighters brought the Burlington Fire Department Hazmat Unit to the scene and provided support to the State Hazmat Team
Members of the State Team entered the building wearing special protective equipment, and found between thirty and fifty small brown vials of an unknown liquid in a trash bag. Only a few of the bottles
were broken. The materials were collected, packed in special drums, and taken to a University of Vermont facililty for testing to identify it.
According to information provided to the Burlington Fire Department by the University of Vermont, the containers held nuts and seeds and fir cones, preserved in a solution which was found to contain, in varying concentrations, acetic acid, formalin solution, water and 70% ethanol.
The University found found no airborne concentrations of formaldehyde (using a colorimetric tube) thus the materials were not considered to present a significant health threat except through skin contact.
