KU Lawrence Campus Alerts

A KU graduate student is in critical but stable condition at Lawrence Memorial Hospital  after he is believed to have accidentally ingested sodium azide, a common but toxic chemical, while working on the fifth floor of Malott Hall late Wednesday evening. Family members are with the student.

The student  became ill after leaving Malott and going home. Malott was temporarily evacuated as a precaution. The KU Environment Health & Safety office has determined the lab and the building are safe to enter and occupy.

Sodium azide is a common preservative of samples and stock solutions in laboratories and a useful reagent in synthetic work. Ingesting it can lead to abnormal breathing, low blood pressure, rapid heart beat, pulmonary edema, breathlessness, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, restlessness, reduced body temperature, red eyes, skin burns, lung injury, convulsions, reduced body pH, respiratory failure, collapse, brain damage, heart damage, and death.

This site will be updated as information becomes available. 

Visit http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/sodiumazide/basics/facts.asp for facts about sodium azide.

Originally posted: 6:54 a.m., Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009