Azide Explosion

1. Azide Explosion Safety in the News

2. Report from C&EN “On June 17, an explosion […] injured a graduate student” “The incident originated in lack of safety hazard awareness…” However, the injured student and his adviser were aware of the reaction hazards and the possibility of an azide side-product being produced. Flood Prevention in the Lab. 2010,Lab Manager. http://www.labmanager.com/lab-health-and-safety/2010/06/flood-prevention-in-the-lab?fw1pk=2#.VBNNG_ldUlk

3. Re-training Instinct The student had run this reaction many times. While complacency may have been a contributing factor to this incident, the student had set up engineering controls such as a blast shield to account for the large scale of the reaction. The student had also kept a close eye on his stir bar and reaction setup. When he spotted a problem, his instinct was to immediately correct the reaction setup, and not to put on PPE. More details on the University of Minnesota explosion and response. July 30, 2014. C&EN. http://cenblog.org/the-safety-zone/2014/07/more-details-on-the-university-of-minnesota-explosion-and-response/

4. Re-training Instinct The student had run this reaction many times. While complacency may have been a contributing factor to this incident, the student had set up engineering controls such as a blast shield to account for the large scale of the reaction. The student had also kept a close eye on his stir bar and reaction setup. When he spotted a problem, his instinct was to immediately correct the reaction setup, and not to put on PPE. As the safety culture improves, it is hoped that researchers’ first instinct will become personal safety, followed by that of others, then that of the work and facilities. More details on the University of Minnesota explosion and response. July 30, 2014. C&EN. http://cenblog.org/the-safety-zone/2014/07/more-details-on-the-university-of-minnesota-explosion-and-response/