A Penn State student was taken to Mt. Nittany Medical Center after an explosion in the Agricultural Engineering Building on Wednesday evening.
Lt. Ted Delaney of the office of Penn State University Police and Public Safety says they received a call at approximately 5:22 p.m. about the explosion at the Shortlidge Road building. Police respond to all situations like this to secure the scene and treat injured victims until the arrival of emergency medical services, he says.
Penn State spokeswoman Lisa Powers says a student was performing a tissue culture in room 112 of the building when an explosion occurred in the ventilation hood above the student. The student suffered second degree burns before being taken to the hospital.
The university is not releasing the name of the student. The student’s current condition is not known, Powers says.
The building was evacuated for a short time, but has since been reopened. Police say that, outside of some localized damaged to the lab in which the exposition occurred, the building and surrounding areas were untouched.
Assistant Fire Chief Shawn Kauffman says the Alpha Fire Company also responded to the scene to provide ventilation assistance.
Powers says the Office of Environmental Health and Safety is performing an investigation into the cause of the accident, which is a standard safety procedure.
Delaney says there does not appear to criminal activity involved. The most likely cause of the explosion appears to be either an accident, negligence on the part of the student or defective equipment, though the investigation is ongoing.
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