Subbasement (The Flood)

["Safe Science," June 1996, O.R.C.B.S. MSU]

Chemistry Building Incident

Room B-2 after the flood.

On May 16, 1996, at approximately 8:30 p.m., a 16 inch chilled water line broke in room B2 of the sub-basement of the Chemistry Building. This room is one of the main storage areas for chemicals. Numerous containers were knocked off shelves and were found floating on the surface of the water.

The ORCBS was notified at approximately 9:00 p.m. The building was evacuated and closed temporarily by the MSU Police. An environmental cleanup company was contacted to clean up the debris and chemicals in the sub-basement.

Approximately 107,000 gallons of water were released through the broken pipe. The room with the broken pipe had about 2 feet of standing water for at least 2 hours. Almost 100 cubic yards of debris had to be removed from the sub-basement and disposed. The cleanup contractor spent almost 1000 staff hours during the cleanup. The incident disrupted general services in the sub-basement for 4-5 days and the affected laboratories are still not in full service.