Spill on ISU campus contained, building reopens to students

Update: The chemical spill at the Engineering Building on the ISU campus has been cleared by a hazmat team and the building is now open to students again.

Original story: Emergency crews responded to a chemical spill on the Idaho State University Campus at 11:30 a.m. Monday.

According to the Idaho State University official twitter account, there was a chemical spill at the Engineering Building, building 7 on the campus. The tweet asks students to stay away from the building while crews work to clean up the spill.

The Pocatello Fire Department has cleared the building.

According to an ISU spokesman, a student and lab assistant were working with the chemical boron trifluoride when a release occurred. The chemical was immediately contained.

The student and lab assistant were taken to Portneuf Medical Center for observation.

ISU associate vice president of facilities services Phillip Moessner said the facility will likely be re-opened by mid afternoon. Students will be notified if the location for their final exams has been changed.

Emergency personnel, including the Office of Technical Safety, Pocatello Fire Department, the Pocatello Police Department and a regional hazardous materials team responded to the incident.

The Region 6 Hazardous Materials response team was on the scene and was briefed by the ISU reactor and chemistry staff.

Dennis Valera is on the scene and will have a complete report on Local News 8 at 5 p.m. and Eyewitness News at 5:30 p.m.

New details will be posted here as soon as they become available.