As well as reaching other parts of his body, the chemical got into the man's eyes. Within a minute his colleagues managed to set him under the emergency shower and rinse his eyes. Afterwards his eyes appeared to be in working order, but as a precautionary measure the employee was taken to the medical center at the Catharina Hospital, confirms TU/e's head of Safety and Security Peter Bloemers. In addition, the entire corridor, STO 3, where the Laboratory for Chemical Biology is housed, was evacuated immediately.

Dioxane is a volatile, flammable chemical for which the TU/e Corporate Fire Department summoned to the scene has detection equipment. According to Bloemers, no fire hazard was involved. “In the corridor in question, however, a low concentration of dioxane was found to be hanging in the air after the fire department had cut out the floor covering. This prompted the decision to let the hallway air until tomorrow morning, opening the windows and boosting the ventilation.” 

Negligible

On Tuesday morning the fire department will take another follow-up reading, after which the incident site is expected to be reopened. Beyond the corridor, says Bloemers, the concentration of dioxane has remained negligible. “The doors to the corridor seal well enough to ensure that.”

About the condition of the injured employee Bloemers could not yet give any information Monday afternoon.

Update: The corridor was reopened Tuesday morning. The employee is doing all right. There are no signs of permanent damage.