By ALLI SCHIEBER
Editor-In-Chief
NWOSU shut down campus last Thursday when a vial of Picric Acid was found crystallized during a routine inventory check.
The acid is often used in organic chemistry as a stain but when it crystallizes it can be hazardous. In its crystallized state it is an explosive compound that is highly sensitive to heat, shock and friction.
The NWOSU faculty members that found the chemical had crystallized immediately contacted Dr. Jenny Sattler, who is the department chair of natural sciences.
“I went and looked at it,” Sattler said. “Just so I knew where it was at and then we contacted Dr. Pecha, who is kind of the safety guy and then he contacted Aaron Vermilion, who’s the safety officer and then he contacted the police and the Northwestern police chief also.”
Said Kelsey Martin, director of marketing and university relations, After the university was made aware of the hazard, they started calling experts to see what the next steps should be. That is when they decided to close school when they remove the acid from campus.
“They showed up way earlier than we had expected, which was great,” Martin said. “We just wanted to make sure we were abundantly cautious in this scenario.”