UH chemical spill
sends man to hospital

The University of Hawaii at Manoa's biomedical sciences building was evacuated yesterday afternoon after a chemical spill that sent one man to the hospital.

A truck driver was moving a box out of a lab and into a truck when a bottle of chemicals broke, causing a chemical fume cloud in the building's enclosed courtyard at about 1 p.m., said UH spokesman Jim Manke.

Manke said the driver threw up and then went to lunch but experienced respiratory distress and was taken by ambulance to a hospital for observation.

It was unknown what chemicals were inside the bottle since the label could not be read after the spill, Manke said.

About nine people were exposed to the chemicals and were told to shower as a precaution.

Less than an hour after the spill, workers were allowed back into the tower but not into the courtyard area. A private contractor cleaned the spill.