When Chemists Attack

CNN and BBC are reporting that a chemistry laboratory at the National Institutiuon of Higher Learning in Chemistry at Mulhouse has exploded, killing a professor and injuring others.

Some reported that the explosion could be heard a mile away, and there’s no word yet on what caused it.

The story so far is too sketchy for me to even speculate on what caused the explosion.

A person on the chemical education mailing list I subscribe to posted this opinion.

Apart from this accident, such chemical incidents give a negative connotation to the layman (and future students) – chemistry is dangerous.

Well, chemistry is dangerous – as are many things. That’s why chemical educators should be extremely cautious in the laboratory, especially when working with students who have little laboratory experience.