CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WRIC) — The University of Virginia’s (UVA) Office of Emergency Management has released an emergency alert regarding a “hazardous material situation” at a chemistry building on the university’s campus.
According to the original alert, which was released at 2:20 p.m. on Thursday, March 21, the situation is occurring at UVA’s chemistry building, located at 409 McCormick Road.
“The UVA Chemistry Building was evacuated on Thursday, March 21 as a safety precaution while a team of professionals worked to extract an inadvertent, potentially hazardous mixture of chemicals from one of the facility’s labs,” said a spokesperson for UVA. “The lab was immediately isolated, and the building was closed on Thursday afternoon. Once the hazardous materials team removes and relocates the material for proper disposal, evacuees will be permitted to safely reenter the building. Road closures are in place.”
In a second alert posted at 3:07 p.m., the public was asked to continue to avoid the area, and updates were said to continue regarding the situation every 30 minutes.
“The lab was immediately isolated, and the building was closed on Thursday afternoon. Upon further evaluation, officials determined that the materials could be safely relocated for proper disposal. The materials have been removed and the scene is now stable,” said a UVA spokesperson in an update around 5:30 p.m. “This matter remains under investigation.”
According to authorities, there were no injuries due to the incident.
This is a developing story, stay with 8News for updates.
