An unfolding situation over here at Penn - some kind of biohazard crisis over by the Vet School. Lots of emergency vehicles & helicopters & such:

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?se...cal&id=3333090

Hazardous Situation at Penn

UNIVERSTIY CITY-August 9, 2005 - Hazardous materials teams have declared part of the University of Pennsylvania campus a "hot zone." If you don't have a hazmat suit, you can't enter the area. It's the result of a mishap in a "Biohazard/Radioactive" room in one of the labs.

The call came out around 11am for the building in the 3600 block of Hamilton Walk, which is near University Ave. and Civic Center Blvd.
There were reports of strong odor coming from the J. Morgan Building. Twelve people were sickened by the fumes. Action News cameras captured video of one woman being brought out on a stretcher by firefighters. They loaded her onto an ambulance.

The first floor of the J. Morgan Building has been declared a "hot zone" and people without protective gear are being kept away. The building was evacuated, as well as a few areas nearby.

An Action News team attended a briefing by the incident commander. That breifing was set for just before 12:30pm.

I thought niel was going to tell us his "schwartzie" didn't sit right.

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That'll be the followup alert. Though I believe that would be classed as more of a "toxic fume event" than a biohazard, strictly speaking.

It is now being said to be a false alarm.

http://www.nbc10.com/news/4828006/detail.html

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I think it was actually a staged "test," not a false alarm, a way of checking the city and university's response to a biohazard event.

all I have to say is...

freaking penn students......

I doubt there were many (or any) students involved in this particular incident.

Exploding batteries one day, toxic fumes the next... What's on tap for tomorrow, an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease?

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(Avatar stolen from this nifty project.)

Actually, I was hoping for a runaway mutant space monster, sort of a la "The Blob." We could all hole up in the Triangle Diner and battle desperately for survival while the creature slowly consumes Stouffer College House. ("Nothing comes closer to home.")

Isn't this how Orson Welles got his start?

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