Beacon Street Shut Down by Gas Leak

             A hazardous materials alert was sent out to the campus today at 1:35 pm, after the driver of a truck on Beacon Street thought he smelled chlorine leaking from a supposedly empty tank he was transporting. The driver for Airgas, a medical and industrial gas distributor, had picked up eight 150 pound cylinders of chlorine from a Watertown water treatment plant. While driving down Beacon Street between Alumni Stadium and College Road, he thought he smelled gas and pulled over. At around 12:15 he called Boston Police who responded along with the Boston Fire Department. Newton Police also responded to the call.

            University Spokesman Jack Dunn said that Merkert and Campion Halls were evacuated, as was the Campus School. He said that there were no injuries and no immediate health risks, but that the buildings were evacuated as a precaution. Several houses along Beacon Street were also evacuated. Boston Deputy Fire Chief Joseph Finn said that the Hazmat team arrived on the scene and entered the truck. They located the leaking container and closed the valve. "The team made entry, went into the truck, located the tank, and closed it down," he said. There were other chemicals on the truck that, if they had mixed with the chlorine, could have led to a volatile situation, he said. By 3:26 pm the situation had been resolved and all areas of the BC campus were reopened.