College students at Brandeis University in Waltham were evacuated from the Foster Student Living Center on Friday afternoon after an undisclosed amount of sodium cyanide was discovered.
The local fire department was called to the scene around 2 p.m. to assess the situation. A short time later the Massachusetts Hazmat arrived, identifying the substance in the dorm area that houses roughly 177 students.
Meanwhile, officials escorted more than 150 students out of the area as an added safety precaution. Students were brought to the gym and campus center.
Students evacuated to campus center and gym
While officials looked into the substance discovered, some students felt anxious over the evacuation.
“I was very anxious,” student Marysa Massoia told 7News. “There were a bunch of firetrucks. I had no idea what was going on.”
Other students were upset about their interrupted study time.
“I have an exam on Monday that I need to study for, and I would’ve loved to study for today,” Victor Bianchi said. “Unfortunately, I cannot do that.”
“The alarm went off, we all evacuated,” Bianchi said. “We all got out and I was outside of my mod. I live in the upper mod, so I went down to mod 31, which is the lower mods, and there was just two fire trucks, two ambulances, a bunch of police officers.”
UPDATE: Chemical Found At Brandeis University Identified As Sodium Cyanide. https://t.co/1pQWyW5hnp pic.twitter.com/2EAgnAphQT
— WBZ | CBS Boston News (@wbz) October 12, 2018
“Waltham Police and Fire Departments and a Hazardous Materials team responded; the substance has been removed and there is no danger to the community. No one was injured,” Julie Jette, spokesperson for the college, informed Patch in an email.
After a four hour investigation, Brandeis University students were allowed back to their dorms. No injuries were reported.
