UNC-CH graduate student hurt in flask explosion in lab

CHAPEL HILL -- A graduate student at UNC-Chapel Hill suffered minor injuries Monday morning in a mishap in a campus laboratory.

The female student suffered minor cuts and abrasions when a flask of nitric acid pressurized and exploded in a research lab inside Kenan Labs on South Road. She was awake, alert and smiling when loaded into an ambulance, with a small bandage over a part of her chin and cheek.

The student, whose identity was not released Monday, had some contact with the chemical but suffered no serious wounds, said Randy Young, a spokesman for the university's Public Safety Department.

The building was not evacuated.

"It was well-contained in that one area," Young said.

Kenan Labs is one of the university's major chemical research facilities.