Overview
- A graduate student told hospital staff they had synthesized dimethyl mercury on Wednesday, Aug. 26, prompting Cambridge and Boston Hazmat teams to respond and Building 18 to be sealed for specialized decontamination.
- MIT said the student was not authorized to work with the compound and that common areas in the student’s residence were professionally cleaned while the student’s unit was sealed.
- With the student’s permission, MIT reported that the initial blood test showed no sign of mercury exposure and that the student remains under medical supervision.
- The school said emerging information calls into question whether dimethyl mercury was actually made, and an alleged internal email and social-media claims about the incident—including reports of a death—have not been verified.
- Dimethyl mercury is an extremely neurotoxic organomercury compound that can cause delayed fatal poisoning from tiny doses, a fact that explains the large Hazmat response and may prompt renewed review of lab authorization and safety controls at MIT.