Updated Aug. 30, 2026, 11:04 p.m. ET
A Massachusetts Institute of Technology building was closed through Aug. 30 after a graduate student was said to have created an unauthorized, highly toxic chemical compound.
The school’s Aug. 29 statement said the student, who was not publicly identified, self-reported to an emergency room and said they had synthesized dimethyl mercury on Aug. 26. Less than 0.1 milliliters of the compound is a “severely toxic dose,” according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Dartmouth College professor Karen Wetterhahn died in 1997 after spilling “a few drops” of dimethyl mercury on her glove, according to the New Hampshire school. She developed health problems months after the spill that were discovered to be effects of acute mercury poisoning.
The MIT student showed no sign of mercury exposure in an initial blood test, the school said. The Aug. 29 statement also said updated information “calls into question” whether dimethyl mercury was synthesized.
The school said the student was under medical supervision and that Building 18 had been closed as “specialized decontamination efforts continue out of an abundance of caution.”
High-touch surfaces in common areas of the student’s residence hall were professionally cleaned, and decontamination of their individual unit was completed on Aug. 30, MIT said. No restrictions were placed on the building.
“Given the actions we have taken and the information received, as well as consultations with industrial hygienists, medical experts at MIT Health, and outside experts, it is our assessment that it is now safe to reopen Building 18,” the school said, adding that the building will reopen at 6 a.m. local time on Aug. 31.
Individuals who were near the student and affected workspace on Aug. 26 were offered baseline testing. Officials believe there is “very low risk of secondary or tertiary exposures” and do not recommend testing for individuals who were not in the student’s lab space that day, according to the school.
BrieAnna Frank is a First Amendment reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at bjfrank@usatoday.com.
USA TODAY’s coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.
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