Hazmat crew responds to Madison lab explosion

One person was taken to the hospital with injuries after an isolated explosion inside a laboratory on Tuesday afternoon.

Cynthia Schuster, a spokesperson with the Madison Fire Department, said fire crews responded to the 3500 block of Anderson Street just before 12:30 p.m. where a chemist was attempting to synthesize a new compound by mixing two chemicals together in a beaker. During that process, the beaker exploded. The scientist was injured.

Schuster said MFD’s Hazardous Incident Team responded to perform a thorough decontamination before the scientist was taken to the hospital by ambulance.

The chemist was wearing a lab coat and eye protection at the time. The wounds caused by the explosion are considered minor.

The fire department said there was no danger to the public, and there was no threat of a chemical or gas leak. Roads in the area were temporarily closed during the initial response.