A Beacon School chemistry teacher accidentally poured highly explosive methyl alcohol directly into a still-flaming crucible, and her students had no safety gear or barrier to protect them from the resulting fireball, sources said Friday.
As teacher Anna Poole ducked reporters for a second day — and one severely injured 16-year-old student remained at a Manhattan burn unit — sources and witnesses have identified several safety lapses surrounding Thursday’s science lab explosion at the elite Upper West Side high school.
Those included the students not wearing goggles or aprons, not being made to stand behind protective glass and at least one of them being allowed to watch from only a few feet away, sources said.
Two sophomores were injured in the explosion. Alonzo Yanes, 16, remains at Cornell Medical Center’s burn unit with second and third degree burns to his face, neck and torso; Julia Saltonstall, 16, suffered first degree singes to her arm, torso and face and was treated and released.
“It’s absurd that those students weren’t wearing goggles,” said one source. “It’s lucky they weren’t blinded.”
Additionally, the teacher poured the highly flammable alcohol out of a gallon container rather than having on hand only the few milli-liters necessary, one source said, speaking of the ongoing investigation on condition of anonymity.
Finally, and most critically, Poole did not ensure that the fire had completely gone out in all four crucibles used in the experiment.
Unbeknownst to her or her students, one of the ceramic vessels still had a low, clear, barely visible fire.
Department of Education officials called the accident “extremely unfortunate” and declined to discuss Poole’s employment status; sophomore Alonzo Yanes, 16, remains at Cornell Medical Center with second degree.
“What the students experienced yesterday was an extremely unfortunate accident,” said DOE spokesman Devon Puglia. “While we are investigating what occurred, our thoughts and prayers are with the students and families affected. We’re determined to get to the bottom of this so that it never happens again,” he said.