Recently, a serious laboratory safety accident occurred at Beijing University of Chemical Technology, where a master’s student entered a restricted laboratory on campus in the early hours of August 5 to conduct experiments, resulting in an explosion that caused severe injuries to their left hand, with fingers being severed.
According to internal reports from the university, the student was labeled as “entering the restricted laboratory without permission” and “conducting experiments alone in violation of rules.” This has sparked criticism, accusing the school of shifting responsibility onto the student and disregarding the possibility that the student may have been under pressure from their mentor and caught up in the competitive academic environment.
On August 6, Beijing University of Chemical Technology confirmed the incident and stated that relevant departments are investigating the matter.
The accident took place at the Chaoyang campus of Beijing University of Chemical Technology, with the student entering the “restricted laboratory” without permission and conducting experiments without supervision.
An internal document circulating online stated, “On the afternoon of August 5, the Beijing Municipal Education Workers’ Commission held a meeting to discuss the safety and stability of summer laboratories in Beijing colleges. The meeting reported a serious laboratory safety accident at Beijing University of Chemical Technology: on the early hours of August 5, a student entered the restricted laboratory without authorization, conducted experiments alone in the fume hood, and violated operational procedures, leading to an explosion that severely injured their left hand, with a high probability that three fingers on the left hand could not be preserved.”
Another screenshot of the “Beijing School Safety Tips” indicated that the school’s initial assessment was that the student failed to adhere to the clear laboratory rule of “using a horn knife to handle diazodiphenylamine compounds in the fume hood” and instead, used a metal scraper without authorization, which caused the incident.
Images from the scene shared online showed blood stains on the ground, painting a grim picture of the aftermath.
Upon the exposure of the internal report by the school, there was strong backlash from the public, with many netizens sarcastically commenting, “It must be the student’s own decision to conduct experiments in the lab during summer vacation in the early hours. It couldn’t be pressure from the mentor, nor the competitive academic environment.”
One netizen pointed out that apart from statutory holidays, students are not given weekends off, stating, “All the time belongs to the teachers. When students encounter problems, it’s deemed as unauthorized entry into restricted laboratories. It’s too ironic.”
Several popular discussion posts on social media platforms, each receiving thousands of likes, have been either hidden or taken down.