Sisler Hall will remain closed today after a chemical explosion Wednesday afternoon, UF officials said.
On Thursday, UF's Environmental Health and Safety department investigated the explosion that seriously injured graduate student Khanh Ha. Ha was working under a protective hood on the second floor when the incident happened.
Sisler Hall does not have any classrooms, UF spokeswoman Janine Sikes said. It houses research labs, offices and stock rooms.
Ha, 27, is in stable condition at Shands at UF.
Sikes said no other buildings were closed Wednesday night, but some professors' offices are in Sisler Hall, and those classes might have been canceled.
Brittany Garner, a 19-year-old psychology sophomore, said her General Chemistry class in the Chemistry Lab building was called off.
Also, a seminar was canceled because it was supposed to consist of graduate students who are "based" in Sisler Hall, Sikes said.
According to Gainesville Fire Rescue, one of the known agents involved in the research is sodium azide, a chemical found in some rocket propellants and car air bags.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identifies sodium azide as a potentially deadly chemical that, when involved in an explosion, can cause burns and expose people to toxic gas.
A similar explosion occurred in Sisler Hall on Oct. 11 when a student was transferring a vial of a shock-sensitive chemical compound to a scale.
