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04-13-2011, 03:38 PM
http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2011/04/13/news/doc4da58c22c4b1f135149346.txt
NEW HAVEN -- A Yale University student from Massachusetts died in an accident Tuesday night at the Sterling Chemistry Laboratory, Yale officials said this morning.
Michele Dufault's hair got caught in a lathe, a piece of machinery that spins very quickly, and it pulled her in, sources said. The Connecticut Medical Examiner’s office reported that she died from accidental asphyxia by neck compression.
Yale President Richard C. Levin, in a statement issued after 5:30 p.m., called the incident “a true tragedy,” and said he is initiating a “thorough review of the safety policies and practices of laboratories, machine shops, and other facilities with power equipment that is accessed and operated by undergraduates.”
Levin said Dufault’s body was found by other students who had been working in the building. He did not say what time the discovery was made. The president said the students called police, who responded immediately. Fire officials reported being called to the scene at 2:33 a.m.
Levin put Steven Girvin, deputy provost for science and technology in charge of the review. Until that is completed, Levin said Yale College will limit undergraduate access to facilities with power equipment to hours that will be specified by the end of the week. He promised monitors will be present at these times in these locations.
“The safety of our students is a paramount concern,” Levin said in the statement.
Dufault’s parents came to the campus Wednesday and will return before the end of the semester for a memorial service to honor their daughter.
A New Haven fire official said the department responded to an emergency call at the lab at 2:33 a.m.
When examined by fire personnel, she reportedly had no pulse, according to officials who turned the scene back over to Yale police.
Dufault was found sitting at a metal lathe with her hair wrapped around part of the machine. A lathe is a machine used for shaping wood, metal or other material by way of a rotating drive that turns the material being worked on against cutting tools
NEW HAVEN -- A Yale University student from Massachusetts died in an accident Tuesday night at the Sterling Chemistry Laboratory, Yale officials said this morning.
Michele Dufault's hair got caught in a lathe, a piece of machinery that spins very quickly, and it pulled her in, sources said. The Connecticut Medical Examiner’s office reported that she died from accidental asphyxia by neck compression.
Yale President Richard C. Levin, in a statement issued after 5:30 p.m., called the incident “a true tragedy,” and said he is initiating a “thorough review of the safety policies and practices of laboratories, machine shops, and other facilities with power equipment that is accessed and operated by undergraduates.”
Levin said Dufault’s body was found by other students who had been working in the building. He did not say what time the discovery was made. The president said the students called police, who responded immediately. Fire officials reported being called to the scene at 2:33 a.m.
Levin put Steven Girvin, deputy provost for science and technology in charge of the review. Until that is completed, Levin said Yale College will limit undergraduate access to facilities with power equipment to hours that will be specified by the end of the week. He promised monitors will be present at these times in these locations.
“The safety of our students is a paramount concern,” Levin said in the statement.
Dufault’s parents came to the campus Wednesday and will return before the end of the semester for a memorial service to honor their daughter.
A New Haven fire official said the department responded to an emergency call at the lab at 2:33 a.m.
When examined by fire personnel, she reportedly had no pulse, according to officials who turned the scene back over to Yale police.
Dufault was found sitting at a metal lathe with her hair wrapped around part of the machine. A lathe is a machine used for shaping wood, metal or other material by way of a rotating drive that turns the material being worked on against cutting tools