^{Routine inspection uncovers possibly stolen beakers, flasks filled with liquid mercury and other lab equipment. Photo by Boris Niewiadomski, The DePaulia}

^{An undergraduate student who worked in the chemistry department may be expelled because of theft. Ashton Kinsey, a sophomore chemistry student, allegedly stole 20 pounds of liquid mercury and some beakers from the school according Chicago Police. Mercury is listed as a highly toxic substance. The incident was originally listed as a misdemeanor theft in The DePaulia's crime blotter.}

^{Kinsey was required to move out of his dorm and is no longer allowed to attend classes. Due to the legal issues involved, Kinsey declined to comment. Kinsey was arrested for misdemeanor theft. He has a court date on March 10.}

^{At about 2:30 p.m. on Feb 14, resident advisors went into Kinsey's Clifton-Fullerton dorm room to conduct a routine inspection. According to police, advisors found sealed chemistry beakers and flasks filled with liquid mercury, bottles of liquid mercury and other empty lab equipment including one 10-pound bottle and beakers being used as fish tanks and planters.}

^{In addition to the mercury, there were two bags of flour, some baking powder and baking soda, two bottles of corn syrup and a bottle of vinegar in the refrigerator. The resident advisors notified Public Safety, Facility Operations Residential Education and Environmental Health and Safety analyst Jenny Graham, all of whom then arrived at the dorm. Members of the Chicago Police and Fire Department hazardous materials teams were also notified of the incident and came to the residence hall.}

^{When Graham got to the residence hall, she inspected the room for traces of mercury spills and determined that there weren't any spills or airborne mercury particles. Graham said that the substances found in the fridge were commonly used in lab experiments to clean up spills.}

^{When Kinsey returned home, he was interviewed by police officers on the scene as to the reasons for taking the mercury. "I thought it looked cool and I like to look at it," he said.}

^{"We are taking this incident very seriously," said Denise Mattson, the university's associate vice president for public relations. "We think this was a unique and isolated incident, and we are investigating to see how it happened."}

^{The university does have procedures in place for handling toxic chemicals and does not believe any of its procedures were violated in this case. The university also has an emergency action plan in place to handle such materials, including processes on collecting and disposing of the substances.}

^{There are also training procedures for students working in a lab environment with hazardous chemicals. Since he worked in the chemistry department, Kinsey would have been required to take an in-person or online workshop about how to deal with hazardous chemicals, such as mercury.}

^{"Mercury is something that always stays in the environment, in one form or another," said Terry Sheahan, a spokesperson for the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications environmental department. "If you ingest it or it gets into your body, [such as] into your bloodstream, it can damage your central nervous system." Sheahan said that mercury was a dangerous toxin.}

^{Since the event happened on Feb. 14, the disciplinary process is not yet complete, and Kinsey has not been formally expelled. "Students can be dismissed for a variety of reasons. Alcohol or drug abuse, sexual assault or academic performance, to name a few," said Art Munin, the assistant dean of students. Munin is responsible for setting up student hearings.}