INSIDE EDITION reports on a high school student whose face was badly burned when a science experiment conducted by his teacher went horribly wrong.
A high school chemistry experiment went horribly wrong, blowing up right in a student's face.
15-year-old Dane Neuberger was in his ninth grade science class at Maple Grove Junior High in Minnesota. His teacher dropped a match into a jug containing methanol.
"That fire must have shot right at me," said Neuberger.
The accident occured when liquid methanol that had spilled on the countertop caught fire, spreading to Neuberger's clothes and leaving him with painful second degree burns.
INSIDE EDITION asked Bill Nye the Science Guy to show us how an accident like this can happen.
"There's potential for danger. If you got your hair in this or your clothing, you'd be on fire," said Nye.
Accidents in school labs are a growing problem across the country. The Centers for Disease Control says there were 423 accidents over a five-year period.
One 16-year-old high school student from suburban Chicago lost vision in his left eye when a September classroom science experiment conducted by his teacher went wrong. Dillon Mantia was in chemistry class. A plastic bottle containing dry ice and water exploded right in his face as it was being passed around.
"Everybody was shocked and it was really loud. When I went to the front of the classroom I passed out," said Mantia.
And eighth grader Ashley Cherry from Oklahoma has burns on her face and neck after chemicals exploded in her science class.
YouTube videos show how a school science experiment can turn into disaster in the blink of an eye.
Bill Nye says simple safety precautions can prevent most of these tragic school accidents.
