MIT chemistry building closed after toxin spill

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MIT chemistry building remains closed after toxin spill

MIT's Camille Edouard Dreyfus Chemistry Building at 21 Ames Street, also known as Building 18, remains closed at least through Sunday while crews work to confirm it has been decontaminated after a Wednesday night spill involving dimethyl mercury, an extremely potent neurotoxin. MIT's Emergency Management department said Saturday that a single individual in a chemistry laboratory went to a local emergency room and said they had synthesized the substance; the student remains under medical supervision, though an initial blood test showed no signs of mercury exposure. An email to the chemistry department obtained by Cambridge Day said the student worked in the Wendlandt lab and that the dimethyl mercury was not part of any MIT research program.

Cambridge Day

License Commission to review rules and regulations Sept. 2

The Cambridge Board of License Commissioners holds a virtual public hearing Wednesday, Sept. 2, to review line-item feedback and propose rule updates.

City of Cambridge

Craft fabric pumpkins at Michaels in The Mix Porter Square

Michaels at The Mix Porter Square hosts a fabric pumpkin crafting session Sunday, Aug. 30, from 1-3 p.m.

The Mix Porter Square

Memorial Drive Sunday recreation closures underway

Weekly traffic restrictions closed Memorial Drive to cars from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 30, opening the riverfront road to pedestrians and cyclists.

The Boston Calendar

MIT concludes Family Orientation Weekend

MIT held its final Parent and Family Orientation sessions Sunday, Aug. 30, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., including religious services, campus tours, and residence open houses.

MIT Office of the First Year

Giamatti and Maslany star in A.R.T.'s Rhinoceros

Eugène Ionesco's "Rhinoceros," directed by Diane Paulus and starring Paul Giamatti, John Turturro, and Tatiana Maslany, plays Sunday, Aug. 30, at 2 p.m. at the Loeb Drama Center.

American Repertory Theater

Popup Bookfair at Lamplighter Broadway features local authors

Lamplighter Brewing Co.'s Broadway taproom hosts a popup book fair Sunday, Aug. 30, from 2-5 p.m., featuring local authors including cocktail expert Brian D. Hoefling.

Lamplighter Brewing Co.

Harvard Art Museums opens "The Way We Never Were" exhibition

Harvard Art Museums opened "The Way We Never Were," an exhibition on postwar professional photography drawn from its collections, Sunday, Aug. 30.

Artdaily

Harvard men's water polo plays Pacific at Blodgett Pool

Harvard's men's water polo team faces the University of the Pacific at Blodgett Pool Sunday, Aug. 30, at 9 a.m.

Harvard Athletics

Odissi dance master Bijayini Satpathy performs Boston solo debut

Odissi dancer Bijayini Satpathy performs her Boston solo debut, "Rāgachitra," Sunday, Aug. 30, at 6:30 p.m. at the Multicultural Arts Center in East Cambridge.

Cambridge | Somerville Independent

Brewery Book Club to discuss Tananarive Due's "The Reformatory"

Cambridge Public Library and Lamplighter Brewing Co. host their next Brewery Book Club Wednesday, Sept. 2, from 7-8:30 p.m. at 284 Broadway, discussing contemporary works from marginalized voices.

Cambridge Public Library

Citizenship prep classes begin at Central Square Library

A free 10-week series to help permanent residents prepare for the U.S. naturalization interview starts Wednesday, Sept. 2, from 6-8 p.m. at the Central Square Branch Library.

City of Cambridge

CircleSinging group hosts vocal improvisation session

CircleSinging Boston - Metro Area hosts a collaborative vocal improvisation and group singing session Sunday, Aug. 30, from 4-6 p.m. at St. Mary Orthodox Church in Central Square.

CircleSinging Boston - Metro Area