Toxicologist: Harvard Coffee Poisonings Not a Fluke

On August 26^th, six Harvard students and scientists working in the university's pathology lab were hospitalized after drinking coffee from a communal machine in a medical school research building. Within seconds of drinking the coffee, victims reported common symptoms—dizziness and low blood pressure—and were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. Analysis of the coffee found traces of sodium azide – a chemical generally used in chemistry labs that was connected to a string of poisonings in Japan in the 90s. Harvard had attempted to keep the incident under wraps until last Friday, when the university sent out an internal memo and the Boston Herald broke the story. In the memo, Harvard assured students that it was adopting heightened security measures to prevent further incidents, and planned to install more security camera in the New Research Building. Experts have dismissed theories that the poisoning was an accident. "Could it have gotten in the coffee machine inadvertently? Absolutely not," said toxicologist David Benjamin. "It could be considered an attempted murder or assault." All the victims have recovered fully, and were released from the hospital within a day.

Read original story in Boston Herald | Monday, Oct. 26, 2009