Yale student dies in chemistry lab accident

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A federal official says a Yale University student died after her hair was pulled into a piece of equipment in a chemistry lab machine shop.

Kang Yi of the U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration says the university informed his agency that Michele Dufault was operating the machinery for a senior project at the time of the accident Tuesday night.

School officials didn't say what the equipment was.

Yale Vice President Linda Lorimer wrote in a message to students and faculty that Dufault "was an exceptional young woman, an outstanding student and young scientist, a dear friend and a vibrant member of this community."

Lorimer said the school "will find ways in the next day to gather to celebrate her life and grieve her loss."

Yale was offering counseling to students.

Astronomy, physics major
The lab was closed Wednesday and classes canceled in the building that houses the lab.


The Yale Daily News reported Dufault was an astronomy and physics major from Massachusetts.

It said she was also a member of the Yale Precision Marching Band and Yale's Saybrook College.

The paper reported that her parents had been told and were traveling to the university.

According to the chemistry department's website, access to the room where people "construct or modify research instrumentation" is "strictly limited to those who have completed the shop course," the Daily News reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.