Boston - A Boston College spokesman says a doctoral student suffered minor injuries at a lab when a chemical used in making mustard gas exploded in her hand.

School spokesman Jack Dunn says the student suffered cuts on her face Saturday morning. He says she drove herself home after the small blast at the Merkert Chemistry Center in Boston.

Dunn says other students who later spotted evidence of an explosion called Boston police. Fire officials and hazmat crew evacuated the building.

The student told emergency workers that she was using a chemical called thionyl chloride alone in the lab. Thionyl chloride can be used to make mustard gas and nerve toxins.