Hazmat Team Descends On South OC Home Of Teen Whose Science Lab Sparked Probe

IRVINE, CA — Orange County Sheriff's deputies and the FBI responded Tuesday to a hazmat situation in the same Irvine neighborhood searched by federal agents in March, after a teen's science experiment prompted a days-long investigation.

"This morning, around 9:56 a.m., the Orange County Fire Authority and the Irvine Police Department responded to a report of a chemical odor coming from a residence on Crater," the Irvine Police Department wrote in a statement. "The FBI responded and has joined the investigation."

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According to KTLA, the same teenager and family are still at the center of the investigation, but the hazmat call was for a different home in the neighborhood.

The family had recently moved into the home after renting another house nearby in the same community, which was the site of the earlier incident, according to KTLA.

The teen's at-home science lab triggered a similar response in March, when FBI investigators originally deemed the experiments to be suspicious.

The family's lawyer said his clients were fully cooperating with law enforcement.

The FBI confiscated the teen's chemicals and equipment during the earlier investigation, Ray said. The teen, now 18, has graduated from UC Irvine and plans to attend medical school, Ray said.

"He has a theory about curing cancer," Ray said.

His aunt's death from cancer motivated the teen to pursue a cure for the disease, Ray said.

After the family left the rented home earlier this year, they purchased a new home in late April and the teen resumed his experiments, Ray said.

The teen had moved barrels containing chemicals to the backyard to make room in the house for his mother and sister, who attends college on the East Coast, Ray said.

"A neighbor might have seen those barrels and smelled something," Ray said. "And now we're literally back at square one."

The teen, who was a juvenile when law enforcement first visited the family earlier this year, was never charged, Ray said.

"We anticipate no charges in this incident," Ray said. "He's an 18- year-old trying to find a cure for cancer."

The attorney added, "All of the chemicals found anyone can buy. You don't even have to be over the age of 18. There's nothing special about what the kid was doing other than trying to find a cure for cancer, which is special."