A minor explosion at CU-Boulder聮s Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy Research Lab about 11:40 a.m. today caused the temporary evacuation of the building. There were no injuries and only minor damage to the structure was reported.
The approximately 15 students, faculty and researchers inside the building at the time were immediately evacuated. There was no smoke or fire in the lab, which is located in the CU Research Park at 38th Street and Colorado Avenue.
The Boulder Fire Department immediately requested that Public Service Co. of Colorado shut off all power and gas to the building. Boulder Fire Department investigators subsequently located a bad gas valve in the mechanical room that apparently was responsible for the minor explosion, which caused some damage to a boiler, said CASA Director James Green.
The power was turned back on and the one-story building was ventilated by re-starting the lab聮s fans and opening the exterior doors, said CU-Boulder Police Lt. John Kish. CASA personnel were allowed back into the building about 2 p.m. to collect personal belongings and other items. The building then was shut down for the weekend because the power outage turned off some research equipment that takes considerable time to restart, said Green.
About 30 people work at CASA聮s Research Lab, which is primarily used to design and build NASA space instruments and experiments. For more information contact Jim Scott in the CU-Boulder News Office at (303) 492-3114.