University of Texas institute Laboratory Explosion Injures Driver

LEANDER, Texas -- An explosion at a laboratory run by a University of Texas institute doing research for the U.S. Army sent shrapnel flying, injuring a driver on North Bagdad Road in Leander on Tuesday.

The driver, a man, was taken to St. David's Round Rock Medical Center with minor injuries, UT spokeswoman Rhonda Weldon said.

The laboratory, run by the University of Texas Institute for Advanced Technology, does research on high-velocity projectiles and their impact upon targets, said Gary Susswein, a UT spokesman.

It has been operating in a leased metal building on North Bagdad Road in Leander for 20 years, he said. The laboratory was originally located in Leander because "it was isolated from the more populated areas," Susswein said. "Clearly the area around the facility has grown over the last few years."

He declined to provide further details about the work done at the laboratory but said the facility didn't have guards.

The institute, which has received $100 million in research grants, had never had an accident at the laboratory before Tuesday, he said.

The explosion happened when equipment failed and gas was released from a pressurized line, Weldon said. Four or five employees were inside the building when the explosion happened, but they were uninjured, she said. The explosion ripped apart the building and raised the roof, Weldon said.

Firefighters evacuated people after the explosion from a metal business next to the lab and a day care and senior activity center down the street.

"We hear explosions from over there a lot," said Paula Ischy, a receptionist at Integrated Metal Products, which is next door to the lab. "They usually call and let us know when they are doing testing."

The explosion Tuesday was much louder than usual, she said: "I thought somebody had a wreck and hit an electric transformer." She said about 20 people work at her company and that they were evacuated temporarily after the explosion.

UT's Environmental Health and Safety department will investigate the explosion, officials said.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service