By Jackie Bensen and Andrea Swalec
Updated on Tuesday, July 21, 2015
New
details have emerged about a possible drug-related explosion on the
National Institute of Standards and Technology campus in Maryland.
News4's Jackie Bensen reports. (Published Monday, Jul 20, 2015)
An
explosion tore through a government lab in Maryland this weekend, and
Montgomery County Police say they're investigating whether the blast was
related to the manufacture of drugs.
The
explosion occurred about 7:30 p.m. Saturday on the Gaithersburg, Md.
campus of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a federal
entity that's part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, a NIST
representative confirmed.
Police
and firefighters responded and found a blast shield inside a NIST
building had flown about 25 feet, indicating a powerful blast.
"We
are looking at the possibility that this was some sort of chemical
reaction due to the manufacturing of drugs," Montgomery County Police
Capt. Paul Starks said.
A member of the NIST security force suffered non-life-threatening injuries, the NIST representative said.
Federal
law enforcement sources told News4 that pseudoephedrine, drain opener
and a recipe for methamphetamine were found inside the lab, and that the
NIST officer was found with burns to his hands and arms.
No arrests had been made as of Monday evening.