23 August 2012

Explosion at ANU

| johnboy
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ACT Fire & Rescue on scene at the Cockcroft / John Carver Building at the Australian National University, Acton after a lead acid battery explosion.

No fire, however smoke and fumes from the battery explosion activated an Automatic Fire Alarm at 10.36am.

The battery was a uninterrupted power supply battery system, which was stored in the workplace, designed to provide backup power in the event of power supply failure.

Three people evacuated from the immediate area as a precaution.

One fire pumper, the Breathing Apparatus Van and the Hazardous Materials Unit are completing air monitoring and ventilation operations and will allow the three persons to return to area shortly.

No injuries reported.

11:59am Thursday 23 August 2012

[Courtesy ESA]

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Elizabethany8:40 pm 23 Aug 12

I love how a battery going bang is news now. No damage, just a fire alarm. Chemistry at least causes damage before we become newsworthy.

screaming banshee7:15 pm 23 Aug 12

“If you haven’t experienced battery failure… You Will!”

Not quite like last time from the chemistry labs. Don’t get me wrong I’m glad no one was hurt in this explosion, but the title had me thinking “What have those chemists been up to this time, or heaven forbid, the physics lab getting out of control!”. This however could have been titled:

Battery Gets Old and Goes “POP” at the ANU

(In truth it must have been a big battery, and that would have stunk)

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