Three laboratories and a machine shop at the Boulder campus of the National Institute of Standards and Technology have been shut down as a result of a recent safety audit conducted at the facility, the agency has announced.
The audit was conducted by NIST with the assistance of the Department of Energy, said Laura Ost, spokeswoman for NIST in Boulder.
She said that originally four laboratories and the machine shop were closed due to potential safety concerns involving personnel working in the labs. One of the labs was reopened after new procedures were developed.
Ben Stein, another NIST representative, said Wednesday that the closure of the three labs and workshop was not associated with a plutonium spill that occurred June 9 at the Boulder campus.
He said the agency conducted the additional safety audit to identify any other safety issues at the facility.
Stein said that there are more than 300 lab rooms at the NIST campus.
The agency announced late Tuesday that it has contracted with Energy Solutions, a company licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, to decontaminate the laboratory where the June plutonium spill occurred. Howard Pankratz, The Denver Post
