Blast caused General Motors` lab
Baku, April 12 (AZERTAC). General Motors Co. was quick to fend off new fears about electric cars Wednesday, after the company said an explosion was caused by gases venting from an experimental battery pack inside a battery lab at the General Motors Tech Center in Warren. The explosion led to the hospitalization of one employee. The 8:45 a.m. incident inside a small room at the lab was likened by GM to a natural gas explosion, as gases from a battery gathered in the room during extreme testing and ignited. GM said the battery pack remained intact. One worker who was injured was being kept for observation overnight at an area hospital, said GM spokesman Alan Adler. He declined to release the extent of the man`s injuries, nor what he did in the lab. Four other people were evaluated by medical personnel after the explosion blew out windows and damaged at least part of the global battery lab inside the Alternative Energy Center. The Detroit automaker, just a few hours after the incident, was quick to point out that the battery being tested was unrelated to the Chevrolet Volt or any other production vehicle. "Everything will be back to normal tomorrow … except for the battery lab and adjacent offices," Adler said. About 1,100 employees who work in the Alternative Energy Center were evacuated after the explosion. About 80 people work in the immediate area of the explosion, Adler said. "People directly affected are allowed to work at home … or at the Vehicle Engineering Center on campus," he said. Warren Fire Commissioner Skip McAdams said Wednesday evening that the department is continuing to investigate because it had not discovered the exact cause, except that it was a chemical explosion. He called the blast an "industrial accident." A hazardous materials team, which McAdams said arrived within 10 minutes of the blast, spent about four hours taking air samples inside and outside the building. It determined there was nothing toxic in the air. Although the building was designed to handle an explosion, McAdams said he expects it to be a while before the building is refurbished. "My best guess is that it`s going to be months — and not days — before this building is ever back in service." IHS Automotive analyst Rebecca Lindland said the battery lab fire comes at an unfortunate time for GM and its Volt — even though the two are not directly related. "The Volt believers are going to stand by the Volt, andthe fire gives the doubters more reason to doubt — but the issue is everybody else," she said. The safety of GM`s lithium-ion batteries came under scrutiny last fall after a crash-tested Chevrolet Volt caught fire nearly a month after a government test. In November, theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a formal investigation after a second battery pack caught fire a week after a test.
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