Lab explosion kills 1, injures another

A scientist was killed and another injured in a lab explosion at a technology company in Menlo Park, Calif., authorities say. The explosion happened Friday afternoon at Membrane Technology Inc. when a male scientist was pouring a mixture of several gases from one cylinder to another, the Los Angeles Times reported. The explosion killed the male scientist and caused a female scientist to be blown out of the laboratory. Firefighters and paramedics unsuccessfully performed CPR on the male scientist after other lab workers carried him out of the building, Menlo Park Fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman said. The injured woman suffered eardrum damage and was taken to a hospital, Schapelhouman said. Twenty-three other lab workers were evacuated from the building. Fire inspectors are investigating the cause of the explosion at the lab, which passed fire inspection in March.