IISc to conduct safety audit of labs in the premises

The Indian Institute of Science (IISC) management will be conducting the security audit of the other laboratories in the premises to tighten safety measures. Following the hydrogen blast that took place on Wednesday, the management of the IISC will be constituting an internal committee to investigate what caused the mishap.

“The director will form an internal committee to investigate the cause of the mishap. There are some other areas in the campus where we have hydrogen and other cylinders for conducting experiments. The management will see how to boost the safety measures in these areas too,” a senior official from the IISC told DH.

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The incident claimed the life of a research scholar, and left three others severely injured, who are now undergoing treatment. According to police officials, the reason for the mishap will be known only after a proper investigation. Terming the incident as unfortunate, Chandrashekar, chief of IISC security said, “It’s not that we are lacking safety measures in the campus. There was nothing related to fire in the recent incident; it was a blast that happened inside a laboratory”.

“In the past there have been several accidents involving fire at the IISC. But this is the first incident in the institution’s history that has claimed a life. We have a separate committee to ensure safety in the campus, and there is also a special officer to monitor the safety measures. We conduct regular audits. We have taken all precautions. Based on the report submitted by the internal committee we will check how to step-up safety measures in other departments. We will ensure this scenario never repeats.”