Explosion at NIST offices was a meth lab


An explosion last weekend at a National Institute of Standards and Technology lab in Gaithersburg, MD threw a blast-shield 25 feet. Investigators found "pseudoephedrine, drain cleaner, and a recipe for meth" in the wreckage.

A cop who was injured in the explosion — with burns to hands and arms — resigned the next day.

The particular lab that exploded wasn't supposed to be hosting any experiments over the weekend. But NBC Washington says pseudoephedrine, drain cleaner, and a recipe for meth were all found there, leaving little mystery to what happened. In addition, the officer who was injured had burns on his hands and arms, the type of injuries consistent with a meth cook gone bad. Not coincidentally, the officer resigned on Sunday.

A Meth Lab Exploded Inside a Government Building [Adam K. Raymond/New York Magazine]

(Image: Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe, Black Acid Co-op [installation view], 2009 [Andrew Russeth, CC-BY-SA)