By Associated Press - Monday, April 14, 2014

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) - At least one person is hurt after an explosion in a laboratory in downtown Winston-Salem.

Police, firefighters and emergency personnel responded to a call about 10 a.m. Monday. A small explosion in a fume hood in a fourth-floor lab at the Wake Forest Innovation Quarter injured a person conducting a routine experiment.

More than 100 workers inside the building were evacuated as hazmat crews went inside to make certain the exploded material hadn’t spread. Fire officials described the chemicals as sodium azide and a trade chemical.

Officials from the company, Asinex, and Wake Forest Innovation Quarter said there is no risk of further danger.

The Winston-Salem location is the company’s U.S. headquarters. The company, which is based in Russia, makes substances used in the pharmaceutical industry.

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