I am in the experimental area at work talking on the phone with X., a colleague. Discussing the removal of a piece of apparatus that he and I had worked on, he informs me, "The lead-glass is really gone." He repeats this line three or four times. During the conversation I look out at the experiment and observe that a pressure test is being perfomed on the gas tank that we refer to as "GAS-C". As this happens I feel high air pressure in the lab affecting my ears. Someone walks by and remarks, "The GAS-C can take over two atmospheres." Suddenly there is an explosion and I watch in horror as the GAS-C tank blows out, damaging some other equipment nearby. The tank then shrivels up. Y. (a male collaborator) wraps the shriveled tank and surrounding layers in a blanket and carries it off with some other people for repairs.