The Main Hall and LEC
Our primary clean experimental spaces 1.1 km beneath the North York Moors, hosting a multitude of both pure and applied multidisciplinary science projects.
The Main Hall is where the majority of our low-background particle physics, nuclear physics, and quantum technologies projects are hosted, alongside our radon emanation screening facility – a part of our material assay programme. The Large Experimental Cavern (LEC) is a taller experimental space adjoined to the west side of the Main Hall which is used for handling materials and hosting larger projects and their installations.
The Main Hall and LEC operate as an ISO 7 cleanroom, offering 4000 m³ of experimental space for the hosting of low-background studies and for transitioning to subsequent ISO 6 cleanrooms.
Access, services and infrastructure
The Main Hall and LEC are accessible to materials via a series of roller doors on the north wall of LEC or via a series of roller doors on the east end of the Main Hall. Personnel must enter the space through the changeover area on the east side of the laboratory, accessed via the lab’s monitoring room and mess areas.
Our interior laboratory space contains comprehensive fire, gas, temperature and particle monitoring systems, building an “always-on” picture of the environmental status of the lab.
The lab’s infrastructure can facilitate a variety of project installation and operational needs, including heavy lifting (10 T and 5 T gantry cranes in the LEC and Main Hall respectively), 110 V and 230 V power, and the development of operational health and safety procedure.
FAQs
What is the purpose of hosting particle physics projects deep underground?
Ultra-sensitive particle physics experiments (such as dark matter detectors) require an environment with minimal interference from cosmic radiation. Deep underground science facilities like Boulby Underground Laboratory act as a ‘quiet place in the Universe’, experiencing one million times fewer cosmic particles than the surface of the Earth, making them the ideal place to hold ultra-sensitive particle physics experiments.
How many projects do you host in the underground lab?
Answering this question isn’t quite as straightforward as it might first seem. For starters, it depends on what you define as a project. Some of the experiments that we host are multi-national collaborations with installation phases that are due to last years, whereas others are more “proof of concept” -type studies. Also, our material assay suite contains two UltraLo-1800 XIAs, two radon emanation chambers, one ICP-MS, and eight germanium detectors. Does that all count as one project or multiple?
Secondly, projects don’t stay in the lab forever. As an experiment reaches the end of its life and it has taken all the data it needs, we will decommission it to make room for new science that needs the space. Therefore the number of projects that we host in the lab will change year-to-year or month-to-month.
That being said, we tend to say that we host roughly twenty different projects in our underground lab.
How can I work with Boulby Underground Laboratory?
Researchers interested in developing new experiments or proposals at Boulby Underground Laboratory are invited to contact us with an expression of interest. We welcome ideas across all scientific disciplines supported at the facility, and our team can advise on feasibility, infrastructure, and next steps for formal proposal submission. We also welcome proposals for collaboration on our public engagement programmes. Please use the contact form at the top of the website to get in touch.
For all press and media enquiries, please contact the STFC Press Office at pressoffice@stfc.ac.uk.
Interested in our capabilities?
To enquire about developing a new experiment or proposal at Boulby Underground Laboratory, or to enquire about the support and services available at our lab, please use the contact details below.
BOULBY@stfc.ac.uk
