diff --git a/CMake/FindCasacore.cmake b/CMake/FindCasacore.cmake
index e4689f7..9068fdd 100644
--- a/CMake/FindCasacore.cmake
+++ b/CMake/FindCasacore.cmake
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@
 #
 # Variables used by this module:
 #  CASACORE_ROOT_DIR         - Casacore root directory. 
+#  BLAS_LIBS                 - override BLAS library
+#  LAPACK_LIBS               - override LAPACK library
 #
 # Variables defined by this module:
 #  CASACORE_FOUND            - System has Casacore, which means that the
@@ -232,7 +234,21 @@ else(NOT CASACORE_INCLUDE_DIR)
     elseif(${_comp} STREQUAL fits)
       casacore_find_package(CFITSIO REQUIRED)
     elseif(${_comp} STREQUAL scimath_f)
-      casacore_find_package(LAPACK REQUIRED)
+      # If only looking for LAPACK, no library will be added if LAPACK
+      # is part of BLAS, as it is customary nowadays. So look for both
+      # to avoid confusing linker errors on symbols used in headers/templates.
+      if(DEFINED ENV{BLAS_LIBS})
+        set(BLAS_FOUND YES)
+        list(APPEND CASACORE_LIBRARIES $ENV{BLAS_LIBS})
+      else()
+        casacore_find_package(BLAS   REQUIRED)
+      endif()
+      if(DEFINED ENV{LAPACK_LIBS})
+        set(LAPACK_FOUND YES)
+        list(APPEND CASACORE_LIBRARIES $ENV{LAPACK_LIBS})
+      else()
+        casacore_find_package(LAPACK REQUIRED)
+      endif()
     endif(${_comp} STREQUAL casa)
   endforeach(_comp ${_find_components})
 endif(NOT CASACORE_INCLUDE_DIR)
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 35bc9e8..d9bdd1b 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -10,7 +10,12 @@ find_package(Casacore REQUIRED COMPONENTS casa ms tables measures)
 
 find_library(GSL_LIB NAMES gsl)
 find_path(GSL_INCLUDE_DIR NAMES gsl/gsl_version.h)
-find_library(GSL_CBLAS_LIB NAMES gslcblas)
+if(DEFINED ENV{CBLAS_LIBS})
+  message(STATUS "Using CBLAS_LIBS from environment: $ENV{CBLAS_LIBS}")
+  set(GSL_CBLAS_LIB $ENV{CBLAS_LIBS})
+else()
+  find_library(GSL_CBLAS_LIB NAMES gslcblas)
+endif()
 
 find_package(Threads REQUIRED)