A lab cleaner at New York University turned off a freezer containing 25 years of potentially “groundbreaking” research because it was making an “irritating” beep. The case took place in 2020 but has now come to justice.
On September 14 of that year, at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the alarm for one of the freezers which contained “numerous cell cultures and samples”, after the temperature oscillated in relation to the recommended (-80ºC), says The Telegraph.
As the device could not be fixed until September 21, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a notice was placed on the door: “This freezer is ringing because it is under repair. Do not move or unplug it. It is not necessary to clean this area. You can press the alarm/test silence button for 5-10 seconds if you want to turn the sound off.”
According to the documents presented, a 3ºC temperature fluctuation could cause “catastrophic” damage But KV Lakshmi, a professor of chemistry and chemical biology at the university and head of the lab, said that at the time of the malfunction, the samples were not compromised.
On September 17, Joseph Herrington was cleaning the lab when he heard “nuisance alarms” and decided to turn off the switches that he supplied electricity to the freezer, thinking he was turning them on.
The next day, the students arrived at the laboratory and found the disconnected circuit breaker, they tried to save the samples but it was no longer possible: according to the legal case presented on the 16th of this month, the the internal temperature had already risen more than 50ºCwhich led to most of the samples being “compromised, destroyed and rendered useless, wiping out more than 20 years of research,” reports Fox News.
“People’s behavior and negligence caused this. Unfortunately, they destroyed 25 years of research.Michael Ginsberg, a lawyer representing the university, told the local Times Union newspaper.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has filed six lawsuits, including a claim against cleaning company Daigle Cleaning Systems for being “negligent, careless and reckless in hiring Joe Herringtonwho did not have the capacity to carry out their functions”, adding that the company did not provide adequate training to its employees.
The university is awaiting the ruling and requests compensation of one million dollars (916 thousand euros) and the cost of legal costs from the cleaning company.
Source: Observadora
