A cleaner at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York, unwittingly wasted decades of research by turning off a freezer to stop what they termed “annoying alarm” sounds. According to the Guardian, the institution has filed a lawsuit against the cleaner’s company, Daigle Cleaning Systems, for inadequate training.
According to the Times Union, RPI is seeking damages in excess of $1 million in a lawsuit recently filed in New York Supreme Court in Rensselaer County. The attorney representing RPI, Michael Ginsberg, expressed disappointment, stating, “People’s behavior and negligence caused all this. (Tramadol) Unfortunately, they wiped out 25 years of research.”
What actually occurred?
The incident occurred in 2020, while the anonymous cleaner was working for RPI for several months. The lab freezer that was destroyed held numerous cultures that were critical to a long-term photosynthesis research effort led by Professor KV Lakshmi from the biology and chemistry department, as reported by the BBC.
These cultures were typically held at an ultra-low temperature of -112°F (-80°C). An alarm warned lab employees to temperature variations on September 14, 2020, a few days before the freezer was disconnected. The lawsuit emphasizes that the specimens were still alive at the time. Repairs could not be completed for a week due to COVID-19 restrictions in force at the time. To protect the cultures and explain the alert, lab staff posted signs describing the source of the noise and advice on how to silence it.
Lakshmi fitted a lock box on the freezer’s outlet and socket to prevent anyone from unplugging it in the future. However, on September 17, a Daigle Cleaning Systems employee accidentally turned off the circuit breaker, causing the freezer’s temperature to rise. The next day, lab staff made the heartbreaking finding that the samples had been permanently ruined. The lawsuit states, “[A] majority of specimens were compromised, destroyed, and rendered unsalvageable, demolishing more than 20 years of research.”
The cleaner stated during an interview with university officials that they felt they were turning on the circuit breaker in response to the alarms. According to the lawsuit, even after the interview, the cleaner failed to recognize their mistakes and insisted they were only attempting to help, blaming the situation on an “error” in interpreting the panel.
