Janitor wipes out 20 years of ‘groundbreaking’ research

A laboratory freezer had been emitting an “annoying” beeping sound so the cleaner switched it off

A cleaner unwittingly destroyed over 20 years of “groundbreaking” research by switching off a laboratory freezer in a US university that had been emitting an “annoying” alarm sound, it has been claimed in a lawsuit.

The legal filing says that the janitor, who is not being sued in the lawsuit, tried to stop the repetitive beeping noise by switching off the freezer while working at the site in 2020. It is claiming damages in excess of $1 million from the cleaner’s employer, Daigle Cleaning Systems Inc., whom the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in upstate New York says failed to adequately train the contractor.

“[The] defendant, by and through its negligent, careless, and/or reckless supervision and control of [the janitor], caused damage to certain cell structures, samples, and/or research in the Lab,” the university claims.

The suit also states that sensitive samples contained in the freezer were required to be kept at precise temperatures, and that an alarm had begun to sound to notify staff of a small fluctuation. Scientists determined that the minute change in temperature was not enough to affect the samples.

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University staff identified that the freezer required attention on or around September 14, 2020, the lawsuit claims, and left a note informing janitorial staff that the freezer’s manufacturer would be arriving to perform repairs.

“This freezer is beeping as it is under repair,” a note left by the freezer read, according to the suit. “Please do not move or unplug it. No cleaning required in this area. You can press the alarm/test mute button for 5-10 seconds if you would like to mute the sound.”

On September 17, in response to what he would later call “annoying alarms,” the janitor mistakenly assumed that the circuit breakers that provided electricity to the freezer were off, and that this was the source of the alarm. However, he then unknowingly switched the breakers from ‘on’ to ‘off,’ it was claimed.

The next day, researchers discovered that the freezer had been switched off and its temperature had risen from around -80C to -32C, which had “compromised, destroyed, and rendered unsalvageable ... more than twenty years of research,” according to the lawsuit.

The work being conducted by the research team was centered around capturing and converting solar rays into usable energy.