A custodial worker silencing an annoying alarm at a Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute lab destroyed decades of scientific research when he switched off a super-cold freezer, according to a lawsuit filed by the institution.
According to the suit, the incident caused at least $1 million in damage at the Troy, New York, facility.
According to the Times Union in Albany, the freezer contained cell cultures, samples and other research elements. The material, which included research in photosynthesis, was stored at minus 112 degrees Fahrenheit.
In September 2020, when an employee of Daigle Cleaning Services flipped the circuit breaker because of the alarm and caused the temperature to rise to minus 25.6 degrees Fahrenheit. The increase in temperature resulted in the materials being damaged or destroyed, according to the lawsuit.
“People’s behavior and negligence caused all this,” Michael Ginsberg, RPI’s attorney, told the Times Union. “Unfortunately, they wiped out 25 years of research.”
According to the suit, the freezer had been having some issues and a sign was posted on the freezer door that read: “THIS FREEZER IS BEEPING AS IT IS UNDER REPAIR. 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.”
According to the suit, RPI’s public safety staff interviewed the cleaner who said he heard the “annoying alarms” throughout the evening and thought he was turning on the electrical breakers when he had actually turned them off.