The freezer held cell cultures, samples and other elements. (Representational Pic)
A private research institute in the US has filed a lawsuit against a cleaner who cut power to a super-cold freezer destroying research samples. According to New York Post, the cleaner was annoyed by an incessant beep sound so he simply flipped a switch at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) lab in Troy, a city in the state of New York. The man's act destroyed decades of scientific work and cost the lab at least $1 million (approximately Rs 8.1 crore) in damages, as the Post report.
The institute has filed the lawsuit against the third-party cleaning service, which provided the janitor.
"People's behaviour and negligence caused all this. Unfortunately, they wiped out 25 years of research," Michael Ginsberg, the institute's attorney, was quoted as saying by the outlet.
The freezer held cell cultures, samples and other elements stored at minus 112 degrees Fahrenheit.
Since the cleaner turned off the switch, the temperature increased to minus 25.6 degrees Fahrenheit. The incident took place in September 2020, the institute claimed in the lawsuit.
Representatives of the institute said a sign on the freezer door mentions the source of the alarm and also has instructions on how to silence it.
In a report, RPI staffers said the worker thought he was actually turning the switch on instead of shutting the freezer down.
"A majority of specimens were compromised, destroyed and rendered unsalvageable demolishing more than 20 years of research," according to the Post report, which carries excerpts from the lawsuit.
RPI's attorney said it will take $1 million to replicate the work, which reportedly focused on photosynthesis and may have furthered solar panel development.
Derek Foster, president of Albany-based cleaning service, hasn't made any comment, as per the Post report.