DCHAS-L Discussion List Archive

As we near the 10 year anniversary of the fire in the UCLA lab, it's interesting to note that C&EN's report on the outcome of Dr. Herran's legal case was one of the top six read stories of the year.

https://cen.acs.org/biological-chemistry/Periodic-graphics-Top-CEN-stories/96/i49

The Science Careers column also reflects on this anniversary. The opening paragraph is below.

https://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2018/12/decade-after-fatal-lab-safety-disaster-what-have-we-learned

A decade after a fatal lab safety disaster, what have we learned?

This month marks 10 years since Sheharbano â??Sheriâ?? Sangji undertook her last experiment. On 29 December 2008, the 23-year-old lab technician tried to transfer a small quantity of tert-Butyllithium, which ignites on contact with air. The attempt ended in a fiery catastrophe; she died 18 agonizing days later. A subsequent 95-page state investigative report excoriated the labâ??s principal investigator (PI), Patrick Harran, and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), for allowing a recent college graduate to work alone on a risky and intricate task without the training, technique, equipment, or protective gear needed to perform it safely. Unprecedented criminal charges and a yearslong legal case followed.
....

Unfortunately, there was a fatal explosion in a lab in India yesterday. See
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/explosion-at-iisc-lab-kills-one-researcher-injures-3/articleshow/66962935.cms
for details on this event.

- Ralph

Ralph Stuart, CIH, CCHO
membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org

Membership chair
American Chemical Society
Division of Chemical Health and Safety

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