Certainly most faculty in Canada would know of this case.  But I would venture to suggest that many current students and post-docs would be too young to know of it unless it came up in training.  Thus I think it is important to remind students of this tragic case. Unfortunately I have seen a student really shaking with fear when handling tBuLi (even before the Sangji case) which really doesn't help any more than the overly gung-ho student, so I prefer to aim for developing a healthy respect for all chemicals.

Best,

Paul

Paul Harrison, B.A. Hons. (Oxon), Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Chemistry & Chemical Biology

Dept. of Chemistry & Chemical Biology ABB-156 McMaster University 1280 Main St. West. Hamilton, ON L8S 4M1

location: ABB-418  phone: (905) 525-9140 x 27290  email: pharriso**At_Symbol_Here**mcmaster.ca

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From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU> on behalf of Jonathan Klane <jklane1**At_Symbol_Here**ASU.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2023 2:59 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] How well known is the Sheri Sangji case outside of the U.S. from your perspective?

 

Hello DCHAS folks,

While drafting some content a question came up.  Based on this content below, how well would lab folks outside of the States recognize the name Sheri Sangji? 

"Silanes, lithium, and others are pyrophoric - they react in air and spontaneously combust. A fire caused by tert-butyllithium is what killed Sheri Sangji at UCLA in 2008 from extensive burns."

Would they say/think, "Who is that?" or would they say/think, "Oh yes, I know of this sad case." ?

If you're outside of the States or engage with lab folks internationally, I'd be curious on what you/they would say.

While I've worked closely and chatted frequently with international grad students here at U.S. institutions, I'm hesitant to generalize those U.S.-based chats and context to others outside of the U.S.

Thanks,

Jon

Jonathan Klane, M.S.Ed., CIH, CSP, CHMM, CIT

Senior Safety Editor, Lab Manager Magazine

PhD candidate, Human + Social Dimensions of Science + Technology

College of Global Futures

School for the Future of Innovation in Society

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