The freezer contained cell cultures, samples and other research elements that were stored at minus-112 degrees Fahrenheit until September 2020, when an employee of Daigle Cleaning Services turned off a circuit breaker. That caused the temperature to rise to a relatively toasty minus-25.6 degrees Fahrenheit,
On Sept. 14, 2020, the freezer alarm went off when the temperature rose to minus-108.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Lakshmi, her faculty and students responded. Lakshmi “determined that the cell cultures, samples and research were not being harmed,” the lawsuit stated.
Lakshmi contacted the freezer manufacturer regarding emergency repairs, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that work could not be done until Sept. 21, 2020. During that time, an alarm beep was sounding.
A sign in bold print in capital letters was posted on the freezer door: “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.”
The lawsuit states that on Sept. 17, 2020, a Daigle cleaner turned off the circuit breaker, which cut electricity to the freezer. When Lakshmi’s graduate research staff discovered the next day that the temperature had risen, they took steps to save the research materials.
First - no one thought to have the sign posted in multiple languages?
Half the kids at RPI are from overseas, English is the third or fourth language and most any of them could have posted a copy in whatever language they wanted.
There is even a thing called Google translate to help out ... or they could have pushed the button themselves!
They could have filled the walls with the sign in one hundred and fifty languages—may have worked.
;-)