CSB Video Description

“Experimenting with Danger” Focuses on CSB Case Study on Texas Tech University Accident; Laboratory Deaths at UCLA and Dartmouth

The 24-minute video focuses on three serious laboratory accidents:  the death of a lab research assistant in 2008 in a flash fire at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA); a death by accidental poisoning of a highly regarded Dartmouth College professor in 1997; and a 2010 explosion at Texas Tech University (TTU) that severely injured a graduate student, who lost three fingers in the blast and suffered eye damage.

Entitled  “Experimenting with Danger” the video notes that the CSB  has collected preliminary data on 120 explosions, fires, and chemical releases at university laboratories and other research facilities that occurred around the country since 2001, causing deaths, serious injuries, and extensive property damage.

In the video, CSB Chairperson Dr. Rafael Moure-Eraso, says, “Research conducted at university laboratories is often on the forefront of technology and innovation.  It is important that this research continues and thrives.  But it must be done within a strong safety culture where preventing hazards is an important value.”

The three laboratory accidents are depicted through the use of illustrations.  Dr. Naveen Sangji, the sister of Sheharbano “Sheri” Sangji, who died of injuries from the UCLA accident, says in the video, “A lost life is not just an anonymous loss of life, but real people, and families are profoundly affected.  And safety has to be an absolute priority and the first priority for any laboratory.

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