Sheri Sangji case

Common card · No. 403744

The Sheri Sangji case is the first criminal case resulting from an academic laboratory accident. The case arose from a fatal accident that occurred in the chemistry laboratory of Patrick Harran at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Research assistant Sheharbano "Sheri" Sangji suffered severe burns from a fire that occurred on December 29, 2008, when a plastic syringe she was using to transfer the pyrophoric reagent tert-butyllithium from one sealed container to another came apart, spilling the chemical, and igniting a fire. Sangji was not wearing a protective lab coat and her clothing caught fire, resulting in severe burns that led to her death 18 days later. An investigation was conducted by the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA), which protects the public and workers from safety hazards and enforces the U.S. State of California's occupational and public safety laws. In 2009, Cal/OSHA fined UCLA $31,875 for violations relating to the fire...

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