From: Susan span>
State regulators performed a shoddy investigation and
let
UCLA off too lightly for violations stemming from a chemistry lab fire that
killed a staff research assistant, the victim's family contends in papers f
iled
with Cal-OSHA and the Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board.
Sheri Sangji, 23, suffered severe burns over 43% of her body when an experi
ment
with air-sensitive chemicals burst into flame Dec. 29 and ignited her cloth
ing.
Sangji, who was not wearing a protective lab coat, died 18 days later.
Last month, the California Division of Occupational Sa
fety
and Health concluded that Sangji was improperly trained and not wearing
protective clothing. Cal-OSHA cited UCLA for one regulatory and three
"serious" violations, levying fines totaling $31,875.
UCLA paid the fines but appealed the violations and is seeking a stipulatio
n
from Cal-OSHA that it admits no fault in connection with the findings -- a
legal move aimed at limiting the university's liability.
Sangji's family followed with its own appeal, asking the state board to upg
rade
all four violations to "willful" and "repeat" status --
with penalties of up to $70,000 each.
It was rejected last week, however, because only emplo
yers
may appeal. So Sangji's family has filed motions with the board to become a
party to UCLA's appeal, in hopes of making its case for harsher penalties t
hat
way. The University Professional and Technical Employees union, which
represents UCLA chemistry lab workers, also has asked to participate in a
yet-to-be scheduled appeal hearing.
Sangji, who had worked in Professor Patrick Harran's organic chemistry lab
for
less than three months, was transferring up to 2 ounces of t-butyl lithium
from
one sealed container to another when a plastic syringe came apart in her ha
nds,
spewing a chemical compound that ignites when exposed to air.
"UCLA has cooperated fully with multiple independent investigations
conducted in the wake of the tragic accident and is confident in the
independence and comprehensive nature of those reviews," UCLA spokesma
n
Phil Hampton said, declining further comment.
Cal-OSHA spokesman Dean Fryer also declined to comment, saying that neither
he
nor the investigator on the Sangji case could discuss it because of the pen
ding
appeal.
In a June 18 letter to the head of Cal-OSHA, Naveen Sangji blasted the
investigation as "absolutely inadequate" and said it "barely
addressed" the factors in her sister's death.
"The investigation does not address whether the equipment Sheri was us
ing
that day was appropriate for the experiment or whether it (hood, vacuum, in
ert
gas) was properly functioning," she wrote.
Sangji's letter also alleges that the investigator ignored key information
she
relayed to him from her critically burned sister, including that she had ma
de
three transfers each of 50 milliliters, or about 1.7 ounces. The investigat
or's
report, obtained through a California Public Records Act request, put the
volume of t-butyl lithium at 20 milliliters.
"Not only does this evince shoddy investigation and the investigator's
complete disregard of information provided by the family, but also is
significant given that it may be illegal to transfer a volume of 50 ml of
tert-butyl lithium with a syringe in the state of California; further it is
not
recommended by the manufacturer," the letter stated.
The family also contends that the investigator ignored a UCLA fire marshal'
s
report, which quoted
The investigator also failed to take into account UCLA fire officials' init
ial
concerns that the accident scene had been tampered with, Sangji's letter sa
ys.
On the night of the fire, a deputy fire marshal had ordered
There also was no sign of a container of highly flammable hexane that Sheri
Sangji said had spilled and fueled the flash fire that engulfed her, accord
ing
to a report by
When UCLA fire officials interviewed
"I just wanted to get all those drums out," he said. "It was
my
fault. . . . And it didn't relate to the accident, but it just looked
bad."
The suspected tampering triggered a criminal investigation by UCLA police,
who
concluded in January that no crime had been committed, records show. Cal-OS
HA's
Bureau of Investigation has launched its own probe, as it routinely does in
death cases, to determine if there is evidence of a crime. Fryer would say
only
that it is ongoing.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-uclaburn22-
2009jun22,0,4333432.story?track=rss
Previous post | Top of Page | Next post