First-ever Criminal Charges Proceeding in UCLA Lab Fire

The University of California and a UCLA professor are facing unprecedented felony charges in connection with a chemistry lab fire that fatally injured UPTE-CWA Local 9119 member Sheri Sangji three years ago.

An arraignment is scheduled for March 7, and members of CWA Local 9119/University Professional and Technical Employees have been writing personal letters to the Los Angeles County District Attorney asking for justice for Sangji’s family and a fair outcome that will act to deter future tragedies like this.

Sangji, a 23-year-old staff research assistant, was severely burned when air-sensitive chemicals burst into flames and ignited her clothing. She died 18 days after the Dec. 29, 2008, fire.

“The filing of criminal charges is an important wake-up call for universities and principal investigators (PIs) who often pay less attention to safety than their counterparts in industrial labs,” said Joan Lichterman of Local 9119’s safety and health committee. “Universities need to ensure that their PIs have the necessary training to ensure the health and safety of employees they direct, and PIs need to be aware of their personal responsibility. They both must be held accountable when experiments go astray.”

The prosecution of this case is the first of its kind for an academic lab, and can have far-reaching effects on lab safety, the local said.

Patrick Harran, a professor and Sangji’s supervisor, and the university each are charged with three counts of willfully violating occupational safety and health standards. Specifically they are accused of failing to correct unsafe work conditions in a timely manner, to require clothing appropriate for the work and to provide proper chemical safety training.

Harran faces 4½ years in prison and the school could be fined up to $1.5 million for each of three violations.

The potential penalties far exceed the $31,875 that Cal/OSHA fined UCLA in 2009 after ruling that Sangji hadn’t been trained properly and wasn’t wearing protective clothing.

At the time of her death, Sangji was a recent college graduate who took the laboratory job before planning to attend law school. Her devastated family has been pushing investigators to bring charges, calling it the “the first step toward any kind of justice.”