Professor charged in horrible lab death walks free

A California chemistry professor charged in the laboratory death of a young research assistant has struck a deal with prosecutors that will allow him to avoid jail time, concluding a court battle that transfixed the scientific community.

UCLA chemistry professor Patrick Harran must complete 800 hours of community service, teach a summer school chemistry class to disadvantaged Los Angeles youth, and pay a $10,000 fine to the burn centre where the young woman, Sheri Sangji, was treated. If he completes these requirements in the next five years, and no further safety violations occur in his lab, the charges against him will be dropped.

Sangji, a 23-year-old research assistant who had just graduated, was working in Harrans lab in December 2008 when a dangerous chemical she was transferring sparked a fireball that quickly engulfed her. She died of complications from her burns three weeks later.

Harran was slapped with four felony labour code violations the first time a U.S. academic had ever been charged criminally in a lab accident death. The case transfixed the chemistry community in particular, sparking arguments about whether academia should or would ever be able to match the safety record of industrial labs. The governing body of UCLA was also initially charged, but struck a deal early on.

Fridays deal means Harran does not have to plead guilty, but must accept responsibility for the conditions of the laboratory at the time of the accident. He must also speak to incoming UCLA science students about the importance of lab safety.

Sangjis family was deeply disappointed with the deal.

We do appreciate that hes serving some punishment, but it doesnt go far enough, Naveen Sangji, Sheris sister, told the Star after leaving the courtroom. The judge doubled Harrans community service hours at the familys request, she said.

In court, Sangji said that this settlement, like the previous one with UCLA, is barely a slap on the wrist for the responsible individual . . . We do not understand how this man is allowed to continue running a laboratory, and supervising students and researchers. We can only hope that other young individuals are better protected in the future.

UCLA posted a statement from Harran on the schools website.

No words can express the sympathy I have for Sheris loved ones. As a father myself, I cannot imagine the pain they have and will continue to endure, Harran told the court, according to the statement.

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Professor charged in horrible lab death walks free