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A janitor ruined 20 years of research by turning off a lab freezer at a private research university in New York. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute filed a lawsuit against the janitor's contractor Daigle Cleaning Systems Inc and is seeking one million dollars in damages. Officials say in September of 2020, the janitor heard annoying alarms and turned the freezer off in an attempt to be helpful. The next day students found the freezer full of cell cultures and samples compromised and destroyed. The private university does not believe the janitor is at fault but blames his contractor for failing to train and supervise him.