Monday, September 13, 2010

It's pretty obvious ...

David Procopio, a spokesman for the state police, which is probing Staupe’s death, said it’s unclear how Staupe got the cyanide to Milford.
... how the lab tech got the cyanide -- which she used to off herself -- all the way to her house in Milford. She put it in a bag, put it in her pocket and walked home. Chemical inventory, in my experience, is one of the most overlooked things in a lab. I mean, come on folks ... how many times have you grabbed a bottle of Chemical A, B or C ... only to find it empty? It happens all the time. Hence, if it happens all the time ... people can walk off with things more often than we'd like to admit. Of course, situations like this will only result in more work for labs, to document chemicals and their continued status ... so thanks for that Emily. Then again, perhaps it's not such a bad thing.

Next question: Is the PI of the lab in which Emily worked, responsible in some way, shape, or form?

ETA: This article states that she was laid off, but still had keys to laboratories. Was she given some additional time to work in the labs, making her key-ownage valid, or does the university have a really poor policy to repo'ing keys of individuals they've just canned?

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