Rutgers University sued by epileptic glassblower over radioactive material

A glassblower has filed suit in federal court against Rutgers University and representatives of its Chemistry and Environmental Health & Safety departments because his doctors say he developed epilepsy from radioactive material that he never was notified about and for which he received no training in its handling.

Despite no prior experience or training as a scientific glassblower, Jacob Moskowitz of JM Glass Co. was hired by the university’s chemistry department in early 2016 to create and repair all laboratory glassware, cut and bend glass, and seal quartz tubes. He was awarded three one-year contracts, but no one told him the vials he was working on contained experimental and radioactive thorium, according to the suit.

A university spokesman said that Rutgers could not comment on active litigation.

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However, in a 29-page response filed by John Peirano, a university counsel, Rutgers has denied the allegations.

The university is also asking for the lawsuit to be dismissed.

Also named in the suit are Chemistry Department Chairman John Brennan, department Associate Research Professor Anna Kornienko, department Business Manager Lydia Haynes, Environmental Health & Safety Department Manager of Health & Safety Services Peter Skeels and department Radiation Safety Officer Patrick McDermott.

The suit states that thorium research at Rutgers is subject to the university’s Radiation Safety Guide, which was a “condition” for the 2015 National Science Foundation Thorium Grant to be awarded to the chemistry department.

The suit states, “Mr. Moskowitz was told when he was hired that he would be ‘shown the ropes’ … by the scientific glassblower he was hired to replace. However, he never received any training from … anyone during his tenure."

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Moskowitz began to spend the bulk of his time sealing quartz tubes containing samples of experimental chemical compounds from research conducted by … Brennan … Kornienko and their team of graduate research students, according to the suit.

But no one ever told Moskowitz that the experimental compounds contained thorium and other hazardous source materials, the suit charges.

On June 14, 2017, the suit contends, Kornienko complained to Haynes that several of the experimental thorium sampled had become contaminated because of exposure to air due to Moskowitz’s inability to form an airtight seal on the quartz tubes.

Moskowitz explained that it was difficult to vacuum seal the tubes because of remnant material around the seal. Eventually he consulted with other scientific glassblowers and began to voice safety concerns to Kornienko and Haynes.

“Dr. Kornienko ignored Mr. Moskowitz’s safety concerns and scientific glassblowing information,” the suit states.

From June to September 2017, Moskowitz sealed several new batches of experimental samples after he was told that previous samples had been exposed to air.

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Then on Sept. 9 and 10, Moskowitz had two major epileptic seizures that required hospitalization and medical treatment. Prior to that, the lawsuit says, he had no history of seizures.

Although his major seizures were effectively suppressed by medication, the suit alleges, Moskowitz continued to have symptoms of epilepsy, including painful muscle spasms, visual hallucinations of auras of light, dizziness, fainting spells and extreme anxiety.

The symptoms continued a few months after he stopped working for Dr. Brennan’s experimental thorium research.

After Moskowitz was awarded a third one-year contract by Rutgers, he continued to complain about safety issues until he was terminated by the university on May 11, 2018.

Email: bmakin@gannettnj.com

Bob Makin covers Rutgers for MyCentralJersey.com and the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey. To get unlimited access to his informative and entertaining work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.