Joseph Herrington’s employer, Daigle Cleaning Systems, is being sued for $1 million (£786,535) by the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), which accuses him of destroying potentially “groundbreaking” research by shutting off the appliance. A cleaner has been accused of wiping out 25 years of research after turning off a laboratory freezer to stop an “annoying” beeping sound.