Scientists Reveal 37 Of The Most Terrifying Things That Went Wrong In Their Labs

Every job comes with its perks, flaws, and dangers. Granted, some jobs barely have any dangers – for example, doing an office job isn’t nearly as dangerous as, let’s say, gas mining. Okay, that’s a pretty extreme example, but still a fitting one. After all, mining is, in fact, considered one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. 

The mentioned list of dangerous occupations also includes professions like firefighting, agriculture, roofing, and logging, to name a few. Of course, it doesn’t mean that the danger is limited to only these professions – as we said before, any job can be dangerous. 

Let’s take science work, for example. To be more specific, the scientific work that typically takes place in a laboratory. The profession isn’t on the top 10 most dangerous occupations list, but people working in it face quite a lot of dangers in their day-to-day life.

Granted, in order to work there, you have to pass various training sessions. Not everyone right off the street can become a lab worker, but even the best results in training do not guarantee that there won’t be any incidents. 

In fact, there’s even a whole Wikipedia page dedicated to laboratory incidents, more specifically biosecurity ones. It includes recorded events of accidental laboratory releases of lethal pathogens, containment failures, exposure to personnel, improper disposal, and the escape of laboratory animals.

The list starts with the first incident from 1903, when a laboratory worker in the United States became infected with the bacteria Burkholderia mallei and developed glanders due to an autopsy they performed on a guinea pig. Luckily, they survived, so the incident didn’t have any casualties. 

Throughout the years since this first recorded incident, many others have taken place. Like a doctoral student getting infected with SARS from the compromised safety practices of the Department of Pathology in Singapore in 2003.

Or the United Kingdom’s Animal and Plant Health Agency sending out live samples of anthrax by mistake in 2012. Essentially, there have been a lot of recorded instances that prove our point about working in science labs being dangerous. 

To make our point even stronger, we also coordinated our own list. It’s made up of scientists’ stories about catastrophes that nearly happened in their labs. So, it’s kind of a little different spin from Wikipedia one, as it includes stuff that could’ve ended up there, but didn’t. 

Still, doesn’t mean they are not entertaining to read about – they are. And to be honest, they’re kind of terrifying as well – just imagining what could’ve happened can send shivers down your spine. If it does, make sure to leave an upvote! And if you have any similar tales, don’t shy away from sharing them with us!