Health Protection Agency fined for exposing staff to infection risk
11:14 - 23/07/2010
Health Protection Agency fined for ex...
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has been £25,000 after exposing a number of employees, and potentially their families, to the risk of infection from the hazardous bacteria E.coli O157.
The agency pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 at the City of London Magistrate’s Court and were ordered to pay court costs of more than £20,000 in addition to their fine for the incident, which occurred in October 2007.
The court heard how agency staff were working at the Centre for Infections in Colindale when an amount of the potentially deadly bacterium spilled onto the floor during disposal. A subsequent HSE investigation found that there was an overall failure to ensure safe handling of the bacteria and that the HPA had neglected to conduct a risk assessment of the waste transfer and disposal process. Furthermore, the employees in question had not received adequate training and so were not aware of the standard operating procedures and some of the equipment used during the process was old and defective.
Biological agents, such as E.coli O157, are classified into one of four hazard groups according to their level of risk of infection, with 4 being the highest. E.coli O157 is classified as Hazard Group 3 waste and is therefore highly infectious.
Commenting on the case, HSE Specialist Inspector Jennifer Higham said: “HPA should have developed and implemented a safe system of work for dealing with E.coli O157 and for transferring and inactivating Hazard Group 3 waste. Equipment should have been well maintained and employees should have had appropriate training.
“This was a serious breach of HPA's duty to ensure the health, safety, and welfare at work of all its employees.”
Operations Director, Perry Leeks, says: “It is important that anyone working with hazardous agents is aware of the dangers involved and how to minimise the risk of infection. We offer a COSHH Awareness training course which is 2 hours in duration and is designed to provide staff members with an overview and understanding of the safe principles of working with hazardous substances.
“The training includes the legislative requirements of COSHH, safe handling principles and risk assessment awareness. Course content can also be adapted to consider the particular substances used by your workforce. If you would like to find out more, please call us today to speak to a member of our sales team.”
The agency pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 at the City of London Magistrate’s Court and were ordered to pay court costs of more than £20,000 in addition to their fine for the incident, which occurred in October 2007.
The court heard how agency staff were working at the Centre for Infections in Colindale when an amount of the potentially deadly bacterium spilled onto the floor during disposal. A subsequent HSE investigation found that there was an overall failure to ensure safe handling of the bacteria and that the HPA had neglected to conduct a risk assessment of the waste transfer and disposal process. Furthermore, the employees in question had not received adequate training and so were not aware of the standard operating procedures and some of the equipment used during the process was old and defective.
Biological agents, such as E.coli O157, are classified into one of four hazard groups according to their level of risk of infection, with 4 being the highest. E.coli O157 is classified as Hazard Group 3 waste and is therefore highly infectious.
Commenting on the case, HSE Specialist Inspector Jennifer Higham said: “HPA should have developed and implemented a safe system of work for dealing with E.coli O157 and for transferring and inactivating Hazard Group 3 waste. Equipment should have been well maintained and employees should have had appropriate training.
“This was a serious breach of HPA's duty to ensure the health, safety, and welfare at work of all its employees.”
Operations Director, Perry Leeks, says: “It is important that anyone working with hazardous agents is aware of the dangers involved and how to minimise the risk of infection. We offer a COSHH Awareness training course which is 2 hours in duration and is designed to provide staff members with an overview and understanding of the safe principles of working with hazardous substances.
“The training includes the legislative requirements of COSHH, safe handling principles and risk assessment awareness. Course content can also be adapted to consider the particular substances used by your workforce. If you would like to find out more, please call us today to speak to a member of our sales team.”
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