Two companies must pay more than £250,000 in fines and costs for exposing workers and members of the public to legionella bacteria.
In April 2006, the HSE visited automotive-parts manufacturer Eaton Ltd’s factory in Tamworth, Staffordshire, after being notified by the Health Protection Agency that a worker at the site had contracted Legionnaires’ disease. The victim later died from the illness.
The investigation found that Eaton Ltd has contracted Aegis Ltd to provide water-treatment services for water-cooling systems on plastic moulding machines, which were used in manufacturing processes. Aegis was responsible for cleaning the machine and checking that the correct level of diocide was added to the water to supress microbiological activity in the system. But this procedure was not properly monitored and inconsistent levels of the chemical were added to the water, meaning an unsafe level of legionella bacterium was present in the system.
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard that Eaton Ltd did not have a comprehensive risk assessment in place to ensure that the system was properly cleaned and maintained. The water towers on the system needed to be taken apart every six months to clear out sludge and sediment, but this had not been done for more than two years prior to the HSE’s visit.
The HSE also found that both companies had failed to identify that the system’s drift minimisers were damaged, which meant that aerosol containing legionella was able to escape from the tower. It issued an Improvement Notice to Eaton Ltd requiring it to carry out a fresh risk assessment, and to immediately clean and disinfect the water towers.
HSE inspector Paul Billinger explained that Eaton Ltd had not trained employees on the risks associated with using the system and, as a result, staff failed to properly monitor that Aegis Ltd was regularly cleaning the system and that the water was being properly treated.
He said: “Neither Eaton Ltd nor Aegis Ltd, which was specifically contracted to manage the water system, took the legionella risk seriously. They failed to deal with their own risk assessment and service agreement in respect of cleaning the system. These were persistent and systemic failures, which put people's health at risk.
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The investigation did not reveal sufficient evidence of any link between the activity undertaken by Eaton Ltd and the death of its employee.
Eaton Ltd appeared in court on 28 June and pleaded guilty to breaching s2(1) and s3(1) of the HSWA and was fined £40,000 for each offence, plus £45,000 in costs.
In mitigation, the firm said it has appointed a person to oversee the management of the water-cooling system and has provided training for staff. It appointed a new contractor to provide water-treatment services, and it complied with the HSE’s enforcement notice.
Aegis Ltd was found guilty in its absence at a trial in May for breaching s3(1) of the HSWA 1974 and was sentenced at the same hearing as Eaton Ltd. It was fined £40,000 and ordered to pay £80,000 costs.
The company was voluntarily wound up but the HSE intervened to stop it from being struck off as a registered company in order to bring the prosecution.
Following the hearing, inspector Billinger said: “It is vital that companies who use water cooling treatment as part of their manufacturing processes have plans in place to make sure the level of legionella bacteria in their systems does not become unsafe.
“Legionnaires' disease is a potentially fatal form of pneumonia, which can affect anyone coming into contact with it.”
