The hefty fine for Bulmers and the specialist contractor it employed to look after its cooling towers should make the whole industry sit up and take notice, says Bob Towse, head of technical and safety at the HVCA
HP BULMER and its cider is world famous, but it has now gained a certain notoriety it would rather have done without.

It has been fined an eye-watering £300,000 for breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act following a serious outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease at its factory in Hereford that left two people dead and more than 20 others seriously ill.

The maintenance contractor Nalco, whose job it was to clean the two cooling towers identified as the source of the outbreak, was also fined the same amount and both companies were hit with a further bill of £50,000 each in legal costs.

Judge Alistair McCreath told Hereford Crown Court it was “almost beyond belief” that the cooling towers had not been properly maintained leading to the outbreak in late 2003. He said the hygiene work was “woefully inadequate”.

“I accept the breaches in this case were not committed with a view to profit and I accept that they were not deliberate,” he added.

He also said the companies should receive some credit for both pleading guilty and working with the Health & Safety Executive to find out what went wrong but he said the outbreak was the result of “oversights and the cutting of corners”.

Prosecutors also pointed to an “outdated water treatment policy” and “deficiencies in staff training”. They said Nalco had failed to comply with its contractual obligations to Bulmer by failing adequately to clean the towers and had also carried out an inadequate risk assessment on behalf of the cider-maker.

This is a salutary lesson. Bulmers was ultimately responsible for its employees and members of the public affected by work carried out at its factory but the fact that the water treatment contractor received exactly the same penalty proves there is no hiding place for specialist contractors, which fall short in their obligations to clients.

The arm of the law can be long and will reach far to prosecute firms employed by clients, which fail to carry out risk assessments and to implement any health and safety measures required.

The fact that, in this tragic case, a basic hygiene programme was not followed is a damning indictment of everyone involved and both organisations are paying a heavy price – both financial and in terms of their reputations.