Chromalloy UK Limited – an international engineering company that repairs turbine blades – has been fined after members of the public and its employees were exposed to legionella bacteria, which is the cause of Legionnaires’ disease and can be lethal.
Derby Crown Court heard that the bacteria was growing in cooling towers at the company’s site in Somercotes, Derbyshire, and that the risk was not managed for a period of 12 months because an insufficient amount of biocides (chemicals which kill bacteria) were kept.
When visiting the site in 2012, an inspector from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reported that the cooling towers had corroded in parts, and water was leaking onto the yard’s surface as a result.
Legionella bacteria growth can be aided by corrosion, and if water contaminated with the bacteria is then inhaled it can lead to numerous illnesses, though Legionnaire’s disease is the most common.
In 2008, the company acted in accordance with warnings to improve its management strategy as well as its towers, but in 2012 HSE issued a further four improvement notices.
The latest notices required for corroded areas to be replaced and for screens to be used to prevent debris from falling into water supplies.
Chromalloy UK Limited was fined a total of £110,000 (£55,000 for each breach) and ordered to pay £77,252 in costs after admitting to breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
Stuart Parry, a HSE inspector involved with the case, said: “The company’s water treatment programme and associated management arrangements were found to be severely ineffective…
“There were serious risks to employees and members of the public becoming infected with Legionnaires’ disease due to this company’s failure to do all that was reasonably practicable to control the proliferation of legionella bacteria in their cooling towers.
“Employers must understand the health risks associated with legionella and take the necessary precautions to control or reduce risks arising from evaporative cooling systems.”