A Harrogate company has been fined £170,000 after one of its employees contracted a blood infection working at a lake contaminated with sewage.
The man was working for Alder and Allan Ltd, which is based on Station Parade and employs 1,250 staff, during a clean-up operation at a lake near Churchbridge, Cannock, Staffordshire, in June 2019.
Alder and Allan, which was founded in 1926, specialises in environmental clean-ups on behalf of public and private sector companies.
The employee had been working at the lake for two weeks before contracting leptospirosis (Weil’s Disease) and became seriously ill.
Dead fish had to be cleaned out of the lake after it was contaminated with sewage when a nearby pipe burst.
‘Serious risk of ill health’
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive, which regulates workplace health and safety, found there was a serious risk of ill health to employees at the site as there were inadequate hygiene provisions in place to suitably guard against bacteriological and pathogen infection.
The man was left with a rash across his whole body meaning he had to limit contact with his family. His kidney and liver also had to be monitored. He was given antibiotics and did not make a full recovery for around four months.
It was also found that no on-site toilets were provided and workers were forced to use a local supermarket to wash and go to the toilet.
There was also a lack of supervision at the site, with the company also failing to conduct a suitable risk assessment and implement an appropriate system of work.
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The company pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety Act 1974 and Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 and were fined £126,100 and ordered to pay costs of £43,494.
HSE inspector Lyn Mizen said:
“This serious ill health matter could have been avoided if the clearly foreseeable risks and dangers had been appropriately controlled and managed, right from the outset.
“Portable welfare units can be easily sourced and are clearly needed for heavily contaminated work situations such as this.
“HSE will not hesitate to hold duty holders to account if they fall short of appropriate welfare standards.”
‘Significant efforts were made to address the risk’
A spokesperson for Adler and Alan Ltd said:
“We have received a judgement in a health and safety case, relating to an incident in 2019.
“Following work on a client site, an employee of Adler and Allan contracted leptospirosis.
“It was ruled that although significant efforts were made to address the risk, a short delay in getting a welfare van to site meant we did not meet the high standards we set ourselves on this occasion. We cooperated fully with the Health and Safety Executive following the event and undertook all required rectifying work.
“The health and safety of our people is one of our core values. We take this extremely seriously, continually investing in our SHEQ capability, ensuring that all relevant policies are in place and adhered to, the correct PPE is issued and used, and employees are provided with training that always meets or exceeds regulatory requirement.”