Fine for Legionnaire’s disease failings


Security giant G4S has been handed a £1.8 million fine after Harlow Council successfully prosecuted the company for failing to protect its workers from the risk of the potentially fatal Legionnaires’ disease.


Environmental health officers (EHOs) inspected G4S Cash Solutions (UK) Limited’s Harlow site in October 2013 after a report that a local resident who worked there had contracted the disease. Although the source of the infection was not confirmed, the EHOs uncovered a serious lack of compliance in maintaining water systems at the site. 


They found that the monitoring and testing of the systems was erratic, staff had received inadequate training, there were no up to date policies and there were no suitable and sufficient risk assessments in place to safely operate or manage the building’s water systems. 


Harlow councillor Danny Purton said it had taken G4S “almost three years from the date of a risk assessment in 2012 to reach minimum standards to protect its staff and visitors from exposure to Legionella bacteria”.

www.harlow.gov.uk/pr16-52