HP Bulmer and water treatment contractor Nalco have each been fined £350,000 for a Legionella outbreak at the cider maker's Hereford mill in 2003, in which two people died. The outbreak was traced to evaporative cooling towers at Bulmer's 30-hectare site at Plough Lane. Later work by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed towers nine and 15 had been brought into seasonal service after the apple harvest that year without adequate cleaning.
Tower nine spread contaminated water vapour across Hereford town centre resulting in 28 confirmed cases of Legionnaires disease before the outbreak was declared over in December. HSE inspector Anthony Woodward explained that the cleaning specification drawn up by specialists Nalco for the cooling towers was inadequate. The fact that the towers are only used three months of the year meant bird droppings and leaf material could accumulate when they were not operational. Combined with the system's 24-hour intensive use in the autumn and its operation at a high ambient temperature, it became a breeding ground for bacteria.
The main failing of Bulmer, was that it did not recognise that the cleaning specification was not in line with the HSE's statutory guidance. Their staff were, "Inadequately trained, inadequately briefed and inadequately supervised", said Woodward. The two firms pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, by failing to ensure the safety of persons not in their employment.
