Company fined £50,000 for Legionella offence

A West Midlands plastics manufacturing company been fined £50,000 following an investigation by the HSE after five members of the public became infected with Legionnaire’s disease in September 2020. One person had to be taken to intensive care and put on a ventilator after being infected. An HSE principal inspector said: “The condition of the cooling towers at this site was the worst I had ever seen. It is really important that proactive management of the risk from Legionella bacteria is taken seriously. There are well publicised and simple precautions for companies to take, and if followed, will ensure that employers manage and control the risk”.