The HSE prosecuted the animal disease research facility in Surrey following two incidents in November 2012 and January 2013 when cattle were deliberately infected with FMDV.
While neither incident resulted in the release of the virus to the external environment, failings in controlling the experiments and non-compliance with licence conditions were serious enough to merit legal action, said the HSE.
City of London Magistrates’ Court was told the two incidents occurred when a ventilation system designed to create a negative pressure was operated in a different configuration from normal. The system was designed to ensure air containing FMDV would be drawn from clean areas into dirty ones before being filter-cleaned in order to prevent the airborne escape of the virus.
Changes to operating procedures were supposed to be properly planned, assessed and agreed in advance with HSE and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). But that did not happen and protective measures were compromised, as the level of negative air pressure was not maintained, said the safety watchdog.
“Crucially, on the first occasion there was no effective alarm system to warn staff working in the animal room about the loss of negative air pressure,” said the HSE. “This meant the existence of the November incident did not emerge until during the course of an investigation into the later January incident.”
Decided to prosecute
While the failures did not result in the detected release of FMDV to the outside world, the HSE decided to prosecute since the institute failed to maintain high levels of controls at all times to protect against the highly contagious nature of FMDV.
The institute was fined £22,350 and ordered to pay a further £50,000 in costs after pleading guilty to eight breaches of the Specified Animals Pathogens Order (SAPO) 2008.
After the hearing, Dr Simon Warne, principal specialist inspector from HSE’s Biological Agents Unit, said it was imperative that control measures were applied rigorously at facilities where research is undertaken with FMVD.
“Our investigation identified failings with the Pirbright Institute’s management arrangements and controls for undertaking a series of experiments with foot-and-mouth disease virus,” said Warne. “While the foot-and-mouth disease virus was not on these occasions released to the outside world because of the multiple levels of protective measures in place, the failings were still significant.”
The institute, which receives strategic funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, is regulated by the HSE on behalf of DEFRA.
‘Apologises for the failure’
The institute said in a statement: “The incidents that led to the breaches showed that certain institute processes and actions had fallen short of the standards that public, partners and the Institute itself expects. The institute pleaded guilty to the charges, accepts full responsibility and apologises for the failure to comply with SAPO requirements. The incidents did not cause any release of virus.”
The institute’s trustee board has instigated an independent scrutiny into arrangements for meeting regulatory requirements in connection with its SAPO licence, it added. “This review will be conducted by a panel independent of the institute and its recommendations will be made directly to the board. Should the independent review find that any additional actions are necessary, these will be undertaken.”
Meanwhile, the devastating foot-and-mouth outbreak of 2001 was estimated to have cost the UK economy up to £9bn. The source of the original outbreak at a pig farm in Heddon-on-the-Wall, Northumberland – which used the now banned practice of swill feeding – has never been traced precisely.