September 2007
Final Report on Potential Breaches of Biosecurity at the Pirbright Site 2007, Health and Safety Executive, United Kingdom
Following the outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in Surrey on 3 August, the UK government asked the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to lead an investigation
into biosecurity issues at the Pirbright facility a site occupied by the Institute of Animal Health (IAH) and also by two private companies called Merial Animal Health Ltd (Merial) and Stabilitech Ltd (Stabilitech). The Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) had established that the virus strain causing FMD in the first infected herd of cattle at a farm in Normandy, Surrey was O1 BFS67 (also known as 01 BFS1860 and hereafter referred to as O1 BFS). This is a laboratory strain not naturally found in the environment and was one upon which work was being carried out by all three occupants of the Pirbright site ahead of the first outbreak. HSEs job was to lead a team to investigate:
- potential breaches of biosecurity at the Pirbright site;
- whether such breaches may have led to a release of any specified animal pathogen;
- whether any such breaches had been rectified to prevent future incidents.
August 2007
Explosion from Nitric Acid and Ethanol Being Mixed Together
July 2007
Bleach and Methanol Mixed Waste Cause Lab Fire
June 2007
Graduate Student Exposure To Vaccinia
Valuable Research Material Ruined In Coldroom Fire Due To Unattended Western Blot
December 2006
Electrocution Due to Improper Use of Common Equipment
January 2006
Ocular
Vaccinia Infection in Laboratory Worker, Felicia M.T. Lewis, et al., Philadelphia,
2004, Emergeing Infectious Diseases, Vol. 12, No 1. January 2006
August 2005
Report of
Pneumonic Tularemia in Three Boston University Researchers, Boston Public Health
Commission
UV: Accidental Exposure
Shelf Collapse Leads to a Spill and a Spill/Explosion at Separate
Institutions
December 2004
High Speed Centrifuge Incident: Good Safety
Practice Includes Routine Maintenance and Servicing, Chemical Health and Safety Volume 7,
Issue 4 , July-August 2000, Page 4
Fatal
Cercopithecine herpesvirus 1 (B Virus) Infection Following a Mucocutaneous Exposure and
Interim Recommendations for Worker Protection , MMWR Weekly, December 18, 1998 / 47(49);1073-6,1083
June 2004
Letter From A Nobel Laureate On Loss of Sight In One Eye Due To A Cryogen
Accident
Live Anthrax Rather Than Killed Sent To A California Hospital Laboratory
J.D. Miller, The Scientist - 6/11/04
US
Lab is Sent Live Anthrax: Incident at Oakland, Calif., Children's Hospital Research Lab
Exposes Seven Workers
Medical News Today 6/1//-04
Anthrax,
Live Samples Sent to Oakland Hospital For Children by Mistake, Workers Exposed
R Veseley and I Hoffmann, The Argus - 6/12/04 -
Anthrax
Scare Underscores Research Safety
Implosion from use of Erlenmeyer Flask Under Vacuum
Russian Scientist Dies in Ebola Accident at Former
Weapons Lab, New York Times Archive
abstract, May 25, 2004
March 2004
Fire from Electrocautery Pen in a Sharps Container
February 2004
Lab Explosion
Due to Liquid Nitrogen, University of Houstin, Environmental and
Physical Safety
Fatal
Unintentional Occupational Poisonings by Hydrofluroic Acid in the US, American Journal
of Industrial Medicine 40: 215-220 (2001)
December 2003
Laboratory-
and some other Occupationally-acquired Microbial Diseases. A bibliography along with related
source books and publications, C. H. Collins, BOKU University of Natural Resources and
Applied Life Sciences, Institute of Applied Microbiology, Vienna, 1999
- Bacteria
- Chlamydias, Coxiellas and Rickettsias
- Viruses
- Fungi
- Endoparasites
- Multi-agent surveys
Biosafety
and SARS Incident in Singapore September 2003, Report of the Review Panel on New SARS
Case and Biosafety, Singapore Ministry of Health
CDC Health
Advisory: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Taiwan, December 17, 2003, 2:00 PM ET
Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Taiwan, December 17, 2003, World Health Organization
November 2003
Piranha (Hydrogen Peroxide/Sulfuric Acid) explosion
September 2003
Chemistry
Experiments and Students Sometimes Don't Mix, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 22,
2002
August 2003
Laboratory Glass Cleaning Reagent Incident
July 2003
Fire From Diethyl Ether Spill
May 2003
Improper Use of Eyewash Results in Trip to Emergency Room
April 2003
Laboratory-Acquired
West Nile Infections, United States, 2002, MMWR Weekly, December 20, 2002, 51(50);1133-1135
March 2003
United Kingdom Chemical
Reaction Hazards Forum, This forum lists incidents involving chemicals that occur in
laboratories and other work sites.
November 2002 additions
Recent Hydrofluoric Acid Fatality in Perth
Case Reports From Literature, IPCS
Inchem, Hydrogen Fluoride
October 2002 additions
Asthma in
Animal Handlers, in: SENSOR Occupational Lung Disease Bulletin, Massachusetts
Department of Public Health, Occupational Health Surveillance Program, April 1999.
This document provides Massachusetts Case Reports.
NIOSH:
Preventing Asthma in Animal Handlers, January 1998. There are case reports in
this document.
Lithium Aluminum Hydride/Tetrahydrofuran Explosion
Carbon Disulfide Fire
June 2002 additions
Suspected
Cutaneous Anthrax in A Laboratory Worker --- Texas, 2002, 2002 Morbidity and Mortality
Weakly Reports (MMWR) April 5, 2002 / 51(13),279-281
May 2002 additions
Lessons From
the Fatality at AAHL, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization
Clean-bench Fire
April 2002 additions
Alert: Formic Acid
Explosion and Explosive Laboratory Chemicals The Australian University, Human
Resources Occupational Health and Safety, December 1997
Two Explosions Involving Aqua Regia
Laboratory-acquired
Meningococcal Disease - United States, 2000 Morbidity and Mortality Weakly
Reports (MMWR) February 22, 2002 / 51(07);141-144
February 2002 additions
Phenyl Azide Solution erupts during vacuum distillation
Mixing Diaminopropane and Potassium Hydroxide - Explosion
Wrong Gloves Lead To Chemical Burn
Chemical Exposure to the Eye In Spite of Goggles
November 2001 additions
Two Steam Releases in Autoclave Room Due to Lack of Backflow Preventer,
Shorting of Safety Switch, and Configuration of Steam Generators
Ruptured Gas Cylinder Destroys Laboratory Hood
Lab Freezer Explodes
Build-up of Dangerous Perchloric Acid Salts Due to Lack of Hood Preventive
Maintenance Program
Moving Large Gas Cylinder Vignette
Faulty Gas Cylinder Regulator causes Explosion
Flammable Storage Cabinet Prevents Ignition Of Flammable Solvents
October 2001 additions
Unattended Use of
a Bunsen Burner in a Biological
Safety Cabinet
July 2001 additions
Liquid Nitrogen
Splash
June 2001 additions
Sabia Virus in
Centrifuge Incident
May 2001 additions
Arsine Gas Release
Autoclave
Scalding
Azobisisobutyronitrile
Fire
Carbon Dioxide
Gas Release
Chemical
Solution Preparation Explosion
Cryptosporidium
in Veterinary Students
Dimethylmercury
Skin Exposure Fatality
Don't Store Dry Ice
in Walk-in Refrigerators
Electrical Shock
from Electrophoresis Unit
Electrical Shock
from Laser Power Supply
Explosive
Decomposition Of An Organic Azide
Failure to
Manually Purge Hazardous Gases
Failure
to Remove Contaminated Clothing Exacerbates Chemical Burns
Fire/Burn from
Heating Flammable Solvent with A Heat Gun
Fire Incident
Involving Sublimation of a Colorant Intermediate
Fisher 16
Microfuge Explosion
Flame Sterilizing Incident
Glass Flask
Rupture During Ozonolysis
Glass Flask
Ruptures, Possible Overpressurization
by Liquid
Nitrogen
Glass Waste Bottle
Ruptures, Possible Reaction of
Incompatible
Chemical Wastes
Hood Fire
Involving Unattended Operation Near A
Hotplate
Hydrofluoric
Acid Burn from Trifluroacetic Acid
Investigator
exposed to infectious material in
Cryotube
Explosion
Letter from A
Post-Doc Burned in A Solvent Fire
Lithium Aluminum
Hydride
Liquid
Nitrogen-MRI Asphyxiation
Mercury
Build-up In A Warm Room
Mixing
Incompatible Wastes
Overpressurization
of Gel Column Causes Chemical
Splash
to Eyes and Skin
Oxidizer/Solvent
Explosion
Phenol/Chloroform
Burn while carrying Chemicals Incorrectly
Projectile
Cylinder: The One That Got Away
Q Fever in a
Medical School Personnel
Researcher
Blinded in One Eye Due to Cryotube Explosion
Researcher
Burned in Explosion Due to Improper
Disposal of Chemical
Waste
Septicemia
Following a Dog Bite
Stirred
Reaction Flask Explosion
Sodium Hydride Fire
Solvent
Explosion and Fire
Three UV
Incidents
Two
flaming loop fires, both inside a Biosafety Cabinet
Waste solvent
Explosion and Fire
Unapproved
Rotor Explosion
Viral Meningitis in a Researcher
Revision Date: August 21, 2007
url: http://www2.umdnj.edu/eohssweb/aiha/accidents/date.htm
