Foot-and-mouth report blames 'faulty pipes'

Foot-and-mouth report blames 'faulty pipes' which government laboratory 'couldn't afford' to repair

Last updated at 15:44pm on 7th September 2007 Comments (10)

The recent outbreak of foot and mouth disease on two farms in Surrey was probably caused by leaky drains combined with heavy rain, building work and vehicles moving from a nearby laboratory, experts said today. HSE chief executive Geoffrey Podger said his team's examination showed "long-term damage" to the pipework.

"It was absolutely essential that this pipework was fully contained, and it was not. There have been four years of discussion to replace this pipe, which did not happen," he said.

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The source of the outbreak: the Pirbright lab site, used by vaccine manufacturer Merial and state-run Institute for Animal Health

The Government today pledged to overhaul its system for monitoring labs.

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said: "There can be no excuse. This outbreak was due to a unique and unhappy set of circumstances.

"It should not be possible for a live virus to escape from a secure facility. It must not happen again."

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which published its official report into the outbreak today, said it was "pretty clear" that the virus escaped from the Pirbright laboratories but said it was not possible to pinpoint whether the exact source was the Institute of Animal Health or Merial, which share the site.

HSE chief executive Geoffrey Podger said his team's examination of the site showed "long-term damage" to the pipework of the effluent system, which could have allowed the disease to escape.

"It was absolutely essential that this pipework was fully contained, and it was not," he said.

Investigators reportedly found evidence that much-needed repairs were not carried out on the pipes due to a lack of government funding.

He said the pipes showed damage from tree roots while unsealed manholes were also present.

In addition, building work and the movement of soil from the area of the damaged pipes were not being adequately controlled, and vehicles were able to move off site towards nearby farming land where the disease infected herds of cattle.

Mr Podger also said the drains were unable to cope with recent heavy rains, which could have helped the spread of the virus.

"It's now pretty clear that the outbreak originated at Pirbright. It isn't possible to pinpoint the exact source," he said.

The National Farmers' Union described as "indefensible" the breaches of biosecurity.

NFU President Peter Kendall: "I find it well-nigh incredible and quite indefensible that standards should have been as lax as these reports appear to reveal, given that those concerned were handling some of the most dangerous animal viruses on the planet.

"This outbreak has cost the British livestock industry tens of millions of pounds and it is inevitable that farmers, and many others, will be asking lawyers to consider the case for seeking compensation through the courts for the losses they have suffered.

"We are in discussion with our lawyers about the possibility of seeking legal redress on behalf of our members and will be making a further announcement on that, once we have had a chance to digest these reports and their implications."

Mr Kendall said that the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs had done a good job in partnership with the industry in containing and eradicating the disease and getting the livestock sector back to something like normal within the shortest possible time frame.

But he added: "This should never have been necessary. This was an outbreak that should never have happened."

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said Surrey, where the outbreak occurred, was now free of foot-and-mouth and described the way in which the virus was spread as a "unique and unhappy combination of circumstances".

But he said: "There can be no excuse for the fact that foot-and-mouth disease escaped from the Pirbright facility.

"It should not be possible for a live virus to escape from a secure laboratory, it should not have happened even under these extraordinary circumstances and must not happen again."

Mr Benn said the Government would be taking "every possible precaution" to prevent a recurrence of the leak, including new requirements for IAH and Merial to make sure all their waste was sterilised within a high-containment area.

He also said there would be revised regulations and guidance on access to restricted sites in the wake of the review into biosecurity.

He confirmed the Government's continuing commitment to completion of the £121m modernisation programme at IAH, and insisted both the institute and the commercial Merial laboratory were important in the battle against foot-and-mouth.