Lab Spills, Mix-Ups And Ferret Put Staff At Risk Of Covid

Dangerous incidents at UK laboratories, hospitals and Covid test centres potentially exposed staffto coronavirus and other hazards during the pandemic, according to official reports obtained by the Guardian.

- Ian Sample

Many involved leaks and spillages of virus-laden fluids, but investigations also took place into a flood at an animal facility housing Covidinfected monkeys, mix-ups that led scientists to work on live virus by mistake and a researcher being bitten by an infected ferret.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recorded at least 47 “dangerous occurrences” involving coronavirus at UK research facilities, hospitals and Lighthouse labs over the course of the pandemic. Reports from 37 cases were released to the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act. The rest were withheld because of ongoing investigations.

Common mishaps were leaks, spillages and splatters of virus-laden fluids, some at the hands of humans, others at the arms of robots, prompting swift evacuations and clean-up operations by biohazard teams. A recurring issue at the Lighthouse laboratories arose from swabs in home test kits not snapping properly, leading people to force them into sample tubes before screwing the caps on. This created what the HSE called a “spring coil” which turned swabs into “projectiles” when the vials were uncapped for testing.