Two companies have been prosecuted in the UK following serious failings at a high-containment laboratory that operated on an industrial estate in Axminster, Devon—raising concerns about the risks posed to both workers and the public.
The laboratory, formerly located on Millwey Rise Industrial Estate next to a gym and a bakery, handled high-hazard infectious agents such as Salmonella typhi, which can cause typhoid fever, a potentially severe disease that is transmissible within the community.
Lab 21 Healthcare Ltd, a clinical diagnostics firm based in Eastleigh, was fined £52,000 at Exeter Crown Court and ordered to pay a further £26,000 in costs after admitting to multiple breaches of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (as amended). The case followed similar action earlier this year against the previous operator of the site, Omega Diagnostics Ltd, which was fined £35,000 and ordered to pay nearly £27,000 in costs at Exeter Magistrates’ Court in May.
The prosecutions followed an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which found that both companies failed to meet their legal obligation to notify the regulator before carrying out work with high-hazard biological agents.
In the case of Lab 21 Healthcare, that failure continued over a seven-month period despite the company being aware it was falling short of its responsibilities. HSE inspectors concluded that the company deliberately ignored these legal requirements to avoid regulatory oversight and protect commercial interests.
An inspection of the facility in April 2019 by HSE’s specialist microbiology inspector Mark Cuff uncovered a catalogue of safety failings. Key safety equipment, including ventilation and disinfection systems, had not been adequately maintained or regularly tested. The general condition of the lab was so poor that safe and effective disinfection could not be assured.
As well as the infectious agents, the investigation identified the risk of exposure to formaldehyde gas—a highly toxic substance used in laboratory disinfection—compounding the potential threat to staff and those in the surrounding area.
While no exposure or harm was ultimately recorded, the risks were deemed significant due to the nature of the pathogens involved and the facility’s location within a mixed-use industrial estate. The site was permanently closed later in 2019.
Both companies pleaded guilty to breaches of Regulation 7(10) Schedule 3, and Regulations 9(1) and 9(2) of COSHH. The prosecution was brought by HSE barrister Sam Jones, alongside enforcement lawyer Samantha Wells and paralegal officer Gabrielle O’Sullivan.
Following sentencing, HSE’s Mark Cuff commented that the failings were both foreseeable and avoidable, stating that “the likely public expectation in such circumstances is that the companies should be held accountable.” He added that the case highlighted a troubling disregard for legal safeguards designed to protect not just laboratory personnel but the wider public.
