Author: Peacock Carter

The Drinking Water Quality Regulator (DWQR) for Scotland’s latest annual report published on 27 July concludes that Scottish Water’s compliance with the stringent standards for drinking water in 2016 was extremely high at 99.91%.

The Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002 requires DWQR to publish an annual report describing the Regulator’s activities during the preceding year. The report provides a summary of the quality of Scotland’s public water supply for 2016, as well as covering water quality events and incidents, consumer contacts to Scottish Water and DWQR activities throughout the year.

Scottish Water takes and analyses samples of drinking water from across Scotland 365 days a year. The report on Drinking Water Quality in Scotland 2016 Public Water Supply states that a total of 311,560 regulatory tests were carried out on Scotland’s drinking water last year. Of those taken from samples at consumers’ taps, 99.91% met the required standards. This was similar to 2015, and an improvement on 2002, the year Scottish Water was formed, when only 99.28% of tests complied.

During 2016, DWQR submitted a report to the Procurator Fiscal following investigations into drinking water quality incident from 2016, when over 6,000 properties in North Lanarkshire suffered restrictions on the use of their water following contamination of the supply. The investigation found deficiencies with Scottish Water’s operational processes and the case concluded earlier this year when Scottish Water pleaded guilty to the charge of supplying water unfit for human consumption.

The DWQR’s role is to ensure that drinking water supplies comply with regulatory requirements. In 2016, DWQR staff carried out 17 technical inspections and responded to 86 contacts from consumers. Of the 798 event notifications received from Scottish Water, most were classified as not significant, but 26 were declared incidents and investigated in more detail – these numbers represent a reduction on the 35 reported in 2015.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has invited scientists with expertise in food and feed safety related issues to apply to join its ten Scientific Panels and its Scientific Committee. The call for experts closes on 8 September 2017.

The EFSA Scientific Panels and the Scientific Committee are composed of 15-25 people and provide high-quality independent scientific advice for political decision-makers in Europe.

EFSA is looking for over 200 experts who will carry out scientific assessments and develop related assessment methodologies. The candidates should have a university degree and at least seven years of professional experience in the following disciplines: genetics, ecology, plant sciences, veterinary science, zoology, toxicology, nutrition, human medicine, biology, chemistry, mathematics/statistics/biostatistics, food/feed technology, pharmacology, exposure assessment, epidemiology and regulatory science.

They are also expected to be experienced in one or more of the following areas:

• developing guidance for scientific assessment

• generating, collecting and collating evidence

• performing scientific assessments

• writing and reviewing scientific documents

• communicating scientific outputs to different target audiences

• managing projects and chairing meetings

As a scientist you will be part of an international and interdisciplinary team contributing to food safety for millions of Europeans. Through EFSA’s active international cooperation efforts your work will have global relevance. Working at EFSA puts you at the centre of a scientific hub that provides access to European and international scientific networks.

Applications should be submitted by 8 September 2017 via the Experts’ EFSA webpage, which also provides more detailed information on the call.

Following concerns raised in the Netherlands about a substance called Fipronil, which has been used inappropriately in cleaning products on chicken farms, a number of contaminated eggs have been identified as being distributed to the UK from the farms affected. Fipronil is not authorised for use as a veterinary medicine or pesticide around food producing animals.

Although initially thought that the number of eggs involved was very small, it has now been established that more eggs from affected farms than originally reported have been imported into the UK. It is very unlikely these eggs pose any risk to public health, but Fipronil is unauthorised for use in food-producing animals in the UK.

The products affected are processed foods in which egg is one ingredient among many others, mostly used in sandwich fillings or other chilled foods. While in some European countries eggs containing Fipronil residues have been sold as fresh eggs, in the UK this is not the case. Many of the eggs involved were mixed with other eggs, which have not come from affected farms so Fipronil residues will be highly diluted. Some of the products made from these eggs will have had a short shelf life and will have already been consumed, however, some have been identified that were still within the expiry date. These are now being withdrawn by the businesses involved.

It is likely that the number of eggs that have come to the UK is closer to 700,000 than the 21,000 we were previously informed had been imported. Food Standards Scotland and the Food Standards Agency are committed to ensuring that food is safe. Initial information was that products containing affected eggs had not been distributed to Scotland, but as the number of affected eggs imported to the UK is greater than originally thought, it is possible that some products containing them may have been distributed here. However, as this represents 0.007% of the eggs consumed in the UK every year, it remains the case that it is very unlikely that there is any risk to public health from consuming these foods.

85% of the eggs we consume in the UK are laid here. There is no evidence that eggs laid in Scotland are contaminated or that Fipronil has been used inappropriately in Scotland. Testing of eggs in Scotland is underway and results will be published as soon as they are available by Food Standards Scotland.

London 2017: Norovirus Outbreak

Public Health England says 40 athletes and support staff at the World Athletics Championships in London have been affected by Norovirus, with three cases confirmed by laboratory testing.

Several competitors were forced to withdraw from events in the first half of the tournament after suffering symptoms including vomiting.

The athletes and support staff affected from the Botswanan, German, Canadian, Irish and Puerto Rican teams are thought to be staying at the same hotel.

Public Health England have been working closely with the London 2017 organisers and venues to provide infection control advice to limit the spread of illness.

A London business man has been found guilty of conspiring to defraud customers by adding horsemeat to batches of beef and relabelling them as pure beef.

Andronicos Sideras was convicted on Wednesday 25 July 2017 at Inner London Crown Court of mixing horsemeat and beef before selling it through his company Dino’s and Sons, following a three-week trial.

In 2013, the UK Food Standards Agency asked the City of London police to investigate the fraud, following the discovery of horsemeat in beefburgers by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland.

The investigation by the Police began in 2013 into the meat trading company Flexi Food, with UK offices in Hull, which was owned by Ulrik Nielsen, 58, of Gentofte, Denmark, and Alex Beech, 44, of Sutton-on-Hull. Both have previously pleaded guilty to their part in the conspiracy.

Flexi Foods passed vast amounts of meat through to Dino’s and Sons. During the searches of Flexi Foods company offices, both in Hull and Denmark, emails and other documents were uncovered confirming the conspiracy to deliberately introduce horsemeat into the food chain in order to increase company profits.

The investigations found that during 2012 Nielsen and Beech were buying horsemeat from Ireland and sourcing beef from Poland. This meat was then all delivered to Dino’s and Sons in Tottenham. It was here that they were mixed together and relabelled with fake labels, before being sent on to other firms as part of the horsemeat scandal.

The prosecutor, Jonathan Polnay, told the court that the fraud was a simple process. “In 2012, beef sold for around €3 [£2.60] a kilogram at wholesale prices. Horsemeat was cheaper. At the time, it sold for around €2 [£1.75] a kilogram.” Money was thus made by selling the mix as 100% beef.

Sideras was arrested in July 2013 and his fingerprints were found on pallet labels attached to a consignment of mixed horse and beef meat that had been intended for burgers but had been detained in Northern Ireland. These labels had been deliberately altered to make it look as though the load was 100% beef but when it was tested it was in fact about 30% horse. The load also contained microchips for one Irish and two Polish horses that had previously been owned as pets or riding horses. Their original owners had not been aware that they had been sold on for slaughter

DC Stephen Briars, the officer who led the case for the City of London police’s fraud squad said the case had been “unique and challenging”, adding: “This is a clear case of fraud. The fact that the case revolves around meat and the food chain makes no difference to this crime. A lie is a lie whatever the circumstances.”

City of London police worked with local authorities, the Food Standards Agency and the food industry to gather the evidence needed and inquiries spanned Denmark, Ireland, Poland, France, Holland and Italy.

Researchers from NHS Health Scotland and the Information Services Division of NHS National Services Scotland have published new analysis of Scotland’s health. The publication shows the extent to which different diseases affect Scotland’s health and life expectancy.

The researchers have used a globally recognised approach, referred to as ‘Burden of Disease’ to quantify the difference between the ideal of living to old age in good health, and the situation where healthy life is shortened by illness, injury, disability and early death. The analysis identifies the most common causes of disease burden in Scotland in 2015.

Ischaemic heart disease came top of the list, with 100,400 years lost to ill health and early death, followed by neck and lower back pain at 90,200 years and depression at 76,000 years. Lung condition chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was fourth with 60,700 years lost followed by lung cancer at 56,900 years. Overall, the report identifies 25 specific diseases, conditions and injuries, which accounted for almost 70% of the overall burden of disease in Scotland in 2015.

The Burden of Disease measure calculates the years of life lost because of early death combined with the years of good quality life lost because they are lived in less than ideal health. This results in one figure for each condition, known as the Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALY).

This information will help planners and policy makers to focus on policies that could prevent these conditions, and the services needed to help people living with these conditions.

The report also analysed the gender differences. It found that women suffered a proportionally higher disease burden from lower back and neck pain, depression, Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, migraine, arthritis and anxiety disorders, compared to men. Men, on the other hand, suffered a proportionately higher disease burden from ischaemic heart disease, suicide and self-harm related injuries, alcohol and drug use disorders, and chronic liver disease (including cirrhosis).

Age differences were also analysed. Adults aged 35 to 64 suffered 40% of the disease burden. Those aged 65 years and over experienced 45% of the disease burden. For those aged less than 65 years, around 60% of their burden is through living in less than ideal health.

Dr Diane Stockton, the study lead at NHS Health Scotland, said
“This set of studies provides the most accurate picture we have ever had of the impact of different diseases and conditions on the Scottish population. It is the first time that estimates of burden of disease have been calculated using the full range of sources of data available, specifically for Scotland.

There are more person-years of poor health lost due to neck and lower back pain than are lost are due to early heart disease deaths, and more person-years of poor health lost due to depression than lung cancer deaths. This is a stark reminder that living longer does not necessarily equate to healthy, happy life.
It is important to address the burden of living in less than ideal health so that more people in Scotland can live longer, healthier lives.”

Dr Ian Grant, Principal Researcher at Information Services Division, said
“Today’s report is just the beginning. Over the coming months we will be publishing further material to help support local planning and national decision making. This will include the likely impact of the ageing population, socio-economic analysis and analysis by local area. Arming planners and decision makers with this information will be a significant step forward in ensuring that services and policies are well targeted to the Scottish people.”

REHIS have shown support for an open letter signed by more than 70 organisations and individuals from the UK’s safety and health profession urging the prime minster to halt deregulation in light of the Grenfell Tower blaze.

Those signing argued that the health and safety regulations have been axed as matter of principle and a desire to blindly cut red tape. This, the letter argues, has led to a mind-set that even when it was recommended and accepted that mandatory fitting of sprinklers would make homes or schools safer, this was rejected in favour of non-regulatory action. ‘In practice, this approach favours inaction,’

The letter stated: ‘Good, well-evidenced and proportionate regulations in health and safety, based on full consultation, are developed and adopted because they save lives and protect people’s health and wellbeing.

‘They are not “burdens on business” but provide essential protection for the public from identifiable risks.

It added: ‘it is vital that this disaster marks a turning point for improved fire safety awareness and wider appreciation that good health and safety is an investment, not a cost.’

It urged the prime minister: ‘You have it in your power to remove immediately a further risk to people at work and outside of the workplace – unwise deregulation – which threatens public and worker safety.

‘We, leaders in health and safety in the UK, call on you to scrap the Government’s approach to health and safety deregulation and think again.

‘This could be announced immediately, it does not need to await the results of a public inquiry, and is the least that the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire deserve.’

The Highland Council, one of several local authorities in Scotland which license UV tanning salons, will be conducting an audit on all licensed premises in Highland to verify compliance with EU safety standards regarding the output of ultra violet (UV) radiation.

Environmental Health Officers have become increasingly aware of concerns nationally whereby the UV bulb strength in many cases have been found to exceed the standard for such equipment.

The use of any UV tanning equipment may expose both staff and customers to UV radiation. UV radiation can cause injuries in the short term (e.g. sunburnt skin or conjunctivitis) and ill health in the long term (e.g. premature skin ageing, skin cancer and cataracts). Frequent exposure to UV rays before the age of 35 years significantly increases the risk of several types of skin cancer.

In response to these concerns and to provide public confidence, Highland Council Environmental Health Officers will be carrying out a detailed review of all currently licensed sunbed operators to ensure their equipment and operating procedures remain fully compliant. This will involve a comprehensive audit of all the operating arrangements for the UV tanning equipment in these premises, and the use of a specialist broadband lightmeter to verify that the UV bulb strength does not exceed the relevant standards.

Gregor MacCormick, Senior Environmental Health Officer, said: “Due to the known risks from the use of UV tanning equipment it is important that members of the public can have confidence in the licensing regime and be reassured that all our licensed operators within the Highland Council area are fully compliant with the current safety guidelines. It is equally important that we raise the public’s awareness of such risks in order to ensure they check that any operators have a valid licence. Where we do become aware of any unlicensed activity then our Service will not hesitate to take immediate enforcement action to protect public health.”

Dr Ken Oates, Consultant in Public Health added his support to the project, he said: “I welcome this initiative by Highland Council Environmental Health colleagues and support their efforts to improve the safety of UV tanning equipment.”

Environmental Health Officers hope to complete the project by the end of August.

Anyone requiring further information or who wishes to report any potential unlicensed operator of UV tanning equipment within the Highland Council area, please email: envhealth@highland.gov.uk

Source: http://www.highland.gov.uk/news/article/10299/national_concerns_prompt_highland_checks_on_uv_tanning_equipment

Environmental Health Scotland-The Journal of the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland – Summer 2017

Contents

The Chief Executive’s View

Annual Environmental Health Forum 2017

President’s Welcome

Implementing Health and Safety in the Wholesale/Retail Sector

Presidents of the Institute

IFEH News

Examinations and Professional Standards Committee

Annual Environmental Health Forum -Round-up

Ticks and Lyme Disease in Scotland

HSE LAU News

SEPA News

Whole Genome Sequencing

Peter Midgley Retires

Tackling the Blight of Fly Tipping in Dundee

Food Matters

SCQF Credit Rating of REHIS Community Training Qualifications

Southern Centre Statutory Nuisance Event

Professional Development Southern Centre Food Workshop

Decreasing Rates of Skin Cancer – Restricting sunbeds

Environmental Health Scotland-The Journal of The Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland-Spring 2017

The NHS has published a document “Management of Public Health Incidents: Guidance on the Roles and Responsibilities of NHS Led Incident Management Teams”, which provides generic guidance in preparing for and managing public health incidents in collaboration with partners, especially local authorities (LA).

The guidance which was first published in 2003 and then revised in 2011 and now in 2017 has taken into account changes in legislation and also been informed by reviewing evidence from previous events such as Outbreak of Legionnaires disease in Lothian in 2012.

The guidance document aims to provide information that NHS boards and LAs can refer to when preparing for or in response to public health or environmental health events or incidents. It is not intended to be prescriptive and does not replace risk assessment and professional judgement.

The document also outlines the roles and responsibilities of Incident Management Teams (IMTs). It covers both planning and response based on a set of key principles and key functions. The guidance does not replicate that found elsewhere but sets out a hierarchy of existing guidance. It also illustrates how the response to an incident will change depending on the level and scale of that incident. It covers single and multi-board incidents and incidents where a national response is required.

The vast majority of public health incidents do not require an escalated response. However, if an incident escalates and it is deemed appropriate, a co-ordinated response through Resilience Partnerships (RP) may ensue. This response should be based on the guidance provided in ‘Preparing Scotland’, which reflects current legislation.

The Public Health (Scotland) Act 2008 provides clarity over the roles and responsibilities of NHS boards and LAs and provides extensive powers to protect public health. Broadly, NHS boards are responsible for people, and LAs are responsible for premises. NHS boards and LAs have a duty to co-operate in exercising their functions under the Act, and to plan together to protect public health in their area.

The guidance document can be accessed here.

On 21 June, NHS Fife convened a meeting with Health Protection Scotland, SEPA and Fife Council to agree an action plan in light of concerns over flaring at Mossmorran.

There have been a considerable number of complaints from the community following prolonged flaring from the complex, which is operated by Shell and Exxon Mobil.

SEPA regulates the environmental aspects of these sites under the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations, and both Operators hold licences which control conditions relating to flaring.

Now that the flaring has stopped, SEPA is making arrangements to carry out a full investigation into the causes of the flaring and what action the Operators intend to take to prevent recurrence of any similar events.

NHS Fife noted that there had been reports of people experiencing a range of symptoms which they related to the flaring, such as breathing difficulties, irritated eyes and even disturbed sleep due to the noise accompanying the flaring.

SEPA will liaise with the Mossmorran and Braefoot Bay Air Quality Review Group during their investigation, which is an independently chaired group consisting of representatives from NHS Fife, SEPA, Fife Council, the Institute of Occupational Medicine and other community representatives.

A petition by local residents is to be launched calling for Shell and ExxonMobil to be brought before a Scottish Parliament committee